Those of us who are family of the soldiers who liberated Holland 70 years ago have been watching the Netherlands 70 Remembrance with pride and even tears.
We remember them, those men.
In my case, it was my father, who served with his own quiet pride in the Canadian Algonquin Regiment. He was there — with his Regiment — from the storming of Normandy, the beginning of the Liberation of Holland, to the advance into Germany in the frozen days of late February and early March — when a sniper’s bullet took him out in the bloody battle of the Hochwald Gap.
Dad spoke little of the battles themselves. It was only after he passed that other guys who had worked with him (all of them war vets), or served with him in the local Legion, told me some of the darkest details. Veterans tell each other things that they rarely speak of otherwise.
Dad had been in the Algonquin’s D Company when they went into the Hochwald Forest. Carrying shovels to dig deep slit trenches and 303 Lee-Enfield rifles, they found themselves alone except for oncoming German Tiger tanks followed by German infantry…
But Dad did speak of the better times in those late months of ’44 and into 1945. He was there for the Liberation of Holland and rightly proud of the part he and his comrades had played. He spoke of the local men and women who befriended them. He spoke of these people’s stories — of the hardships and acts of courage against the terrible Nazi Occupation.
I grew up with War Vets. So few of them are still with us. Dad was only 54 when he passed from war-related health problems. And those others I knew and admired are gone.
Watching some of our few survivors over there in the Netherlands accepting so much love and praise from the people of Holland and surrounding areas has been an emotional experience, for sure.
The American vets, the British, the Australian, our own Canadians:
These guys represent an entire generation…
God Bless you all!
To read more, see OUT OF MY FATHER’S SHAVING BOX: Dad’s War, Algonquin Regiment & Liberation of Holland
#Netherlands70 #VE70 Liberation of Netherlands 70 Years Ago
Keywords: #Netherlands70, #VE70, #VEDay70, Algonquin Regiment, Canadian Army, Liberation of Netherlands, 70 years ago, Liberation of Holland, VE Day 70
