Pearson: Courage always worth remembering

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On May 10, 1940, Adolph Hitler invaded Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and France, bringing to an end the world’s hope that a second great war might be averted. The violent events caused American President Franklin Roosevelt to conclude, “The decisive hour has come.”

Within hours, German bombs began falling all over France, as well as Chilham and Canterbury in England. While many prematurely hoped for American entrance into the conflict, the reality was that the U.S. military was the 18th largest in the world and was woefully ill-equipped to fight any battle of consequence.

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Only five days into the conflict, the German blitzkrieg had already overrun Holland and obliterated the Belgian military. The nation with ostensibly the best army, France, was everywhere in retreat. This retreat put the Allies in a dire situation. William Bullitt, America’s ambassador to France, hastily telegraphed Roosevelt: “The Paris police have no weapons … and our mission has only two revolvers and a mere forty bullets.”

The Western parliaments had naively hoped that Hitler’s vile rhetoric, vengeful racism, and intent to destroy all who opposed him could be appeased through diplomacy. Now, their shortsightedness and lack of understanding of the danger before them placed the entire continent at risk. Just how bad the odds were became evident when the 350,000-member British Expeditionary Force, sent into the conflict a short time earlier, found itself pinned between the advancing German juggernaut and the English Channel. In such dire circumstances, these forces had already lost thousands. They were starving and bleeding in the sand. When thousands honour Remembrance Day, their thoughts are often consumed with the memories of Dunkirk.

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Most know of what happened next. For whatever reason, Hitler ordered his tanks to take a rest a few kilometres away before descending for the kill. And in those brief, fragile days, what became known as the “Miracle of Dunkirk” transformed the British spirit. From dozens of tiny ports in southern England, a thrown-together armada of tiny ships, yachts, motorboats, destroyers, and even lifeboats sailed across the Channel and brought 340,000 soldiers home. It was the stuff of the ages: daring, brilliant, ill-equipped, and unbelievably courageous.

This is what we know and remember. But what was never really understood was just how bad things were after those pivotal days. You could hardly label those brave soldiers returning home as an army at all. They were forced to leave most of their equipment back on the beach, including 680 of the 700 tanks sent to France in the first place. Over 82,000 squad cars and motorcycles were left, along with 8,000 field telephones, almost 100,000 rifles, and an even greater number of machine guns. Ten British destroyers had been sunk in the evacuation. Most troubling was the loss of 177 RAF planes, which left only 238 aircraft in all of England. The small nation had only 60,000 rifles and 500 cannons, many borrowed from museums, to stave off the impending German invasion.

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All this prompted Winston Churchill to note: “Never has a nation been so naked before her foes.”

Yet all of this failed to take into account the most powerful fighting weapon of all time: the spirit of a resilient people. We lose sight of this as the memories fade. But in those dark days, average Brits pulled together their history, their memories, their way of life, their faith, and their belief in their future and hurled it all back across the Channel. Thousands of Canadians were there as well, adding their own cries against the darkness.

The most vital component of our Day of Remembrance is not the string of victories but our collective belief in the right of a liberated life to endure. It is the conviction that we will struggle through any days of fear, knowing that courage will appear even when we don’t feel it.

History is full of tyrants, demented leaders, darkening clouds, and confused citizens. But through the fog of war, we capture the sight of our children and grandchildren and understand that we must collectively concentrate our efforts to fight off the darker forces of humanity for their sake. To those who believed this and sacrificed their lives to preserve its truths, we thank you. We will remember you. Always.

Glen Pearson is co-director of the London Food Bank and a former Liberal MP for London North Centre. glen@glenpearson.ca

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