Forty years may seem a long time to you but it’s yesterday to some …
Thirty years may seem a long time to you but it’s yesterday to me …
Thirty years ago my husband, baby daughter and I moved to Holland for work. We brought our station wagon complete with Ontario plates — Canadian flag affixed. That year marked 40 years after the liberation of Holland by Canadian troops and Allied forces.
While leaving a grocery store one day, I arrived at our car to be greeted by an elderly gentleman who thanked me over and over again for giving him back his country. I was humbled and embarrassed and said I was only the granddaughter of a Canadian who had fought for the Dutch. He still wished to thank me, eventually asking me if I knew a certain soldier from Calgary. I wished I did but unfortunately had to tell him no.
Thirty years later, last month, in Ottawa, I met a 93-year-old gentleman who told me he fought through Groningen Holland in 1945 in liberation of the Dutch. His Regiment: The 45th Calgary Highlanders. His name is Lloyd Swick. He’s responsible for the Animals in Service of War Monument. He was 19 when he fought to liberate Holland. Just a teenager like so many.
Then, last Friday — also 30 years later — in Ottawa I met another gentleman who told me he too fought through Groningen Holland in 1945 in liberation of the Dutch. His Regiment: The Royal Canadian Regiment. His name is John Preece.
They fought alongside each other with the same determined goal in front of them. I don’t know if they’ve ever met. I hope to get them together and maybe, just perhaps, I’ll hear a few stories — enough to understand the true sacrifice they offered of themselves those few days in Groningen in 1945, 70 years ago.
I’ve finally been able to tell them each, myself, of the Dutch gentleman I met all those years ago standing by my car, waiting for me to return. I hope they understand the gift they gave of themselves in service to our country.
Lest we forget.
Heather Gulyas, Ottawa
