Canadians in WWII

Of all the days in my life and all the people that I have met briefly today and a certain man will stand out in my memory forever. Today, being the tentieth of October, and the man being a vetran of the Canadian forces sent to Europe to fight the Nazi's in the second world war.

Today I followed my father on one of the many buisness trips he has across Ontario to a small place called Petersborough... I think that's how I spell it. Petersborough is just one of the locations of a Legions club around Canada. In this club is where my father would be handing out medals to those who fought in the Netherlands for our freedom.

Unlike the French, we Dutch KNOW that we didn't free ourselves, and unlike the rest of Europe we are clear on who did. The Canadian armed forces were the main force behind our campaign for freedom in 1943-45.

For those that did not get a chance to read my IA, I researched the dedication of the Dutch to liberating our little country, but it wasn't until today that I, like most ignorant Dutch people born after the war, realised that our struggle was no match for what the allied forces endured.

The Man I wrote about in the begining of this entry, I am sad to say I have no name for. Like my hatred for my ignorance in some cases I also have a hatred for my short memory. The Ex-Soldier was a member of something called a highlanders bregade (They're the ones that play the bagpipes). Because of the vast amount of medals he had on both breasts I walked up to him and asked him to explain his medals to me. The first was a star and was in comemeration of fighting in Europe in the years of 1940-46. The second was for liberating Europe within those same years, but it was the third medal, in the shape of a circle that really blew me away. It was for inlisting into the Military services to help during the war. Here's the thing I never knew: Canada's Military forces was made completely out of volunteers!

Now, I sit here and imagine the movies I have seen, Saving Private Ryan, A Bridge too Far, All Quiet on the Front, and I think about how without these people I would be a GERMAN! Instead of speaking Dutch, a language that I am proud of, I would be speaking deutsch. Not that there's anything wrong with the language, but I'm dutch.

Anyway, the fact that these men fought and died for us without having to makes me not only love the Canadian people more, but also give me hope that there are good people out there afterall. In the paper we see nothing but hate. Heck, the winner of the World Press Photo, is a photo of a child who died of malnutrician and his burial. We see so much hatred in the world it is no wonder that we enjoy watching movies with bloodshed, because there is always a sense of hope lodged into them.

I don't think that we actually think about what goes on during war, the mental problems and the suffering people go through during a time of despiration. In war it just doubles. In history books we read the statistics and we see the pictures, but how many of us can even accurately imagine the emotions. Do you think you can feel what a young undertrained soldier who's hungry and cold is feeling. I don't pretend to be able to. I have never been in that situation. I have never had to be in a situation (thankfully) where I'm so scared that anything that passes me laster than a turtle causes me to wet my pants.

For years I have mearly been thankful for the Canadians for liberating us, as you coud ask alecia, but now, due to this one unknown soldier, I must be thankful to every individual Canadian during this time, for his aid in freeing my nation, and for returning the environment to that of peace where generations after them can live without fear.