Remembrance Day
A few weeks ago I visited the Canadian War Cemetery in Holten, The Netherlands. There are 1,394 fallen soldiers buried here. If you walk through the rows of graves and take in the names and dates there is some commonality. The men were young, yes, but what is telling is that most of them died in April 1945, weeks short of the end of the war.
There were no familiar names there for me, but I knew someone who fought alongside these brave men. He once showed me a group photo taken not that far from where this cemetery now is. It is from the early months of 1945, showing him standing among his fellow fighters, all in uniform, all smiling. He then proceeded to tell me that most of the men in the photo were killed in a matter of hours after that photo was taken. The man who told me that story and many more was the late Norman Kirby, one of Canada’s most decorated veterans.
There can be no doubt that many of the men on Holten Cemetery were known to Norman, in all likelihood he fought alongside a number of them. They lost their lives at an early age, but Norman was given a long life that ended in early 2021 when he was well into his nineties. He kept telling the stories and kept remembrance as a focal point of his life. The day of November 11 was not always easy for him. But he showed up to share the stories, in particular with young people, and to remember the men that were not given the chance to return home to pick up their lives. They died for something. And Norman Kirby lived for something. I miss the man, but treasure having met him and known him.
So on this Remembrance Day, please stop for a moment and reflect on their sacrifice and what it means for the freedom we have enjoyed ever since the end of that gruesome war. The freedom and wealth we enjoy now are not a given, no, if you look at world history it is safe to say they are an anomaly. So we remember, but we must ever be vigilant to thwart the forces of darkness and authoritarianism. We owe it to the men that died in the battle and we owe to ourselves and our children.
Thank you Pieter!
My father served in the RCAF in the UK during WW2. Sadly many, many boys, men and women were lost in defending liberty and freedoms that we all enjoy today. We must never forget to pay our deep respects for the immeasurable sacrifices made.
Tomorrow will be an interesting day in Canada and the UK. We will see in 2023 if any disrespectful “citizens” attempt to dishonour what so many brave people sacrificed and died for. Lest we forget.🙏
My grandfather was on June beach on June 6. My father served in Korea and on several peace keeping missions. Today though I want to remember the many people who served in the difficult and long mission in Afghanistan.