Remembering the Canadian soldiers who died on a mission of mercy at the close of the Second World War

A small much than 12 hours earlier the extremity of the Second World War successful Europe, a young Canadian padre, accompanied by an arsenic young vessel commander, acceptable disconnected into the cool, rainy countryside of bluish Germany connected an errand of mercy.

Or truthful they thought.

Honorary Capt. Albert McCreery and Lt. Norman Goldie had lone been with the Canadian Grenadier Guards vessel regiment for little than a month.

It was May 4, 1945.

Adolf Hitler's Third Reich was successful its last hours and Nazi soldiers alternated betwixt warring to the decease and surrendering.

The warfare diary of the guards regiment records dense warring that greeting successful the forests and laneways northbound of Oldenberg, including notation of Goldie's unit of tanks being held successful reserve successful lawsuit the defending Germans advanced.

Canadian combat chaplains, passim the warfare successful Europe, recovered dependable employment outfitting jeeps with stretchers and rescuing disabled vessel crews.

It was from German prisoners that McCreery learned astir perchance wounded force soldiers successful request of assistance and comfortableness — oregon truthful helium was told.

In hindsight of history, it was a typically Canadian happening to do.

An account, quoting erstwhile guards regiment soldiers published decades aft the war, quoted 1 of them arsenic being skeptical of McCreery's plan, mostly due to the fact that cipher knew wherever the wounded force could beryllium found

Regardless, astatine 3 p.m. connected the past afloat time of fighting, McCreery and Goldie acceptable disconnected to bring successful the wounded Germans.

They ne'er returned.

WATCH | Former subject chaplain 'haunted' by McCreery and Goldie's story: 

Phil Ralph, a erstwhile Canadian subject chaplain, said he's haunted by the story.

"His ngo is to attraction for all. And, truthful helium does, a marvellous and unselfish act," Ralph said, referring to McCreery.

"In the fearfulness and the misery of combat and warfare and struggle to support that level of humanity and compassion, it's rather remarkable.… They're adjacent to what they judge is going to beryllium the cessation of hostilities.

"They're inactive the force … but that doesn't deter him."

The regimental warfare diary dispassionately noted that erstwhile the brace hadn't reported back, a patrol was sent retired to find them, but turned up nothing.

According to 1 later, unofficial, account, McCreery's assemblage was "run done with bullets," and recovered successful a bog 2 days later. Goldie's remains were ne'er recovered.

"Both officers were killed successful circumstances which stay obscure," said the Canadian Army's authoritative history, published successful 1960.

Another relationship insisted determination was thing ambiguous astir their extremity astatine all.

A tribute to McCreery written for his alma mater, McMaster University, pointed to an authoritative relationship that claims the unarmed padre was "shot by a German sniper erstwhile helium went to the rescue of a young German worker trapped successful a blazing tank."

Goldie's destiny remained a mystery.

During that last bloody day, each on the beforehand the Canadian Army suffered 60 casualties — 20 of them fatal, including McCreery and Goldie. The brace are the lone 2 mentioned successful the army's authoritative past and could precise good correspond the past Canadians to dice successful conflict against the forces of German facism.

News of triumph was sudden

In the hours pursuing their deaths, rumours of the German surrender raced up and down the Canadian lines.

The BBC was the archetypal to broadcast quality of the impending German capitulation successful the Netherlands, Denmark and bluish Germany, and the ceasefire that was to instrumentality effect the adjacent greeting — May 5, 1945. The broadcast study bushed the authoritative awesome from British Gen. Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group headquarters.

News of the surrender came arsenic anticlimatic to troops, immoderate of whom, specified arsenic the Canadian Grenadiers, had been warring furiously that morning.

When the announcement was made, determination were "no cheers and fewer outward signs of emotion," the authoritative relationship read. Many soldiers recovered it hard to believe.

Upon receiving the authoritative signal, the commandant of the First Canadian Army, Gen. Harry Crerar, ordered an contiguous halt to each operations and precocious successful the evening connected May 4 addressed the troops nether his command.

He spoke astir the valour with which they fought done the war, mentioning the slaughter of Dieppe astir 3 years earlier and the brutal run done France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

"Crushing and implicit triumph implicit the German force has been secured," Crerar said. "In rejoicing astatine this ultimate accomplishment we shall retrieve the friends who've paid the afloat terms for the content they besides held that nary sacrifice successful the interests of the principles for which we fought could beryllium excessively great."

Jeff Noakes, an historiographer astatine the Canadian War Museum, said Canadians thin to retrieve the celebrations of liberation successful the Netherlands but determination was a full different, brutal broadside successful bluish Germany wherever the guards vessel regiment was driving toward the North Sea.

WATCH | The Dutch haven't forgotten the efforts of Canadian veterans: 

"There are tanks that were deed by anti-tank weapons astatine adjacent range, and unit members are killed, oregon snipers, oregon ambushes, oregon larger-scale combats that instrumentality place," Noakes said.

"It whitethorn look evident to america present that the warfare is astir to extremity successful aboriginal May, but it wasn't astatine each evident precisely erstwhile the warfare was going to extremity to the radical who were determination connected the ground."

Their deaths truthful adjacent the ceasefire underline the calamity and senselessness of war, and permission a lasting scar connected families near behind, Ralph said.

Earlier successful his vocation arsenic a subject chaplain successful Toronto, helium said the sister of a Canadian worker who died successful Europe would regularly enactment him connected the spot.

"Her member was killed close adjacent the extremity of the Second World War. Not rather arsenic melodramatic arsenic the padre, but very, precise near, the [end]," said Ralph."Every clip it came astir Remembrance Day, I knew she was going to person a question for maine and the question was: 'Pastor, helium went each the mode done the war. It was astir over. Why now?'"

What bash you say?

Ralph responded with the lone reply possible: "You know, we don't know."