Pieter with hotel manager Kaisha Talley on the right, and assistant manager Michel Settlemire on the left.  (Photo credit: Sandra Wallis)

March 21, 2020. When our documentary ‘He Died That We Might Live’ was made available on YouTube, we sent the link to people who had donated towards the memorial panel that was placed in Wons, The Netherlands on October 12, 2019.  (See “He Died That We Might Live” Video Is Now On YouTube) Some of the donors were our snowbird friends.  When we were together this winter in Florida, several asked for more information on the events in The Netherlands, and as more snowbirds learned about this event we found ourselves telling the story over and over again.

On February 20 we were invited to talk about the story behind the documentary and to show the documentary in our snowbird hotel.

Flyer advertising the presentation.

While there were a few Canadian snowbirds from Ontario and BC, the majority of the snowbirds that attended were American.  We were heartened and delighted at the appreciative and supportive response to a Canadian/Dutch story by our American friends.  The story of Halifax L9561 has no boundaries!

Pieter, standing at far left, during the Snowbird Speaker presentation on the documentary.  (Photo credit: Sandra Wallis)

Towards the end of the presentation, Pieter told the audience about the Faces To Graves project in The Netherlands, which is looking for photos and stories about all WW2 Canadian war dead buried in Dutch cemeteries. He also mentioned that a similar project was underway at the American War Cemetery in Margraten.

It was a fun afternoon, sharing our story and research.  Afterwards, Mary Ann Greiner was kind enough to email us, saying “Thank you for all the work you did to honor these men! What a wonderful accomplishment! Your presentation was very moving and informative. There are so many stories from the war that we don’t know. Thank you for the research you did to bring this story to life. It was a most memorable afternoon. I look forward to reading more on your work on your blog.”

Pieter is still looking for photos and information on the names listed on the Cenotaph outside the Borden-Carleton Legion.  If you have an item to share please contact Pieter at dariadv@yahoo.ca or comment on the blog.

© Daria Valkenburg