Parks, a member of the Winnipeg Rifles, was among the first wave of Canadian soldiers to land on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944, two minutes before the main attack wave hit. His boat was hit by the Germans as heavy machine guns fired at them, forcing him to jump into the water. “We had to swim,” he said, recalling looking back and seeing a fellow soldier still in the water. “We do not know [if] they’re alive or dead,’” Parks recalled. Parks, 98, who now lives in Mount Albert, Ont., about 67 kilometers north of Toronto, lied about his age to join the army, claiming he was 18 when he was actually 15. He joined after being persuaded by his brother of Jack Parks to enlist. Both brothers stormed Juno Beach on D-Day, although they were not in the same landing craft. Both made it out alive. He was among the approximately 14,000 Canadians who landed on Juno Beach on D-Day, joining the more than 150,000 Allied troops who fought ashore on five Normandy beaches that day. About 359 Canadian soldiers died on D-Day, according to an account of the battle on the Veterans Affairs website, and more than 800 were wounded. Jim Parks is seen high-fiving people on Juneau Beach in an undated photo. (Submitted by Jim Parks) A new documentary film called Little Black Devils — From Juno to Putot, being shot in France, will feature both Parks brothers. Parks said the Little Black Devils was the name given to their team. In 2011, the film’s creator Frederick Jeanne met Parks in Winnipeg. Parks helped him write a book about the Royal Winnipeg Rifles called Hold the Oak Line. “They were very close to death, but they managed to escape World War II unscathed,” Jeanne said. “Jim was an expert witness… He saw a lot of things.” The five-part documentary is set to be released in 2024, Jeanne says. Parks credits his crystal clear memory in part to being so young during the war. “I was at the impressionable age when you were a teenager,” he said. “Everything you get there is locked in. … People remember a lot of things about their high school.” Jim Parks is seen second from left in an undated photo. (Submitted by Jim Parks) Rob Cullen, whose father Gilbert Cullen was a gunner in the Canadian Army’s 12th Field Regiment, met Parks about a decade ago at a Remembrance Day ceremony. “My dad landed right behind Jim with the artillery and I talked to Jim about it,” Cullen told CBC Toronto. “And Jim said, ‘Yeah, it’s absolutely true,’ and we blossomed from there as friends.” Cullen’s father also survived the war and died in 1980. Cullen and his wife traveled to Normandy in June this year. Frederick Jeanne, left, and Jim Parks, right, holding a 500-page book about the Winnipeg Rifles called Hold the Oak Line. Parks helped Jeanne write it. (Submitted by Frederick Jeanne) He has a ritual of going into the waters of Juno Beach on the anniversary of D-Day at the time of the start of the offensive. At 7:30 am he walks as far and as deep as he can go standing up. “Sometimes it’s hot and sometimes it’s freezing,” Cullen said. “I think a lot and respect the guys who made it to shore and the ones who didn’t make it. the same time my dad landed.” While on the beach at dawn, he noticed a group of four young men slowly approaching him. He was surprised to spot a Royal Winnipeg Rifles insignia on their jackets. “We start talking and they ask me what I’m doing there and they say, ‘We’re making a film here about the Royal Winnipeg Rifles.’ And I said, “Well, I know one of those guys. His name is Jim Parks.” “The one guy looks at me and says, ‘I’m playing Jim Parks in the movie.’ I’m just talking about it,” Cullen said. “There’s no one else on the whole beach. Me, my wife and these four guys. And I find the guy who plays Jim Parks in a movie I never knew was being made. It was absolutely mind-blowing.” A side-by-side poster of the actor who plays Jim Parks in Little Black Devils – From Juno Beach to Putot. (Submitted by Jim Parks) Cullen said they continue to share important stories about soldiers like Parks. “We’re losing so many veterans,” he said. “You know, we say ‘lest we forget.’ So here’s this crew of guys in Normandy working on a shoestring budget, making a movie about our soldiers and their sacrifice.” Rob Cullen ran into four young men wearing Royal Winnipeg Rifles insignia on their jackets at Juno Beach on June 6, 2022. The four men star in Frederick Jeanne’s upcoming documentary that will premiere in 2024. (Submitted by Rob Cullen) Meanwhile, Parks says he’s staying active. He goes to his local gym about three times a week to exercise. “I do a dip about once a week, but most of the time at the gym … it’s a lot of socializing,” Parks said. “Just to stay out of mischief, really.” He says he hopes to return for the film’s opening in 2024. “I think we said to Fred, ‘When you premiere there, how about an invitation?’ Parks said with a laugh. Cullen, left, and Parks, right, met about a decade ago at a Memorial Day ceremony. (Paul Borkwood/CBC)
