London, Ont., woman's uncle among Indigenous WW II soldiers being honoured in Dutch museum exhibit

Kate Dubinski · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 15, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Eighty years aft her uncle Welby Patterson died connected a European battlefield successful the last days of the Second World War, Maidy Keir volition spot him being recognized astatine a depository grounds successful the Netherlands successful a mode helium ne'er truly was backmost home.

"I deliberation it volition beryllium precise emotional. I've ever been precise arrogant of him," Keir said successful her London, Ont., home, surrounded by immoderate of the artifacts she inactive has from her uncle's clip serving with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps.

"He was lone 22 erstwhile helium died. My dada came backmost from the war, but his member didn't."

Keir's travel to the Freedom Museum successful Groesbeek, the Netherlands, took a small spot of serendipity.

In November, Keir's girl was Googling Patterson's sanction to get immoderate accusation astir the household leader up of Remembrance Day. She came crossed a quality communicative astir a Dutch researcher hoping to link with household members of a fig of Indigenous soldiers who helped liberate her country. Patterson's sanction was among them, and the household reached out.

"They are our liberators. They liberated the state that I've present been capable to unrecorded in, successful freedom," said Mathilde Roza, whose exhibition, called Indigenous Liberators: First Nations, Métis and Native American soldiers and the Liberation of the Netherlands WW II, volition beryllium unveiled May 1 successful Groesbeek.

This twelvemonth marks the 80th day of the Dutch liberation from Nazi occupation.

"This is portion of Dutch history, and Canadian past and Indigenous history. I anticipation that I archer the communicative close and that they consciousness a consciousness of recognition, that their publication is being recognized successful a mode that is rewarding to them," Roza said.

Roza's exhibit presents the stories of 30 Native American, First Nations and Métis soldiers who were progressive successful the warfare efforts successful the Netherlands oregon were yet buried here. Patterson is buried astatine the Holten Canadian War Cemetery.

She has interviewed Keir, who volition bring on immoderate of the records her household inactive has of Patterson's, including a telegram informing the household that helium was wounded and the announcement sent informing them of his death.

Nicknamed Pat due to the fact that of his past name, Patterson was good liked by his chap soldiers, and his decease was "keenly felt by his comrades," his household was told.

"When Pat returned to this Unit precocious pursuing his enactment successful infirmary and a circuit of work arsenic an teacher successful England, helium volunteered to thrust the Company ambulance jeep. It was his occupation to travel the institution successful enactment and evacuate casualties," the decease notification missive reads.

"On the 14 April, 1945, the Unit enactment successful an aboriginal greeting onslaught connected Frisoythe. Outside the town, it was indispensable to transverse a stream but the span had been blown. The marching troops waded the river, but the vehicles could not transverse earlier the engineers built a caller bridge. As determination were immoderate casualties waiting to beryllium evacuated, Pat was helping to enactment the span up; portion doing this, an force sniper changeable and killed him instantly."

Patterson was buried successful a impermanent cemetery earlier being relocated to Holten. He won a subject medal for his bravery during a firefight successful September 1944.

Patterson was calved successful Six Nations of the Grand River adjacent Hamilton, a arrogant subordinate of the Tuscarora people.

Keir grew up successful Moraviantown, adjacent Thamesville. Keir is proud Indigenous veterans are being honoured and thankful Dutch radical retrieve them successful ways Canadians are lone starting to remember. "I'm precise arrogant of my heritage.

"Welby's brothers and sisters are each gone, but there's this adjacent procreation inactive astir and wanting to transportation this on," she said.

In the Netherlands, Roza became funny successful the role Indigenous soldiers played during the Second World War.

"Almost each of the soldiers that diagnostic successful the grounds went to residential schools, and I code the past of colonization and the resilience that they had successful the look of that," she said.