As German soldiers fled Holland to escape the Allied advance they stole every means of transportation available, including bicycles. To this day, when the Netherlands national soccer team plays Germany at home the fans still chant something along the lines of, “My grandad wants his bike back”!
My wife and I did that same trip three years ago and visited the same cemetery. It was a very sobering visit. We were also struck by the youth of many of the dead. I believe that the Canadians fell during the attempt to clear the north-western part of Belgium. So much history in such a small part of the world.
There is nothing quite like seeing the war cemeteries of Europe. I think the ages are the most striking thing after you get passed the awe of how immaculately they are attended. Europe hasn't forgotten. Sadly, today's "leaders" have. That one in particular is embracing the same goals is particularly troubling and proof that Darwin was wrong. Evolution has limits.
P.S. Assuming I haven't missed one while caught up in eldercare emergencies, I'd love to see a Line crowdsourcing of positive ideas for encouraging a shared sense of identity, purpose, commitment and courage in service of democracy. The Line's brain trust usually comes up with great stuff.
What a beautiful tribute, thank you for sharing your experience in the Netherlands. I expect that the experience was heightened by the bicycle ride, which brings the tempo down to a level that allows the mind to comprehend.
Mr. Stinson wonders about our soldiers sacrifice and if it was worth it? In my little corner of Canada, there is a significant diaspora of people that live here who trace back to Dutch families who came to this country after WW2. The sacrifices of our soldiers that liberated them from oppression, brutality and starvation has never been forgotten.
This gratitude is best expressed by sharing a story of visiting with a neighbour who suffered the brutality of the Nazis and came here in the 1950's. He talked about how the retreating Wehrmacht supply lines were compromised and stealing food from citizens was commonplace to the point of starvation. As he talked about CAF cargo planes circling overhead doing food drops to hungry people it brought tears to his eyes.
This is, for the most part, a decent article that offers honour to those who have richly earned it.
It is a real pity that he had to damage his effort by throwing a smear at the Americans. Shame on you Mr. Stinson. Only the wilfully blind would claim that this Western decay only started with Trump.
October 13, 1944, the Canadian Black Watch regiment lost 145 men, including all its company commanders near Hoogerheide. It became known as "Black Friday" for the regiment.
The young soldiers who lost their lives liberating the Netherlands during WW2 made the ultimate sacrifice. The majority were young men whose reasons to join the Canadian Armed Forces were steeped in a sense of responsibility to protect their families, communities and nation. My grandfather joined the RCAF in 1939. He had grown up on the prairies serving in the junior reserves while going to school and working. The concept of "being on guard" for your family, community and nation started young and was viewed as a responsibility. His father was a member of the Northwest Mounted Police and responsibility was part of their DNA. My grandfather retired from the RCAF in 1963. In the 1960's Canada's armed forces became political. Something that was once considered a national asset and a source of pride was reframed as a cost. War is hell and the Netherlands continues to recognize the sacrifice of Canadians during a War that truly was hell. But to avoid war at all costs is to bring on another type of hell, loss of sovereignty. Whether Canadians value theirs as much as those in the Netherlands did and do. We shall see.
Well done Scott, thank you. You paint a vivid picture of a place I will never see, but whose importance is well known to me.
Unlike some other commenters, I regard it as perfectly natural--perhaps even obligatory--to ponder today's geopolitical status and citizen engagement in the context of the history you were confronting. It seems to me that memory is for learning, an active thing, if we chose to treat it so.
During every trip we have taken to the Netherlands, we have stumbled across at least one Canadian war cemetery. Always a sobering experience.
Last trip I was cycling through the village of Hindeloopen, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted several Commonwealth tombstones (they have a distinctive shape) in a church graveyard. Right alongside the main entrance to the church. Eleven aircrew, probably shot down nearby. Five were unknown. Seven from the UK, three Canadians, and one from Australia.
Sadly this article is infected by Trump Derangement Syndrome destroying its seriousness and makes into a first year essay by an immature student. Trump, for all his shortcomings is a serious player in an adult world, not some cartoon character as you have depicted in this essay.
The article brought alot of emotions for me, but I will agree with you that he should have left the Trump paragraph out. Most media just can't resist taking a shot at the guy no matter what the topic. Otherwise, the article was a good one for me.
As German soldiers fled Holland to escape the Allied advance they stole every means of transportation available, including bicycles. To this day, when the Netherlands national soccer team plays Germany at home the fans still chant something along the lines of, “My grandad wants his bike back”!
Long memories in Europe . . .
For those of us living in 1944, this is a beautiful memory beautifully written. Well done, Scott.
