I’ve been interested in the Second World War since learning about it more in depth way back in History 12 (shoutout to Mr. Lepore for being the BEST teacher!) One of the places I’ve been wanting to go for awhile was the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery located just outside Nijmegen, Netherlands. Coen and I were figuring out where to go for a little getaway so I mentioned this and we decided to venture that way. It was 100% worth it!
The Cemetery is amazingly well taken care of. The grounds are beautiful; gorgeous flowers of so many varieties surround the headstones and there were SO many butterflies during our visit! There are 2610 Commonwealth graves, 2338 of whom are Canadians which is the largest number of Canadian war casualties at a Dutch cemetery. There are also nine graves belonging to fallen soldiers/airmen of other nationalities. A Memorial bears the names of more than 1000 Commonwealth whose graves are unknown. (Commonwealth War Graves, Veteran Affairs Canada)
I admit I cried a few times during our visit. I spent a lot of time thinking about how grateful I am for those who fought for our freedom including both of my grandpa’s who fortunately made it home. Seeing so many graves marked with 18, 19, 20 years old, I thought about how I’ve lived for twice the amount of time some of these men and women. I also found it incredibly sad that these soldiers and airmen never made it back to Canada so they could be buried at home.
I definitely recommend visiting the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery to honour and remember those who fought for us and didn’t make it home during the Second World War. Lest We Forget.
Life of a Canadian girl 