My wife and I recently returned from a battlefield/memorial tour of France, Belgium and even found time to return to the Lahr, Germany area for a few days. I call it our Walking in the Footsteps of Heroes Tour. What a breathtaking and humbling experience. A pilgrimage I firmly believe that every Canadian, not just we veterans, should make to educate oneself about the events of the First World War and the Second World War, and the sacrifices our fallen heroes made to win Canadians the freedom so many take for granted.
We visited 56 Commonwealth cemeteries, a French cemetery at the Dunes, near Dunkirk, and the American cemetery near Omaha Beach. We were very surprised to see that in some cases, there are two and even three names on a single headstone. The Tyne Cot cemetery and the Etaples Cemetery were disturbing due to their sheer size as well as the names of those with no known resting place.
We also visited more than a dozen memorials, including the Vimy Ridge Memorial, St. Julien (the Brooding Soldier), all five of the Newfoundland Memorials on the Caribou Trail, the Thiepval Memorial, etc. Of all of the memorials I have every witnessed, the Vimy Ridge Memorial is the most impressive, in my humble opinion.
I donned my Legion uniform for a photo during the Menin Gate evening ceremony at Ypres (leper in Belgium), at the Vimy Ridge Memorial and on a sand bar at Juno Beach. A British veteran actually came out onto the sand bar to shake my hand and thank me for my service, a very touching moment. Then we had to roll up our pant legs, remove our shoes and socks, as the tide had arrived and isolated the sand bar from the beach.
The tour guides at Vimy, Beaumont-Hamel and the Juno Centre were absolutely first rate. They were very knowledgeable, accommodating and respectful. The drive along the Normandy coast from Dunkirk to Cherbourg, holds many sites, museums and picturesque views.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission does a superb job of keeping even the smallest, out of the way, cemeteries in pristine condition. We made a point of signing every visitor log in the Cemetery Registry we encountered. We had contemplated bypassing the New British Cemetery only to change our minds and find that 100 per cent of the fallen in this resting place are Canadian heroes.
I strongly encourage all Canadians to put a trip to the battlefields of Europe high on their bucket list. Not just during this 2014-2018, 100th anniversary commemoration period. We were treated with the utmost respect wherever we travelled, making it a trip we will treasure for the remainder of or lives, and would gladly do again.
Doug and Leah Harbak, St. Albert
