Thank you Canada;Dutch cap off more than a week of gratitude with Sunday parade
Posted May 9, 2010 11:58 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
APELDOORN, Netherlands – The Dutch are giving one last thanks to their Canadian liberators.
Spectators have jammed the streets of the tiny Dutch community of Apeldoorn to show their gratitude to the veterans who freed them from the Nazi occupation.
The parade caps a week of ceremonies held to mark the 65th anniversary of Victory in Europe day.
Veterans travelled the parade route in restored military vehicles from the war while observers applauded them, handing out flowers and cards.
Fifty-two members of the Canadian Forces took part.
The parade is held every five years, but it seems this year might be the last_the youngest veteran is in his 80s.
Apeldoorn was liberated by Canadian soldiers in April 1945.
The operation resulted in 506 Canadian casualties but some 2,500 German soldiers were captured.
The liberation of the Netherlands was one of the most significant events leading to the end of the war.
More than one million Canadians served in the Second World War.
