Eighty years after the end of the Second World War, when most surviving Canadian veterans are nearing or already past the age of 100, there were nearly two dozen of them sitting in the Groesbeek Canadian war cemetery Friday, metres from the graves of the men they fought side by side with and called their friends.
When Retired Maj.-Gen. Richard Rohmer — the senior Canadian veteran of D-Day, the Battles of Normandy, Belgium and Liberation of Holland — took his turn at the podium, he addressed the fallen directly.
“I wish to speak to all here who died in the cause of Canada and fought for freedom of oppression,” Rohmer said. “My message is a simple one. You are not forgotten. Your death is remembered, and we are still living souls here, grateful to your sacrifice of your life so many years ago.”
The First Canadian Army were all hailed as heroes, 80 years ago this week. They’d endured some of the toughest fighting in the Second World War to push the Germans back and lead the way into the Netherlands in late 1944 and into 1945. The country had been occupied by the Nazis for five years, and people were in rough shape. There was a shortage of food because of a German blockade, and thousands died in what became known as the “Hunger Winter.”
So when thousands of Canadian solders showed with food, the people of Holland were incredibly grateful. The end of the war was near, with the Germans surrendering in the Netherlands May 5, agreeing to terms with a Canadian general.
All these years later, the bond is still strong between the two countries.
“We, the liberated, want to know about our benefactors, who they were, what they looked like, what lives, what personal history they left in Canada,” Mark Slinkman, mayor of the municipality of Berg en Dal said Friday, referencing the work of the Faces to Graves foundation in telling the stories of the Canadian war dead.
Members of the Canadian delegation in The Netherlands will next participate in the Apeldoorn liberation parade on Saturday, followed by a commemorative ceremony at Holten Canadian war cemetery Sunday, and the 80th anniversary of German surrender on May 5 will be marked in Wageningnen.