My wife and I did that same trip three years ago and visited the same cemetery. It was a very sobering visit. We were also struck by the youth of many of the dead. I believe that the Canadians fell during the attempt to clear the north-western part of Belgium. So much history in such a small part of the world.
Did a tour of Commonwealth war graves in Italy back in 2018.
Some of the descriptions on the grave markers are haunting.
The one that sticks with me is from the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery near Ortona, it simply reads "Some Day We'll Understand"
Corporal E.F. Sellers, Seaforth Highlanders of Canada
25th December 1943, age 25.
I wonder if his family ever did come to understand.
There is nothing quite like seeing the war cemeteries of Europe. I think the ages are the most striking thing after you get passed the awe of how immaculately they are attended. Europe hasn't forgotten. Sadly, today's "leaders" have. That one in particular is embracing the same goals is particularly troubling and proof that Darwin was wrong. Evolution has limits.
More like this, please!
P.S. Assuming I haven't missed one while caught up in eldercare emergencies, I'd love to see a Line crowdsourcing of positive ideas for encouraging a shared sense of identity, purpose, commitment and courage in service of democracy. The Line's brain trust usually comes up with great stuff.
What a beautiful tribute, thank you for sharing your experience in the Netherlands. I expect that the experience was heightened by the bicycle ride, which brings the tempo down to a level that allows the mind to comprehend.
Mr. Stinson wonders about our soldiers sacrifice and if it was worth it? In my little corner of Canada, there is a significant diaspora of people that live here who trace back to Dutch families who came to this country after WW2. The sacrifices of our soldiers that liberated them from oppression, brutality and starvation has never been forgotten.
This gratitude is best expressed by sharing a story of visiting with a neighbour who suffered the brutality of the Nazis and came here in the 1950's. He talked about how the retreating Wehrmacht supply lines were compromised and stealing food from citizens was commonplace to the point of starvation. As he talked about CAF cargo planes circling overhead doing food drops to hungry people it brought tears to his eyes.
Lest we forget.
This is, for the most part, a decent article that offers honour to those who have richly earned it.
It is a real pity that he had to damage his effort by throwing a smear at the Americans. Shame on you Mr. Stinson. Only the wilfully blind would claim that this Western decay only started with Trump.
Scott’s comparison of then and now struck me deeply!
October 13, 1944, the Canadian Black Watch regiment lost 145 men, including all its company commanders near Hoogerheide. It became known as "Black Friday" for the regiment.
Thank you for this, we should all read and know more of the sacrifices made on our behalf.
The young soldiers who lost their lives liberating the Netherlands during WW2 made the ultimate sacrifice. The majority were young men whose reasons to join the Canadian Armed Forces were steeped in a sense of responsibility to protect their families, communities and nation. My grandfather joined the RCAF in 1939. He had grown up on the prairies serving in the junior reserves while going to school and working. The concept of "being on guard" for your family, community and nation started young and was viewed as a responsibility. His father was a member of the Northwest Mounted Police and responsibility was part of their DNA. My grandfather retired from the RCAF in 1963. In the 1960's Canada's armed forces became political. Something that was once considered a national asset and a source of pride was reframed as a cost. War is hell and the Netherlands continues to recognize the sacrifice of Canadians during a War that truly was hell. But to avoid war at all costs is to bring on another type of hell, loss of sovereignty. Whether Canadians value theirs as much as those in the Netherlands did and do. We shall see.
Well done Scott, thank you. You paint a vivid picture of a place I will never see, but whose importance is well known to me.
Unlike some other commenters, I regard it as perfectly natural--perhaps even obligatory--to ponder today's geopolitical status and citizen engagement in the context of the history you were confronting. It seems to me that memory is for learning, an active thing, if we chose to treat it so.
Well-written, Scott.
During every trip we have taken to the Netherlands, we have stumbled across at least one Canadian war cemetery. Always a sobering experience.
Last trip I was cycling through the village of Hindeloopen, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted several Commonwealth tombstones (they have a distinctive shape) in a church graveyard. Right alongside the main entrance to the church. Eleven aircrew, probably shot down nearby. Five were unknown. Seven from the UK, three Canadians, and one from Australia.
Sadly this article is infected by Trump Derangement Syndrome destroying its seriousness and makes into a first year essay by an immature student. Trump, for all his shortcomings is a serious player in an adult world, not some cartoon character as you have depicted in this essay.
The article brought alot of emotions for me, but I will agree with you that he should have left the Trump paragraph out. Most media just can't resist taking a shot at the guy no matter what the topic. Otherwise, the article was a good one for me.