Two students from Stratford Elementary School, Jasper MacPherson and Luke Riley, explored the history of D-Day for a project that won them three awards at the Provincial Heritage Fair.

Jasper, 10 years old, and Luke, 11 years old, found the project to be interesting, with both happy and sad moments.

Jasper mentioned that it was a great choice for a project, while Luke felt very rewarded because they put in a lot of effort over three to four weeks.

Their project included research about D-Day, three real D-Day medals, and a plastic diorama depicting the beach at Normandy, France.

D-Day, which occurred on June 6, 1944, marked the Allied invasion of western Europe.

Less than a year later, on May 7, 1945, the Germans surrendered to the Allies, ending the Second World War in Europe.

The students focused their research on the involvement of Islanders in the event, also known as Operation Overlord.

They included photos of Islanders who participated in the operation, such as a photo of the minesweeper HMCS Malpeque.

Jasper was surprised to learn about the significant contributions of Islanders to the war, as he previously thought they played a minor role.

On D-Day, approximately 150,000 Allied troops invaded western Europe in Normandy, resulting in 1,074 Canadian casualties.

The students learned about the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and Islanders who participated in the war, such as Spitfire pilot Charlie Trainor.

Trainor was shot down, switched clothes with a farmer, and made his way through Spain, Belgium, and Germany.

Jasper and Luke dressed in military uniforms borrowed from the P.

E.

I.

Regiment Museum for their project.

They visited the provincial archives and toured the museum as part of their research.

Greg Gallant, who is currently in France, was very helpful in lending them items for their project.

Jasper praised Gallant's museum as amazing.

The duo received the P.

E.

I.

Regiment Museum Award, the Town of Stratford Award, and the Archives Council of P.

E.

I.

award.

They were also finalists in the Grade 5 category and will compete in an online video contest organized by Canada's History Young Citizens for a chance to win $500 towards their education funds.

Victoria Walton, an associate producer at CBC Prince Edward Island, reported this story.

She previously worked at The Coast and spent nearly a decade in Halifax before moving to the Island.

She holds a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of King's College.

You can reach her at victoria.

walton@cbc.

ca.

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