You recently enlisted in the Canadian military and wanted to be a paratrooper. The year was 1944 - the day was D-Day. Your battalion’s job - Operation Tonga - was to land in Normandy, France and take control of the area in between the Orne and Dives rivers.

You sat on the plane with a friend of yours, Lance Corporal Joseph Roy (nicknamed Roy). When the light turned green, everyone except the pilot were to jump off the plane and parachute into the enemy territory. There were about 20 other paratroopers on the plane.

“Hey, if we lose each other, keep going with the objective. Focus on the plan,” Roy told you, grinning excitedly. He was the only one on the plane who seemed to be excited to do this.