Re: History
Kees Vanderheyden (keesv@sympatico.ca)
Sun, 14 Jun 1998 21:06:25 -0400
Dear Simon,
I'd be glad to help you, but my knowledge about the themes that interest
you are very limited. I do remember Arnhem and Nijmegen, as I went to
college in Nijmegen, just across the famous bridge from Arnhem. The two
cities were still totally in ruins and we would tiptoe through the ruins
across the bridge that was saved by a courageous young Dutchman. With my
classmates I also visited the military cemetary in Groesbeek where we
would try to decifer the numerous inscriptions on the tombstones and
figure out who were the Americans, the Brits and the Canadians who gave
their lives for us. I still feel moved by the memory of those silent
pilgrimages. I also remember a glider from the Marketgarden invasion
force that crashlanded in our village, Oisterwijk, in september 44 and
whose 5 occupants were buried in our cemetary along side a row of German
dead. It was my first meeting with the death of friendly soldiers.
Kees Vanderheyden
The Dutch Schoolboy.