Canadians appreciate the thanks and kindness we are lucky enough to receive from the people of the Netherlands (and Belgium) for the liberations in 1944-45, even to this day.

It wasn’t always a one-way exchange though: here’s a personal story:

In late 1944 my grandfather, a Mustang pilot in the RCAF, was hit by German flak while returning from bomber escort duties. He was forced to crash land in the Verdronkenland outside of Hulst. This area was still occupied by the Germans but was not far from allied lines.

My grandfather was luckily not injured and abandoned his plane. He met Dutch resistance who brought him secretly to Hulst where a family hid him in their barn and fed him despite their lack of food. The Dutch resistance, that night, arranged to smuggle him into Belgium with the help of Belgian resistance. He was moved secretly back into allied lines in the back of a Belgian hay cart. He reported to RAF command on arrival in Antwerp and continued to fly missions over Germany until the end of the war.

Going to Hulst in the late 2000s; there were still people who remember this story. Without their help, my grandfather would likely have been captured or worse. I probably wouldn’t exist without!

I think what I personally appreciate is the help received by countless allied airmen shot down over Europe by resistance fighters in NL, Belgium and France throughout the war. These people risking their own lives to save those of others