Last week we visited the Reichswald Forest Cemetery in Germany and the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands. In these two Commonwealth War Cemeteries, less than 20 kilometres apart, lie the remains of nearly one tenth of all of Canada’s Second World War service dead.
There are 7692 graves in the Reichswald Forest Cemetery, over half (3986) are of airmen. Of those, over 700 were Canadians in Bomber Command downed over northwestern Germany in the years 1941-45. All were brought here from their initial burial locations scattered across northwest Europe where they first fell. The cemetery is located within the Reichswald forest, a place of beauty, serenity, and silence. On entering this cemetery in the morning I was suddenly fixed to the spot, overwhelmed by the sheer number of graves and the enormity of the loss and sacrifice they represent.
We went to the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery late that afternoon. Over 2600 men are buried there, about ninety per cent of them Canadian soldiers killed in the last months of the war in 1944-45. Although many of them died on the German side of the border, the Canadian Army sought to ensure that none would be buried in German soil. The Groesbeek cemetery is likewise a sombre place. The grounds were donated by the Government of the Netherlands on behalf of the Dutch people, who to this day do not forget. Neither should we.
Peter Usher, Clayton
