'They were 2 years older than us': Students from Canada commemorate 80th anniversary of VE Day

At Three Oaks Senior High School successful Summerside, P.E.I., students person created posters and plaques astir section soldiers who died successful the Second World War.

But David Chisholm, the vice-principal and a erstwhile societal studies teacher, knows there's nary learning acquisition rather similar a tract travel to marque past travel to life. About 20 years ago, helium had a transformative infinitesimal during a nonrecreational improvement travel to Europe, wherever helium learned astir the life of a fallen Canadian soldier.

"I said each kids request to bash this due to the fact that we were astatine a constituent successful clip wherever I deliberation that Remembrance Day was conscionable benignant of a one-day-a-year thing. And we conscionable decided that present that we're going to effort to bash it a small spot differently."

In precocious April, astir 50 students successful grades 11 and 12 from 3 P.E.I. schools, including Chisholm's, travelled to the Netherlands to commemorate the 80th day of the liberation of the state from the Nazis — an Allied cognition successful which the First Canadian Army played a cardinal role, with 7,600 soldiers losing their lives successful the process.

At slightest 280,000 Dutch civilians died during the Nazi occupation, from causes ranging from starvation to deportation to decease camps, a destiny that took the beingness of young writer Anne Frank.

The consciousness of fraternity and gratitude toward Canadians has stayed with the Dutch ever since, with Canadian vets and delegations inactive being extended the heroes' invited decades aft the war.

WATCH | P.E.I. students connected honouring section heroes who perished successful Second World War:

During the trip, which began successful France, students volition locomotion successful the footsteps of Canadian soldiers who helped liberate the Netherlands from Nazi concern successful April 1945, and place a plaque connected the sedate of a P.E.I. soldier, Alvah Ray Leard. They're among students from 34 precocious schools crossed Canada who will participate successful the commemoration of the 80th day of Victory successful Europe Day, oregon VE Day, which took spot connected May 8, 1945.

In an interrogation earlier the trip, Grade 12 pupil Ian Sharpe said he'll beryllium reflecting on the lives of Leard and his great-great-uncle, a stretcher-bearer who besides died during the liberation of Europe successful 1945.

"You benignant of get to acquisition things that you've seen successful the books and successful the movies," helium said. "When you're learning astir things similar that, to really beryllium determination and to recognize the existent sacrifice that was made by the Canadians, there is going to beryllium a very moving experience."

Making past matter

Experiencing past connected the precise ungraded wherever it took spot is 1 mode to marque it applicable to students.

For young radical calved good into the 21st century, galore without surviving relatives who fought successful the war, Canada's relation successful VE Day 80 years agone tin look distant and abstract.

Still, teachers similar Jackie Shaw astatine St. Stephen Catholic Secondary School successful Bowmanville, Ont., say the involvement is there, sometimes successful astonishing places.

"Some of these kids bash person a transportation via their parents serving successful the Canadian military," Shaw said, portion preparing her radical of astir 15 students for their travel to the Netherlands and France over a pizza lunch. "Some of them just, I think, people emotion history, which is great.... I deliberation immoderate of them are funny successful it due to the fact that of playing video games astatine immoderate point."

Tomas Kovacs, 1 of the Bowmanville students who went to Europe, remarked connected the younker of the fallen Canadian soldiers: "Us surviving backmost then, we would person to spell to warfare arsenic well, due to the fact that they were 2 years older than us. So not that large of an property gap."

Chisholm, of Three Oaks successful Summerside, said that transportation to the youth of the fallen soldiers is thing he's seen first-hand during his erstwhile trips to Europe with students.

"I'll person teenagers that volition get to the graves and they'll kneel down and they'll permission their letters. And past we request to spell console them due to the fact that each of a abrupt they're overwhelmed with emotion due to the fact that they look astatine an age, you know, an 18-year-old, a 19-year-old, a 20-year-old. And they're reasoning astir however could they ever bash that?"

'Canada is simply a federation that is good respected'

Another teacher who took his students to Europe for the ceremonies, David McKinney of Parkland Secondary School successful North Saanich, B.C., said it's not conscionable astir the lessons of the past.

He said helium hopes that seeing however Canadians are perceived by the Dutch gives students a greater consciousness of patriotism and pride.

"I deliberation it's besides truly important to retrieve that Canada is simply a federation that is good respected crossed the globe. And adjacent though lately we've been ... bullied a small spot by the schoolhouse bully, it's inactive important to retrieve that we're guests of honour of the Kingdom of the Netherlands arsenic a federation that heroically helped to escaped them."

Jonathan May, 1 of the 30 students who went connected the trip, said he's bracing himself for the hugs and celebrations.

"They astir apt emotion america much than we emotion ourselves," May said. "It's, like, truly humbling."

"I deliberation it'll beryllium thing I volition retrieve for the remainder of our lives," added his classmate, Drishti Balaiah. She, on with different students, created artwork to memorialize idiosyncratic soldiers who perished successful the liberation of Europe.

"And however astonishing volition it beryllium to beryllium capable to archer my kids, you know, I was determination for that, the 80th day of VE Day."

WATCH | Students successful North Saanich, B.C., hole to question to Europe to people VE Day: