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Inspired by Holland

Heroes Remember

Transcript
Integration had come in and I was posted to Europe to Allied Forces Central Europe in air operations, of all things. This is an armour corps officer trained on the agony wagons all of a sudden ended up in a Europe in air operations working for an air general in Allied Forces Central Europe. It was a very enjoyable couple of years. It was just after they moved into Holland and it gave me a chance to see some of the places and visit some of the places where Canadians had served. I think it also probably gave me a better understanding of what the Canadians did in World War Two, because at that time serving in Holland was a real eye-opener. Come May the 5th, come Remembrance Day, it just was unbelievable the way people turned out to pay their respects to the Canadian soldiers that went through. You’d be driving up a road and you’d see some flowers on the side of a road and you’d stop and ask about them, and you’d find out that the family knew the guy - usually Canadian - who was killed there and that’s the date he was killed and they put flowers there in memory of it. It was a... humbling experience. It probably, more than anything, drove me to become a better officer once I saw how people respected what our people had done in World War Two. And I can remember, I remember going to a ceremony at one of the graveyards, and it was a cold day and it was wet and it was a... I was there with the ambassador and the Canadian General. There was a whole, masses of the local people were in the cemetery. As I say it was cold, it was wet and there was a little girl there. There were flowers on all the Canadian graves and there was a little girl there with a bundle of flowers. And I, she looked, she was shivering she was so cold and I remember going over and saying, you know, “You must, why don’t you take my coat, you know. I really as a Canadian want to thank you for coming out.” She looked at me and she said, “What I’m doing is nothing compared to what he did for me.” And I’ve never forgotten that.
Description

Mr. Henry discusses his deployment to Holland and being inspired by the reverence with which the Dutch treated Canadian Veterans.

William Henry

William Henry was born September 2, 1939 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. His father was a Second World War Veteran, which inspired Mr. Henry to join the School Cadet Corps. He received officer training and was commissioned in the 17th Recce, PEI Regiment. Upon completing his degree at Dalhousie University, he was re-commissioned in the Royal Canadian Dragoons. Mr. Henry eventually joined the Lord Strathcona’s Horse, attaining the rank of Major. His tours of duty included Cyprus, writing the orders of occupation for Sinai, and acting as an observer in Lebanon, a role he found difficult given his training as a military strategist.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
2:44
Person Interviewed:
William Henry
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Branch:
Army
Units/Ship:
Lord Strathcona’s Horse
Rank:
Major
Occupation:
Observer, Controller

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