On June 6, 1944, 14,000 Canadian soldiers waded into a sea of blazing German gunfire at Juno Beach. The casualties were severe, 359 men dead and 715 wounded, but the Canadians captured the Norman villages of Courseulles-sur-Mer, Bernières-sur-Mer and Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. Of all the Allied forces, the Canadians earned the deepest inland gains of the day.

The story of the Canadian soldiers who fought for Juno Beach is well known. Less so is the story of the Canadian airmen who helped make D-Day a success.

"In the telling of the dramatic story of D-Day, the role of the airmen is too often forgotten," said Mike Bechthold, a military historian at the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies in Waterloo, Ont. "Along with the crews of the other Allies, the Royal Canadian Air Force made an enormous contribution."

Bechthold is the lead historian of a new exhibit on the RCAF for the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy. From Adversity To The Stars: The RCAF In World War II is set to open on July 1. It depicts Canada's contribution to the air campaign through words, photographs and rare artifacts.

The collection will surprise most visitors to the Juno Beach Centre, as it will convey the extraordinary breadth of Canada's contribution to the air war. Formed in 1923, the Royal Canadian Air Force was hardly prepared for the war to come. In many ways, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), run by the RCAF, created a foundation for Canada's and the Allies' air war.

From its inception on Dec. 17, 1939, to the end of March 1945 when the program was shut down, the BCATP was extraordinarily productive. One hundred and seven training schools were created across Canada. Approximately 11,000 aircraft were used to train 131,553 pilots and aircrew. Of those trained aircrew, 72,835 were Canadians: the remainder were from Britain, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as the United States and Europe.

The financial costs were staggering: the Canadian government poured $1.6 billion into the overall cost of $2.2 billion. A grateful U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt called wartime Canada "the aerodrome for democracy."

The commitment to aviation paid off. As the theatres of war stretched across the globe, Canadian pilots, navigators, air and ground crew were there. The collection of artifacts in the exhibit tells many stories. The featured exhibit is a Spitfire IX that crash-landed in Normandy. The remains of a Lancaster bomber tail highlights the role of Bomber Command, including that of 6 (RCAF) Bomber Group. Prior to D-Day, the Allies targeted bridges, rail lines, marshalling yards and gun emplacements along the French coastline to slow the Germans' ability to bring up supplies and reinforcements, and to deceive them as to where the Allies would land.

A collection of German flak guns offers grim reminders of the dangers faced by the bomber crews.

Those fortunate enough to survive a jump from a burning aircraft became members of the exclusive Caterpillar Club, whose members can be identified in veterans circles for the distinct lapel pin they wear.

With even more luck, aircrew became part of the elaborate escape nets organized by the Belgian or French resistance. But thousands ended up in German camps called Stammlager Luft, or Stalag Luft, for the duration of the war. Many more were even less fortunate: of Canada's 46,000 wartime dead, fully 10,000 were with Bomber Command.

Determined to win complete air supremacy, the Allies committed close to 11,590 aircraft to the invasion. In contrast, the Luftwaffe had less than 200 aircraft in France in June 1944. The exhibit includes the remains of two German aircraft, an ME 109 and a JU 88, that were shot down in the days after the landings. Jerry Billing, a Spitfire pilot in No. 401 (RCAF) Squadron, was credited with shooting down the latter on 7 June 1944. Today the Juno Beach Centre is proud to display the medals of this native of Windsor, Ont.

401 Squadron was one of 16 Canadian squadrons that formed over half the strength of No. 83 Group of the Second Tactical Air Force. Its role was to assist the British and Canadian troops on Gold, Juno and Sword beaches. Few realize that in the days following the invasion, the Norman countryside became dotted with ALGs, advanced landing grounds. Located just a few kilometres from the Juno Beach Centre was B.3, where the Spitfires of 144 (RCAF) Fighter Wing first landed on June 10, 1944. Its wing commander was the legendary Johnnie Johnson, the highest-scoring Royal Air Force fighter pilot to survive the war. In the skies over Normandy in September 1944, Johnson recorded the last of his 38 kills. A bust of Johnnie Johnson, as well as some of his decorations, is part of the exhibit.

The human cost for those overseas missions was high: one third of all Canadians killed in the war were RCAF and RAF pilots and aircrew. There were 13,000 men killed in operations, 4,000 died in training, 1,500 wounded, and 2,500 taken prisoner.

Garth Webb, a D-Day veteran and the president of the Juno Beach Centre, is pleased to have the temporary RCAF exhibit join the permanent collection in Normandy. "We think it will make a great contribution to better understanding the war," said Webb. "We want all our comrades to come and visit, if they can."

Veterans have had an important role in the development of the new exhibit, particularly through the Fighter Pilots' Association, the RCAF Trust, and the Bomber Command Association. "We also think the display will attract a lot of interest from Great Britain," added Webb. "We expect many groups from Canada to be heading out, including schoolchildren and teachers."

To find out more information about the RCAF exhibit, please contact Mike Bechthold at mbechthold@wlu.ca.

Canadians can support the project by contributing to the Juno Beach Centre's ongoing fundraising campaign. The purchase of a $250 brick will ensure that one veteran's name, or the donor's name, will be etched into a titanium plaque and mounted on a memorial kiosk at the Centre.

So far, more than 11,000 citizens, veterans associations, cities, corporations, foundations, institutions, schools and businesses have purchased bricks. Other major funding has come from the Canadian and French governments, the commune of Courseulles, and $1.5 million from the corporation of Wal-Mart. More information on supporting the Juno Beach Centre can be found at the website, www.junobeach.org, or by contacting the Juno Beach Centre Association in Canada at 1-877-828-JUNO (5866).