REMEMBERING: MAY 2005 by Marilyn Snyder
Decorated
This old gent, a Canadian veteran of World War II, was part of our group as we visited Holland to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Canada's liberation of the Netherlands. Much decorated, this man, like so many others, is only recognized when he wears his medals.
Mrs. Jones, a widow since she was twenty-one, stands before her husband's grave at Bergen Op Zoom, The Netherlands, weeping. He died liberating Holland more than sixty years ago. This is the first time she has come. She stands alone. No children or grandchildren to share her grief: 60thAnniversary of the end of WWII in Europe. Our tour leader, Jerry Van Dyke of Cambridge, ON was born in The Netherlands. He came to Canada as a young boy in 1954. He and Mrs. Jones place an armful of flowers at the cenotaph and stand back, remembering.
