Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson
Speech on the Occasion of a Ceremony of Remembrance at Holten Canadian War Cemetery
Holten, Wednesday, May 4, 2005
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As Governor General of Canada, and Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Forces, I have come on behalf of my fellow citizens to this hallowed ground. It is a solemn privilege for all of us to represent Canada here at Holten. We are grateful, too, to be joined so feelingly by our hosts in remembering Canadians that were killed in battle. 1355 of our countrymen lie buried here.
During the past year, we have honoured the memories of our fallen soldiers at ceremonies in Canada, in France, in Italy and now in the Netherlands. For much of the world, this series of Second World War anniversaries has been a potent reminder of the brutal costs of that war – and of the causes that made it necessary to fight it. They remind us of the need for vigilance in guarding and building peace.
In Canada, we have declared 2005 to be the Year of the Veteran. It is a most fitting time to celebrate, and to listen to, these people who took on tasks and responsibilities that we can barely imagine. They volunteered for this hellish duty, volunteered to fight for the freedom of countries that few of them had ever seen, that some had barely heard of.
I am glad that there are so many young people involved in today's ceremony. Children and teenagers are willing to learn of these things, and now is the time. Many veterans were numbed into silence by their experiences, or wished to shield their families from them. Now, though, these stories are being told to grandchildren, to great-grandchildren, to all who will listen. Today, in the faces of Canadian veterans and in the watchful eyes of children, the drama of remembrance is played out once again.
The Canadian and Allied breakout from the Normandy coast slowed agonizingly at the Scheldt River estuary. To them fell the awesome task, under the most miserable of conditions, of clearing the way to the port of Antwerp, which was so critical to victory. Over 12,000 Allies were wounded or killed, nearly 6400 of them Canadian. The next objective was the Rhine River, finally reached in March 1945 at the cost of over 5300 more Canadian casualties.
Our soldiers found fierce German resistance, a famished and desperate Dutch population, and a ravaged landscape. In her poem "A Grandmother Remembers Her Wars", the Dutch-Canadian writer Diane Brebner speaks of what our soldiers must also have witnessed: "caves dug in the dikes for shelter, dinners of tulip bulbs, frightened grandmas...reading 17th century bibles. / The bombs [that] came [like] strange biblical birds...[that] blew in windows,...exploded the orchards, and [the] oyster beds, and the great cities..."
The 2nd Canadian Corps, which had led the campaigns for the Scheldt and the Rhine, was then joined by the 1st, which had fought long and hard in the Italian campaign. These two divisions were united for the first time under a Canadian commander, and they completed the liberation of the Netherlands. It was a truly Canadian force that helped the Netherlands to find itself again, and this is carved into the histories of our two countries.
A significant part of our national identity – our sense of purpose and accomplishment – was forged in the Second World War. The victory of our Canadian Forces, and the acceptance by a Canadian of the German surrender, have been proud moments in our history. But we emphasize that this victory is meaningful because it was achieved for the people of the Netherlands, who had suffered so profoundly under tyranny. It means that our national histories, our national destinies, are bound together.
Canadians are humbled by the expressions of gratitude that were showered upon our servicemen 60 years ago, and which the people of the Netherlands have continued to offer year after year. The Dutch people should know, too, as you also celebrate the 25th year of Queen Beatrix's reign, that Canadians cherish our ties with your royal family. We were proud to welcome them in the darkest of times, and delighted when an Ottawa hospital room became Dutch soil at the birth of Princess Margriet. We still receive a generous gift of tulips each year, and this expression of friendship has grown into one of our capital city's great festivals.
The graves before us, though, call up more sombre reflections for Canadians. Veterans, you remember the struggle, and why you had to make this trek to the Netherlands once again. You had promises to keep, and you have. Along with your fallen comrades, you shouldered the burden of war and paid the price for peace. As the prophet Isaiah said, you "gave beauty for ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of the spirit of despair".
On behalf of all Canadians, and before our great friends here in the Netherlands, I offer a humble tribute to you and to your compatriots who died too soon. You have our greatest respect. You have the most profound and enduring gratitude of two nations. And we will never forget the debt that we owe.
