Remembrance Day

Back in person, but without Norman Kirby

It is good to have our Remembrance Day ceremony again this year in person. Sadly in our village it is without Norman Kirby who passed away in early 2021. Norman landed on Juno Beach in June of 1944 and fought all the way through Belgium and The Netherlands to see the full liberation of Europe in Germany in May 1945. It shaped him for life and over the twenty years we got to know him he helped shaped us. Although born long after the war, it is hard to describe how the allied liberation of Europe impacted our daily lives growing up in the 70s and 80s with parents and grandparents that had lived through the war years. All that came back to me when after moving to Canada we got to know Norman.

Norman’s stories were endless and he managed to come up with heartbreaking episodes every Remembrance Day when he spoke. One of the more emotional anecdotes was about how at one point in the fall of 1944 he and a fellow soldier were isolated on the frontlines in Belgium near the Schelde estuary. They had come under intense fire from a few nearby German positions and they were pounded relentlessly, holed up in a pit with nowhere to escape. It was a dreadful and near-death experience: the blasts went on for many hours, deafening and scaring Norm and his partner with little room to fight back or retreat. It was as if the end was near for them. Somehow both men escaped from this hell and Norm’s partner had lost it completely, broke down and refused to fight on any longer. As a result this man was arrested by military police and put in prison, this of course was the typical punishment in those days for enlisted men refusing to fight. When Norm told this story some 70 years later he choked up and expressed his extreme sadness of what had happened on that frontline. The other guy he said, simply could no longer fight or engage and it was just unfair to have him arrested for that. Norm was acutely aware of his partners’ mental and physical suffering and he simply could not fault him for that. Norm said:” “I wish I could have spoken out on his behalf, but we were very young guys and I just could not do that”.

Norman was nineteen then and the fact he carried it with him and shared it with tears in his eyes seventy years on gave us some insight into the man and his moral instincts.

That was also at play when he met Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. The encounter was not just the standard handshake you see in the picture. Norman had a number of poorly handled veterans affairs issues on his mind that were to be addressed directly as they needed to be resolved. To air the issue directly with the head of government was an opportunity not to be missed. What for Trudeau was a standard photo opportunity of meeting the veterans was for Norman the moment to tell the prime minister what he should really be looking at. Norman actually gave the prime minister a piece of his mind.

We honoured Norman on May 5, 2020 when the world celebrated the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. Because of Covid all celebrations were cancelled and Norm stayed home where we paid tribute to him. The Dutch consul-general came out as did many neighbours and friends. We were told to take it easy with Norman that evening, he had seriously injured himself when working on his boat, but he was as strong as always and kept going.

Impeccably dressed we would see him around driving around our small town, always keen to have a chat and let you know he was doing well. He was there and in a way he was always there for us which makes the ceremony today without him so much harder. Norman Kirby was a true hero. We will miss him and never forget him.