A Canadian Second World War veteran, aged 100, passed away just one day before he was scheduled to return to France for the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.
William Cameron’s death on Sunday was announced by Canada’s Veterans Affairs Ministry on Twitter. He had been set to fly to France as part of a Canadian delegation attending ceremonies this week.
“We are saddened by the passing of SWW Veteran, William ‘Bill’ Cameron,” read the post. “Rest easy, Mr. Cameron.”
Cameron served as an anti-aircraft gunner on a corvette that escorted American barges during the D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy.
Born in Brandon, Manitoba, Cameron later moved with his family to Canada’s Pacific coast, where he joined the navy in 1943.
In January 1944, he joined the crew of HMCS Kitchener in Liverpool, N.S.
“Bill served as a gunner on one of the corvette’s 20mm anti-aircraft cannons,” states an article on Government of Canada’s website. “He recalls rough seas during this first voyage in ‘this ferocious hurricane area. It was what you call a quick orientation!’ The sea was so rough that the Kitchener had to be put into port for repairs before beginning convoy escort duties in the North Atlantic.”
HMCS Kitchener was present on D-Day, the only Canadian corvette to escort a wave of troops to their disembarkation point that day. Cameron recalls observing the situation on the beach through binoculars.
“From our vantage point we could see that the soldiers had to transit from the barges in questionable water depth along with the Nazi firepower coming from the bluffs above,” he said.
He manned his anti-aircraft gun and fired at any enemy aircraft he identified. “We were all very afraid we would be sunk or killed, but at the same time we knew we had a job to do. Our skilled captain managed to maneuver our ship such that we did not lose a single man.”
After D-Day, Cameron and his shipmates protected ships in the English Channel for the remainder of the war. He served aboard HMCS Kitchener until May 1945, when the ship returned to Canada. He married in 1949 and visited Normandy for the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014 and the 75th in 2019. Cameron received the Legion of Honour from the French government in 2016 for his role in the D-Day landings.