Remembrance Day

MiloMilo
in Off Topic Lounge
Today is Remembrance Day in the Netherlands. It is the day the Dutch commemerate the dead who gave their lives to liberate the country during WW2. School children all over the nation will be attending services in tribute to the fallen. And, in places like Groesbeek and Holten, the children will be tending the graves of the soldiers buried there, clearing weeds, planting flowers, and laying wreaths. 65 years ago, Canadian soldiers freed their nation, and saved the people from starvation during the "Hunger Winter".

And so, as the child of Dutch immigrants who grew up during the war, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those members of the Canadian Armed Forces, past and present, for the sacrifices made in the service of this great country. Greater love hath no man . . .

Comments

  • cadillaccadillac
    There are two kinds of people I can't stand in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures, and the Dutch.
  • MiloMilo
    Thanks for the bump, Caddie. Now, kindly make your way back under the bridge, okay?
  • MiloMilo
    Decent interview here, that touches on the basics . . .

    CBC News - Canada - How Canadian forces brought 'sweetest of springs' to Netherlands
  • MiloMilo
    And another . . .

    War-time Canadians honoured by Dutch- Politics - Canoe.ca
  • philliiveyphilliivey
    cadillac wrote: »
    There are two kinds of people I can't stand in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures, and the Dutch.[/QUOTE


    Verbod
  • philliiveyphilliivey
    Dank u mijn medehollander.

    Hoop dat u een goede dag hebt
  • cadillaccadillac
    philliivey wrote: »
    cadillac wrote: »
    There are two kinds of people I can't stand in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures, and the Dutch.[/QUOTE


    Verbod

    Quoted Before Editing


    lol Dutch people.
  • MiloMilo
    At 8:00 p.m. local time, there is a nationwide 2 minutes of silence. Everything stops, and I mean everything . . . traffic, sports, everything.

    After the 2 minutes have passed, flags across the country, which have been at half staff since dawn, are raised up, and the sombre mood of the nation shifts from Remembrance to one of joy as tomorrow is Liberation Day. I guarantee that no Canadian in Holland will be paying for their beers tomorrow.
  • HVEEPOKERHVEEPOKER
    :biggrin2:My Grandfather was a soldier in WW2 and if he were alive today Milo, He would shake your hand and say you are welcome.
    A lot of people have no clue what price we and our ancestors have paid for freedom, Or the cost to help others enjoy those same freedoms that we take for granted.
  • JohnnieHJohnnieH
    HVEEPOKER wrote: »
    :biggrin2:My Grandfather was a soldier in WW2 and if he were alive today Milo, He would shake your hand and say you are welcome.
    A lot of people have no clue what price we and our ancestors have paid for freedom, Or the cost to help others enjoy those same freedoms that we take for granted.

    Milo and I make sure that CPF is always remembering our Canadian heros.
  • MiloMilo
    Hell, they're the only reason I am here.
  • SuitedPairSuitedPair
    Glad you picked up the Dutch day of remembrance. They remember our war dead far better than we do. There are countless Canadian lads buried over there as our boys fought to free them. Every year they send a stack of tulips over....this is why Ottawa is always awash in them.
  • MiloMilo
    Actually, the Tulips started as a form of gratitude for the birth of the Princess Royal during WW2. Canada sheltered the Dutch Royal family after they fled the Occupation. The Queen (Juliana, I think) was pregnant at the time. Pregnancies eventually end, and there was concern over the legitimacy of the child's succession if it were to be born on foreign soil. The Canadian government met in special session, passing an Act of Parliament to declare the ob/gyn portion of the Ottawa hosptial to be sovereign Dutch soil for the duration of the birth. Beatrix was born on Dutch soil, and all was right with the world. The Dutch send 100,000 Tulip bulbs every year to commemerate Canada's generosity. On the 50th anniversary of the Liberation, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (the Princess born in Ottawa), graciously returned the favour, declaring that Holten National Military Cemetery, as well as Groesbeek Military Cemetery, would thereafter be transferred, territorially, to Canada. The Dutch maintain the grounds, but the land our boys rest in is home, not to mention hallowed, soil.

    Here endeth the lesson . . .
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