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More than 60 years after two Canadian airmen were shot down over the Netherlands in the Second World War, their families are returning to Europe to bury the men's recently recovered remains.
For Roy Peterson of Vancouver, who has made several trips to Holland to visit an empty war grave that bears only the name of his brother, Flying Officer Sidney Peterson, the trip brings closure.
For Michael LeBlanc of Acton, Ont., who has come to know his uncle, Flight Sgt.
Joseph LeBlanc, intimately through his letters and a fascination with military history, the journey is one driven by profound pride.
"I really feel as if I've known the man intimately," LeBlanc said.
"It's an odd experience to run around with a ghost, and very rewarding."
Peterson hasn't been able to let go of his brother either.
"It's been going on for so long, it still gets to you and drains you," said the 70-year-old, who, along with his five children, will be in Jonkerbos for a funeral service and burial Wednesday.
His brother, who was raised in Winnipeg, was among seven airmen killed May 25, 1944, when a German fighter plane shot down their British Halifax Bomber LV905.
The crew was involved in an attack on German rail lines in the days leading up to D-Day, the Allied invasion of Nazi-held Europe.
Only two bodies were found at the time of the crash.
It was believed the other five crew members remained in the wreckage in the fields near the village of Hank.
A man who had witnessed the crash as a teenager was able to help salvage teams pinpoint the location decades later.
The bomber crashed on what was then marshy land.
But over time, drainage and land reclamation projects buried the wreckage about four metres deep in a farmer's field.
The salvage effort took almost five years.
The remains were finally recovered last September.
LeBlanc, who went back to Holland for the recovery last fall, said he feels privileged to be accompanying his uncle's only surviving sibling, Ramona Parker, for the funeral and burial.
Joseph LeBlanc of Grand Casapedia, Que., enlisted with the Forces on Aug.
7, 1942, almost immediately after his brother went missing at Dieppe.
His nephew said his uncle had no illusions of glory or heroism.
"He did it out of a sense of duty," said LeBlanc, 57, a hospital switchboard operator.
LeBlanc and Peterson have nothing but praise and gratitude for the Dutch people and government for paying for the entire salvage, estimated to cost almost $400,000.
"The locals raised 35,000 euros within 10 days," said Peterson, an award-winning editorial cartoonist.
The Netherlands is believed to have as many as 300 war-time crash sites that have not yet been salvaged.
Peterson said he feels lucky that the 62-year-old mystery of his brother's whereabouts has been solved.
"I'm just glad it's finally done," he said.
"There was some talk maybe they should just be left in the farmer's field, but it just didn't somehow seem right.
He should have a proper burial."
More than 60 years after two Canadian airmen were shot down over the Netherlands in the Second World War, their families are returning to Europe to bury the men's recently recovered remains.
For Roy Peterson of Vancouver, who has made several trips to Holland to visit an empty war grave that bears only the name of his brother, Flying Officer Sidney Peterson, the trip brings closure.
For Michael LeBlanc of Acton, Ont., who has come to know his uncle, Flight Sgt.
Joseph LeBlanc, intimately through his letters and a fascination with military history, the journey is one driven by profound pride.
"I really feel as if I've known the man intimately," LeBlanc said.
"It's an odd experience to run around with a ghost, and very rewarding."
Peterson hasn't been able to let go of his brother either.
"It's been going on for so long, it still gets to you and drains you," said the 70-year-old, who, along with his five children, will be in Jonkerbos for a funeral service and burial Wednesday.
His brother, who was raised in Winnipeg, was among seven airmen killed May 25, 1944, when a German fighter plane shot down their British Halifax Bomber LV905.
The crew was involved in an attack on German rail lines in the days leading up to D-Day, the Allied invasion of Nazi-held Europe.
Only two bodies were found at the time of the crash.
It was believed the other five crew members remained in the wreckage in the fields near the village of Hank.
A man who had witnessed the crash as a teenager was able to help salvage teams pinpoint the location decades later.
The bomber crashed on what was then marshy land.
But over time, drainage and land reclamation projects buried the wreckage about four metres deep in a farmer's field.
The salvage effort took almost five years.
The remains were finally recovered last September.
LeBlanc, who went back to Holland for the recovery last fall, said he feels privileged to be accompanying his uncle's only surviving sibling, Ramona Parker, for the funeral and burial.
Joseph LeBlanc of Grand Casapedia, Que., enlisted with the Forces on Aug.
7, 1942, almost immediately after his brother went missing at Dieppe.
His nephew said his uncle had no illusions of glory or heroism.
"He did it out of a sense of duty," said LeBlanc, 57, a hospital switchboard operator.
LeBlanc and Peterson have nothing but praise and gratitude for the Dutch people and government for paying for the entire salvage, estimated to cost almost $400,000.
"The locals raised 35,000 euros within 10 days," said Peterson, an award-winning editorial cartoonist.
The Netherlands is believed to have as many as 300 war-time crash sites that have not yet been salvaged.
Peterson said he feels lucky that the 62-year-old mystery of his brother's whereabouts has been solved.
"I'm just glad it's finally done," he said.
"There was some talk maybe they should just be left in the farmer's field, but it just didn't somehow seem right.
He should have a proper burial."
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