Hundreds of visitors attend commemoration at the Canadian war cemetery in Groesbeek

Hundreds of visitors attended the commemoration ceremony at the Canadian war cemetery in Groesbeek on Friday. Around 20 Canadian war veterans were present at the ceremony. The ceremony began with a band of bagpipers. They also closed the ceremony.

Over 2,300 Canadians who died during the Second World War, which ended 80 years ago, are buried at the cemetery. In addition, there are a total of a hundred unidentified remains.

The cemetery was very warm during the ceremony. An ANP photographer saw that the veterans were moved to an area with shade halfway through the ceremony. A bagpiper became unwell due to the sun, and visitors were given bottles of water to help against the heat.

One of the people to give a speech during the ceremony was 101-year-old veteran Major General Richard Rohmer. He reported to the Air Force when he was 18 years old. That was in 1942. “There was a war, and I wanted to be a part of it,” he explained as his reason for joining up. By November 1944, he had completed 135 missions as a scout.

The commemoration was organized by the foundation Faces to Graves and the Canadian government.