MacEng in the Netherlands: A Remembrance Pilgrimage
Anna Esposito, Mechanical Engineering, Level 4
About the Project
Karen was inspired to go on a pilgrimage (In Our Fathers’ Footsteps or IOFF) in the Netherlands following the routes taken by her father and other Canadian troops when liberating the Netherlands from Nazi occupation in 1945. She hoped that by partaking in such a trip, she would have a better understanding of how her father might have felt during his time in the war and pay tribute to the efforts of all WWII veterans. The torch was meant to be a visual representation of our pledge to remember the sacrifices of the Canadian soldiers and was to be taken on the trip and used in remembrance ceremonies along the way. The pilgrimage took place in September 2022 with 90 participants and as the creators of the torch, Yuvraj, Sebastian and I were fortunate to be able to travel to the Netherlands and take part as well.
Here are some of my key highlights and takeaways from the trip:
1: Lighting the Torch at Parliament Hill
The first part of the trip took place in Ottawa, rather than the Netherlands. We lit the torch for the first time using the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill, followed by a remembrance ceremony at the Canadian War Monument. We were joined by some very notable people, including MP Marie-France Lalonde, the Dutch ambassador and John, a WWII veteran. The most memorable part of that day was, without a doubt, having the opportunity to speak to John and listen to his stories and advice. He recalled that the entire time he was in the Netherlands, he was terrified. He told us he never felt like a hero and that all the soldiers, even the German ones, were just young boys following orders. It’s uncomfortable to imagine people our age, and often even younger, being handed a weapon and told to kill or be killed, and all over a conflict between people in power who would never see the front lines, but that was John’s reality in 1945. He noted that despite everything he had to go through in the Second World War, wars are still being fought. “We have got to stop sending young people to kill each other,” John said. I couldn’t have agreed more, and I walked away from that day with a deep sense of responsibility that as future leaders, it’s our generation’s job to respect the sacrifices made by all veterans and strive for peace.
2: Visiting the Canadian War Cemeteries in Groesbeek and Holten
As part of the pilgrimage, we stopped at the Groesbeek and Holten Canadian War Cemeteries where many Canadian soldiers were buried. These stops were extremely emotional experiences for me and many other trip participants. At each cemetery, we performed a remembrance ceremony to honor the fallen soldiers with the lit torch and a piper playing the Lament. Whether it was a coincidence or a sign from the universe, as soon as the piper began to play the Lament at Groesbeek, it began to rain heavily. Either way, it really drove home my understanding of the devastation caused by the Second World War. We all learn about WWII in school, but standing in those cemeteries surrounded by row upon row of graves, all belonging to boys no older than I, those events suddenly felt very real. I imagined what it would feel like to have my best friends or siblings lose their lives the way those boys did: scared, alone, and so far away from home and their loved ones. Once again, I was humbled by how fortunate I am to have been born in a time and place where such violence is not my reality.
3: Marching through Dutch Towns
While of course there were many somber parts of the pilgrimage, others were much more celebratory. Walking through the small towns liberated by the Canadians was one of those occasions. When we were hiking through the countryside, our group was mostly on our own, but when walking through the towns we were joined by a pipes and drum band and created a whole procession. That on its own was a spectacular experience. Yuvraj, Sebastian and I took turns carrying our torch at the head of the procession, directly behind the band, and I think it’s safe to say we were all incredibly proud to be Canadian and to represent McMaster Engineering with a torch we designed and built from scratch. I don’t know what I was expecting from those marches, but to my shock, people lined the sides of the streets in every town we walked through, waving Canadian flags and welcoming us to their home. In some towns, we were even met by performances put on by locals. I will never forget walking through a town called Etten, where every time we turned a corner, we were stopped for performances by a new choir. It’s clear that even 77 years later, the bond between the Dutch and the Canadians remains strong, and the Dutch locals are still deeply grateful for the sacrifices made by the Canadian soldiers to ensure their freedom. It was incredibly special to witness first-hand the legacy left by the Canadians during the Second World War.
4: Presenting the Torch to the Dutch Princess
On our last day in the Netherlands, the pilgrimage took us to Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn, where we took part in a “passing of the torch” ceremony with HRH Princess Margriet. During the Second World War, the Dutch Royal Family fled to Canada and stayed in Ottawa under Canadian Protection. Princess Margriet was born during this period, and thus has a very special bond to Canada. For the ceremony, the torch was passed from the oldest participant in the pilgrimage, to the Princess and then to the youngest participant to symbolize that the stories of the Canadian soldiers in the Second World War continue to be passed from generation to generation and that their sacrifices will not be forgotten. After the ceremony, Yuvraj, Sebastian and I had the chance to speak to Princess Margriet and her husband and present the torch design privately. The Princess was very kind and down-to-earth, and we found out she holds an honorary degree from McMaster, giving her a special connection to our university as well as our country! Even though this trip took place weeks ago, I’m still processing the experience of meeting royalty. I never would have thought that a student design project could lead me to meeting a real Princess. It’s something I’ll be smiling about for a long time to come.
Closing Thoughts
Building the Canadian Remembrance Torch with Yuvraj and Sebastian has been the most rewarding experience I’ve had at McMaster to date. It was the first time I got to see the positive impact my work as a McMaster engineer can have, from building our torch here in Hamilton, to touring with it in the Netherlands, I have grown as both an engineer and a person. Even though we haven’t graduated yet, our actions and our work matter. Remembrance Day allows us to acknowledge the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers and reminds us to continue their legacy by striving for peace and leading with compassion in everything we do.
