Day 28 - Sept 24, 2017

Day 28 - Sept 24, 2017:  Delfzjil to Paris

Note: Edits and photos to follow.
On the way from  the far northeast corner of the Netherlands to Paris we stopped at the Holten Canadian War Cemetery.

Holten Canadian War Cemetery.
1394 burials, 1355 Canadians
This cemetery was under repair which indicated it will be in great shape for yet another generation.
Those soldiers buried here were the ones killed in the Netherlands and Germany during the final stages of the war or after the war had ended. We couldn't help but think that some of the soldiers buried here from the 1st Division would have fought almost two years since the landings in Sicily - the many battles they were involved in, the many horrific experiences they witnessed - only to die within days of the end of the war.
We had both noticed that this cemetery contained more recipients of honours than any other cemetery.
One woman with the Woman's Service Corp is laid to rest here. Sadly enough she was married at 10:00 in the morning of 15 April 1946 and died at 1700 in a Jeep accident. She is laid to rest next to her husband AND she is the only woman buried in any of the CWGC cemetery. A few of the men buried here were killed in 1942 and 1943 - shot down during air raids presumably. 
Another anomaly that we both noticed are the number of visitors in the cemetery. The cemetery is situated in a popular park and at one point we discovered close to 30 people inside honouring our soldiers.
****

Holten Cemetery Information Center.
This Center situated right next to the cemetery is designed to educate the public on the World War II and the roll the Canadians played in the liberation of the Netherlands. The center has terrific information boards and movie reels from the day.

Then it's on to Paris to drop off the rental car and prepare for tomorrow's flight to Poland! 

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