Montreal marks 75th anniversary of Dieppe raid by renaming park

Montreal's Parcde laCit-du-Havrewasrenamed Dieppe Park in honour of the 75th anniversary of the Dieppe raid, a deadly World War II battle that set a record for the number of Canadian soldiers killed in a single day.

Members of the federal, provincial and municipal governmentsgathered in the park with veterans and members of the Canadian Armed Forces Saturday afternoon to remember the battle on August 19, 1942.

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That day 907Canadians were killed, another 1,154 were wounded and 1,946were taken prisoner.The deadly raidis also rememberedas a battle that paved the way for the D-Day landings.

Jenny Clarkereada poem on Saturday about Dieppe,This Was My Brother,by MonaMcTavishGould.

Clarke's husband Herbert fought at the battle and was taken prisoner by German soldiers. Helater returned to Canada, and passed away in 2000.

She said she wasdisturbed that some would take up Nazi symbols 75years later, referencing the rise of far-right and white supremacist groups in North America.

"To even want to think that there could be another Hitler around is disgusting," she said.

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderreechoed her statement.

"We're living in troubling times in the world. It's important to remember not to make the same mistakes," he said.

"Even if you have some mixed feelings, or different interpretations of what the raid was all about," Coderre said, "I hope that all our fellow citizens find in this space the inspiration to defend democracy and peace."

A commemorative plaque was unveiled Saturday, but alarger monument will be unveiled next year.

Coderresaid thepark's renaming"reinforces the historic link between Montreal and the deployment of the troops during Operation Jubilee."

During that operation 584 soldiers from the Montreal-based regimentFusiliers Mont-Royallanded on the beach at Dieppe,but only 125 of them made it back to England that day. Another 344 soldiers were taken prisoner, and 119 were killed.

The ceremony included an artillery salute andthe performance of Last Post followed by two minutes of silence.