They are gone now, all of them: Remembering the Hamilton soldiers slaughtered in the Raid on Dieppe
The August ceremony at Hamilton's striking war memorial, that sits 50 paces from the lake's edge and evokes a rocky bloodstained beach in Northern France, has always been about remembering duty, courage and death.
This time it's different.
That is, they are gone now, all of them: the Hamilton soldiers slaughtered in the Raid on Dieppe Aug. 19, 1942, and now also the relative few who survived.
Ken Curry was the last local soldier who had lived to tell the story of the disastrous operation, in which 582 members of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI) - the Rileys" - landed on the French coast and into the teeth of heavily armed German fortifications.
In a matter of hours, 197 Rileys were killed, 194 wounded and 174 taken prisoner. Nearly 5,000 Allied soldiers fought in the raid, and 916 of the dead were Canadian.
Curry, who survived a hail of gunfire and was captured as a prisoner of war, died in April at 97.
But the families of veterans live on, and so does the importance of the annual event at Dieppe Veterans' Memorial Park, said Lynda Murdoch-Furchner, president of the RHLI Veterans' Association.
The remembrance on Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 7 p.m., is also different this year due to COVID-19. Gathering restrictions and the intimate nature of the memorial site mean only 50 invited guests will attend. The public can watch it live on Cable 14 or online.
It's important to carry on the tradition to acknowledge the loss to our community and our regiment," Murdoch-Furchner said. And for the younger generation to learn these chapters of history, to understand they have freedom because of veterans who fought at Dieppe and in other conflicts."
The raid was the first major attempt by the Allies to penetrate Nazi-occupied France, and a precursor to the successful D-Day operation nearly two years later.
While the raid almost decimated the RHLI, the regiment lived to fight again, winning 17 battle honours for service in the Second World War, and crossing the Rhine in the final push to victory.
On Wednesday, the RHLI will combine their ceremony with a candlelight service hosted annually by the North Wall Riders Association, a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who support veterans.
The guest of honour is 102-year-old Douglas Rickard, a Toronto native who lives in Burlington, who served at Dieppe with the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals.
While not a Riley, Murdoch-Furchner says Rickard would have known members of the regiment, and added that it's an honour to include him since the RHLI no longer has a surviving Dieppe veteran.
It's sad, yes," she said. The younger soldiers used to flock around the veterans."
For years, Curry had been one of those old soldiers, who seemed like he would never die.
He travelled from B.C. to attend the event in 2019, and also 17 years ago, on Aug. 19, 2003, when the much-delayed memorial was unveiled on the Beach Strip, just southeast of the lift bridge on Lake Ontario.
That morning, Curry, who had nightmares about the raid the rest of his life, wore a lapel pin on his Riley blazer symbolizing handcuffs he wore as a POW.
We waited a long time (for the memorial) but after today I forgive them," he told The Spec. They did it up good. Now I can live out of the rest of my life and know that it's here."
Back then he was joined by 16 veterans, fellow Rileys still living with the carnage of Dieppe, taking in the monument to sacrifice under a hot, bright and eternal sun.
Jon Wells is a Hamilton-based reporter and feature writer for The Spectator. Reach him via email: jwells@thespec.com