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Trip helps local students understand 'importance of freedom' (4 photos)

It was a trip of a lifetime for 47 students from Orillia Secondary School who participated in 75th anniversary of Juno Beach battle
NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA SECONDARY SCHOOL
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From May 31 to June 9, 47 students from Orillia Secondary School ventured on a trip of a lifetime to participate in the 75th Anniversary of Juno Beach. 

The group traveled to Italy and explored the heroics of the Canadian Infantry in Ortona, retracing the battle that took place in this small town in December of 1943. 

The sacrifices made by the Canadians still resonates with Ortona today as they dedicated a small piazza to the Canadians on June 1.  

The students then traveled to the Normandy Region and took part in the festivities centered around the 75th anniversary of D-Day and participated in the Juno Beach ceremony. Four of the OSS students were a part of the processional who walked the beach in memory of the 359 soldiers who lost their life on June 6, 1944.  

A highlight of the trip was visiting the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian Cemetery in which six Orillia soldiers lost their lives during the first days of the Normandy campaign. 

The students researched the soldiers' lives and brought a little touch of home in the form of letters, photos, and memorials that were left at each soldier's grave site. 

The students honoured: Walter Leslie Brown, Bruce Mackenzie Deans, Ambrose Patrick Doherty, Irwin Norman Henry, Charles Pettit, and David William Rosenberger.  We forever will remember. 

The students then travelled to Vimy Ridge, Ypres, and ended their tour in Brussels.

Riley Greven, a Grade 10 History student who traveled with the group reflected on what the trip meant to her. 

"It was the first time I truly understood the sacrifices made by the Canadians in both wars," said Greven. "Now, I don't take things for granted anymore and I realize the importance of freedom."

The Canada and World Studies department at O.S.S. and the student travelers would like to thank the community sponsors who donated to our various events throughout the past year and, a half.  Without this support, these kind of opportunities for our students would not be possible.  

O.S.S. is busy planning the next European adventure for March 2021 which will take the students to Berlin, Prague, Krakow, Budapest and Salzburg  in which they will study WWII through the perspective of Central Europe with a primary focus on the historical significance of  Auschwitz.  For more information, contact Leanne Young at OSS.  ([email protected]
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