[Mb-civic] CBC News - JEAN MOVED BY CANADIAN SOLDIERS' SACRIFICES

Sun Oct 30 16:16:16 PST 2005

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JEAN MOVED BY CANADIAN SOLDIERS' SACRIFICES
WebPosted Sun Oct 30 14:52:41 2005

---Joining native veterans visiting battlefields in Europe is "a historic
opportunity" to recognize their contribution, Governor General Michaëlle
Jean told CBC News on Sunday.

"It was very important to give them some visibility," she said from
Normandy, where she visited Juno Beach where Canadians landed on D-Day
and the Canadian cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer.

        There are 33 aboriginal soldiers buried in the cemetery, the last
        resting place of 2,043 Canadians. The cemetery is enclosed by
        pines and maples.

FROM OCT. 29, 2005: First foreign visit takes Governor General to
Juno Beach

Jean was emotional during her CBC interview, as she recalled that "a
whole generation paid an important sacrifice &#8230; so many crosses."

The markers, showing soldiers aged 18 and 19, moved her. "They were so
young and I don't think they expected what happened."

She spent two days in France, her first official trip outside of Canada,
with a delegation that is on an eight-day journey to honour aboriginal
members of the military.

On Sunday, she attended the unveiling of an Inukshuk, a traditional Inuit
stone structure, at the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer.

The structure is to commemorate the fallen warriors, join the past with
the present, young with old and and Canada with Europe, Jean's
itinerary said.

The Governor General also spoke about meeting U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice on Oct. 25 in Ottawa. Rice asked for the
meeting, she said.

"I could feel the pride in her and I feel that same pride," she said, as
they are both black women whose ancestors were slaves but who have
achieved prominent public positions.