Mac Dixon landed on the morning of June 6, 1944 with the first assault wave on Juno Beach, at Courseulles-sur-Mer where the German positions were heavily fortified. He belonged to “B” Squadron of the regiment of the First Hussars and was aboard an amphibious Sherman Duplex Drive (or “DD”) tank named “Bold”. More information here.

80 years later, Mac Dixon’s daughter, Dianne Nieuwkuyk, made the family trip to follow in her father’s footsteps to tell her children how the “Bold” tank, now on display at Place Léo Gariépy in Courseulles-sur-Mer, sank before reaching the shore on D-Day. Of the 19 “B” Squadron tanks that landed on D-Day, only 9 reached the beach. Mac’s crew, trapped inside the “Bold” tank, was unable to get out until they reached the bottom and the tank filled with water. Mac managed to reach the shore and later that day he met some soldiers from his regiment. He picked up a German gun, joined the Regina Rifles and spent his first night on the front line. He then joined the First Hussars and participated in fighting across France until he was injured and hospitalized on September 25, 1944, during the battle for the liberation of Calais. Returning to combat in December 1944, he participated in Canadian military campaigns until the end of the war, in Belgium, Germany, and Holland.

Mac Dixon’s family gathered in Normandy to honour his memory on the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings last June. Together, they visited the Juno Beach Centre. There the history of Mac Dixon and the Bold is presented using the Webb app, in order to shed light on the history of the tank so well known in Courseulles and to transmit the memory of its crew.

PHOTO from left to right : Cindy Nieuwkuyk, Granddaughter – Heather Hiseman, Granddaughter – Aiden Hiseman, Great Grandson – Nick Varey, Spouse of Cindy – Rory Gavin, Great Grandson – Dianne Nieuwkuyk, Daughter