Quote:
Originally Posted by peter12
Then do it for the Canadian soldiers who died liberating the Dutch.
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My son could tell you how the Dutch still feel about the Canadians liberating them.
He was lucky enough to participate in the Golden Anniversary celebrations held in Holland in May of 1995. He was in Grade 11 at the time, and was overwhelmed by the experience.
At the time, my son was in the honor band of Alberta. The instructor of the honor band grew up in Holland and had lived through the German occupation, and his family moved Canada after the war. He wanted to take a group of musicians over to celebrate his liberation, the idea being the youth band would come bearing instruments of peace, not like the young soldiers who freed them, who came bearing instruments of war.
The honor band had their formal wear and their casual wear if out as a group. The casual outfit had a prominent Canadian flag on the back of the jacket. Well my son said that when the Dutch people saw that Canadain flag, they would come up to them and hug them and and thank them over and over and over. And he said the older ones, who had suffered through the German occupation, many could not speak English except to say thank you, they just cried as they hugged them.
And the appreciation the Dutch have for Canadians was shown in many other ways, many of which Canadians never see on a daily basis. The Canadian war cemeteries are kept immaculate. And many individual crosses and burial spots are still lovingly cared for by the Dutch. They visit the fallen soldier on his birthday, in fact in some families, the burial spot is like a possession that is passed down in a will. When one family member who had the responsibility of maintaining the burial place of a fallen Canadian soldier passes on, then another family member of the next generation continues the upkeep, honoring that fallen soldier who died for their freedom and liberation.