A group of seven student volunteers with the Saskatoon Museum of Military Artifacts are making a sizeable commemoration to the Canadian soldiers who stormed Juno Beach on June 6, 1944, otherwise known as D-Day.

Kevin Hicks, British war veteran and project manager for the museum, says the group is constructing a model of the battle, which will be 24 feet long and two-feet deep when it’s complete.

The group of teens has built models of Vimmy Ridge and No Man’s Land before, but this one will be a much larger undertaking.

“When you think about D-Day, landing on the beaches, it’s that narrow picture you see. The front of the landing raft comes down and you see a few houses. People don’t realize that Juno beach was actually three fronts. It was three separate small towns,” Hicks explains.

“It’s going to be a model that people will enjoy, that people will understand. It gives the picture of, for instance, the Regina Rifle are Saskatchewan people who landed on D-day and fought their way through these buildings. That’s what we’re going to focus on.”

Hicks says the materials needed to create such a huge model are quite costly, so a GoFundMe was launched in an effort to collect $6,000. For example, he says to purchase 40 model soldiers and a tank it costs $150.

“Anything will help. Whether it’s a pot of paint or a model of a tank, it all goes towards the same thing. The idea of it is, once the model is done and the glass front is put on there, it can stay there forever in a day as long as the museum’s there.”

The group hopes to finish the model by June 6th, the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

“If it’s not completed by the sixth of June, it’ll be well on its way. It’s such a big model that it’ll blow people minds when they come.”

The public will be able to view the model, which is located in the basement of the Royal Canadian Legion on Louise Street in Saskatoon.