Devolin Column
May 2010
65th Anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands
While attending high school in Haliburton many years ago, I was selected as a Rotary Exchange Student, and had the opportunity to live in the Netherlands for a year.
One of first impressions was how well I was treated because I was Canadian. I quickly learned that much of that admiration and gratitude came from the role Canadians played in liberating Holland from Nazi occupation, a special relationship that remains strong today.
We all know that Canadians who fought in the Second World War in the Netherlands and beyond did extraordinary things in the name of freedom. Their courage and determination in grueling conditions represents the best of what Canada is.
It was in 1944 when the First Canadian Army liberated the Netherlands. This army, more than 175,000 Canadians reinforced by Dutch and allied forces, fought its way from Normandy to Rotterdam, field by field, canal by canal, dyke by daunting dyke. They crossed deep, boot-sucking mud.
They passed over ground heavily mined. They navigated flooded lowlands, the water sometimes too high to wade through, but too shallow for boats. More than seven and a half thousand Canadians gave their lives so that the people of the Netherlands could live again.
Today, we keep faith with them by remembering our brave soldier’s deeds, honouring their achievements and celebrating the lasting bonds between our two great countries.
It is apparent in the kindness with which Canadian veterans and ordinary citizens are received in the Netherlands and in the beautiful tulips the Dutch send every year to our nation’s capital.
I would like to thank the Dutch for their commitment to remembering those brave Canadians who fought and died in the Netherlands during the war and I hope the sacrifice of our soldiers, in either country, will never be forgotten.
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