May 18, 2023. In 2021, to commemorate the Anniversary of the Liberation of The Netherlands, photos were placed at more than 1,600 graves at the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek for three weeks.  The event was so successful that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which oversees the cemetery, gave permission for photos to be placed by the graves every two years. 

…The Faces Of Groesbeek Exhibition 2023 includes almost 2,000 photos…

This year, The Faces Of Groesbeek Exhibition runs from April 30 to May 21, 2023, with almost 2,000 photos, just over 350 more than 2 years ago!  Photos are printed onto an aluminum backing, making them impervious to rain, and reusable.

The many volunteers from Faces To Graves Foundation Groesbeek, of which Alice van Bekkum is the Chair, worked tirelessly to make this exhibition possible.  They also organized the Liberation Day commemoration events. 

Pieter has been involved in finding photos of Canadians who are buried in all three Canadian War Cemeteries in The Netherlands since 2014, with many of their stories told on this blog. 

…4 Indigenous Soldiers Commemorated…

In Part 1, graves and photos of soldiers from Prince Edward Island were featured. In this posting, the graves and photos of four Indigenous soldiers are featured. 

Tom CHASKE of the Long Plain First Nation in Manitoba served with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles.  On December 12, 1944, he was part of a crew of soldiers being transported to repair a road in The Netherlands.  Unfortunately, the vehicle they were in slipped off a dike and flipped over into a flooded field, pinning them under the vehicle. Tom and six other soldiers drowned that day.  He was 24 years old.

Tom’s name was on the cemetery’s photo wish list, so when Pieter was interviewed by Kevin Rollason of the Winnipeg Free Press, about his research in finding photos of soldiers from Manitoba who are buried in The Netherlands, Tom was one of the 12 names mentioned.  The article, ‘A name without a face’, ran online on November 4, 2022 and in the print edition on November 5, 2022.  You can read the article at https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2022/11/04/a-name-without-a-face .

Up to now, a newspaper image from Tom’s obituary in the Winnipeg Free Press is all that has been received. 

Maxwell Warren KING, of Christian Island, Ontario, was serving with the Irish Regiment of Canada when he was killed in The Netherlands on April 16, 1945, at the age of 24. Maxwell was a member of what is now the Wasauksing First Nation (formerly Parry Island First Nation). His story will be told in a future blog posting.

John ‘Jack’ Richard MARACLE of Midland, Ontario, had deep Mohawk roots on his paternal side.  His paternal grandfather was born on the Tyendinaga Reserve in Ontario, and his paternal grandmother on the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve, also in Ontario. 

Jack was serving with the 6^th Canadian Armoured Regiment when he was hit in the abdomen by a bullet from machine gun fire on March 5, 1945, during Operation Blockbuster in Germany, and died on March 12, 1945, at the age of 20. You can read his story at https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2022/07/17/on-the-war-memorial-trail-remembering-ww2-soldier-john-jack-richard-maracle/

George TAYLOR of the Curve Lake First Nations Reserve near Peterborough, Ontario, was serving with the Royal Canadian Artillery, 2 Medium Regiment when he accidentally died, aged 25, on June 17, 1945, due to asphyxia (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphyxia) in The Netherlands, while asleep in his army tent. His story will be told in an upcoming blog posting.

Thank you to Alice van Bekkum and Ad and Noor Scheepers for their kindness in taking these photos. Ad spoke for all of us when he sent his photos: “…May the pictures give comfort to the families….”

In Part 3, the graves and photos of soldiers from Nova Scotia whose families contacted us for the Atlantic Canada Remembers series in 2021 will be featured.

If you have a photo of a soldier buried at the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek or one of the other cemeteries in The Netherlands, Pieter encourages you to email him at memorialtrail@gmail.com, or comment on the blog. 

© Daria Valkenburg

…Previous postings about The Faces Of Groesbeek Exhibition at the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek…

• Ralph Schurman BOULTER, George ‘Ivan’ MACKINNON, Bernard ‘Barney’ Reuben MCGUIGAN, John ‘Clifford’ ROGERS, Edison Alexander SMITH: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2023/05/16/on-the-war-memorial-trail-the-faces-of-groesbeek-exhibition-part-1-the-soldiers-from-prince-edward-island/
• William ‘Willie’ Alfred CANNON, Joseph ‘Joe’ Edmund HENNEBERY, Alfred Louis PITAWANAKWAT (PITWANAKWAT), George Preston SMITH, Eli SNAKE, Clarence Wilfred WAKEGIJIG, William WEATHERBIE: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2021/05/05/commemorating-liberation-day-at-the-canadian-war-cemetery-in-groesbeek/
• Thomas Beresford BIG CANOE: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/2021/05/10/the-photo-tribute-at-the-canadian-war-cemetery-in-groesbeek/

…Want to follow our research?…

If you are reading this posting, but aren’t following the blog, you are welcome to do so. Our blog address: https://onthewarmemorialtrail.com/.

4 countries, 6 weeks, 7,000 km – an unforgettable war memorial journey in Europe…. Daria’s book ‘No Soldier Buried Overseas Should Ever Be Forgotten‘ is available in print and e-book formats.  Net proceeds of book sales help support research costs and the cost of maintaining this blog. For more information see https://nosoldierforgotten.com/

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