The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, November 6, 2015 | 16 In the Netherlands, people will never forget by Marianne Hawthorne Special to the Beaver I n February of this year, my sister Renate and I decided we would travel to the Netherlands in May to visit family and friends. The timing of this trip coincided with the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands from the Nazis by Canadian soldiers. While we had a number of memorable experiences in Holland, the ceremonies and celebrations of this 70th anniversary unexpectedly turned out to be the highlight of our trip. My sister and I were both born in the Netherlands in the early 1940s and had immigrated to Canada in 1952 with our parents and five other siblings, eventually settling in Oakville. The Second World War and the occupation of Holland by the Nazis had been a challenging time for our parents and they actively sought the opportunity to immigrate to Canada. Once settled in Oakville, they began a fresh new successful chapter in their lives as Canadian citizens. Our immediate families are now, byand-large, Canadian, but our early roots were in Holland and members of our extended family remain living there. We keep in touch via the Internet and phone calls, but from time to time, we visit back and forth as well. En route as planned, we arrived in Amsterdam May 4, where a large crowd had gathered in the centre of the city for a memorial service. May 4 is a National Day of Remembrance dedicated to honour those who fought for freedom and for those who lost their lives. A host of dignitaries, including the King and Queen of the Netherlands (as well as former Prime Minister Stephen Harper) gave stirring speeches and laid wreaths of remembrance. The ceremony is similar to our Nov. 11 Remembrance Day ceremonies. It was a grave and moving ceremony that day in the square while my sister and I stood quietly and proudly held our Canadian flag. Flags throughout Amsterdam and the entire country were flown at half-mast. May 5, the following day, was a National Day of Celebration of the Liberation from the Nazis. A distinct change in atmosphere occurred as the whole country erupted in celebrations of joy. Flags everywhere were hoisted high. Freedom festivals sprung up in every province, including the Province of Drenthe, where we were born. The mood of the entire country was joyful as we went on our way to visiting our cousin in Niyverdal, a town where he and his family live. Driving into Niyverdal, we were greeted on the main street by the mayor and other dignitaries housed in temporary marquées that had been erected close to a special Memorial War Museum. We were invited into the museum where we were asked to sign their guestbook and found mementos to bring home to Canada. It began to Pictured above, a large crowd gathered in Amsterdam to mark May 4 as a National Day of Remembrance, where official ceremonies were shown on a large screen in the square. Pictured below, Oakville resident Marianne Hawthorne, far right, and her sister Renate, on May 5 as they arrived in Niyverdal, a town in the Province of Drenthe, where they were born, as a celebration marking the Liberation of Holland by Canadian soldiers took place. | photos courtesy Marianne Hawthorne anticipated some special formal celebrations and were undoubtedly aware of the respect and appreciation for the Canadian soldiers, we could not have anticipated such deep and abiding affection. We resolved to take that message, a heartfelt momento, back to Canada for our Remembrance Day. Oakville youths had participated in the Second World War with a disproportionately high number of volunteers for a small Canadian town. Former Oakville Mayor Harry Barrett, a Second World War veteran and dear friend, presently 90 years young, was among one of those brave young men who volunteered as a teenager. The youngest soldier in his unit, Harry and his artillery unit liberated the Town of Gronigen. Imagine... young men from a small town in Canada coming to the rescue of the largest city in the north of Holland, across an ocean, in a foreign country. It is the stuff of legends and heroes! Therefore from my perspective and experience, this wonderful trip with my sister translates into one of those special teaching moments and situations for me to share with my sons, their families and the Oakville community because the message had become so clear to us. Advancing age and years leave us but few opportunities to truly express our gratitude and thanks personally to the surviving soldiers of that terrible war. ··· On this, the 70th Anniversary Year of the Liberation of the Netherlands and the end of the Second World War... for our Canadian friends as we commemorate our Remembrance Day on Nov 11... I convey those special personal warm and touching words told to my sister and myself by the mayor of Nyverdal. How very much the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers for freedom have meant to a grateful nation.... the Netherlands.... and to this day have been remembered, honoured and have not been forgotten... though 70 years have passed. -- Mrs. Marianne (Van Setten) Hawthorne, Oakville dawn on us that we would be bringing home to Canada a great deal more than mere mementos. The marquée was covered in flags, mostly Canadian. Coffee and pastry were being served to visitors and townspeople. In conversation with the mayor, she suggested we tell our "Canadian friends" that "even after 70 years, the citizens of the Netherlands will never forget their Canadian liberators and will be forever grateful." Deeply touched and while visiting with our cousin Robert later that day, we recounted with him our experiences of the past two days. He shared his memories about the Second World War and expressed very similar positive convictions about the "Canadian liberators." As we continued to tour the Netherlands for the next several days, that same warm message resonated everywhere. Signs along roadways read, "Thank you Canadians" and flags had signs posted beside them with words encased in hearts, "We will never forget". This was a heartwarming and certainly unexpected experience for us. While we had