Who wasn’t looking forward to the celebration of 75 years of freedom in The Netherlands? The festivities had actually already begun. 75 days before May 5th, because that’s how we planned to do this and then, corona came.
Sad, but maybe even worse for ‘our’ veterans.
D-Day
It started in May last year in France, the 75th remembrance of D-Day: 06-06-1944 and through different occasions, to the 75th commemoration of Operation Market Garden, in september 1944, on to the 75th celebrities of the liberation of the South of The Netherlands till Nijmegen, more or less, onto the ’topping’ of this 75th crown year, the Liberation Festival, thé celebration of 75 years of freedom in The Netherlands with a defilé where the veterans would be cheered, thanked and sung to, extra loud, because: the 75th and the Dutch are pretty serious about that.
But it wasn’t meant to be because: corona….
Thinking about the high age of these tough men, it would probably be the last crown year of remembrances of the fierce battles and festivities of freedom they were about to participate in. And for some of them, the last chance to go and see their comrades, buried in one of the graves, in one of the cemeteries in The Netherlands to maybe say ‘farewell’ or ‘we’ll meet again’, one more time.
And now they are at home, inside, just as much in isolation as you and me, allright, maybe a little less or a little more, but you get the picture: 75 years of freedom and we’re all locked up inside!
Send them a card too
In this corona-crises we started sending postcards and letters again, to people who are having their birthday, people inside, the elderly and vulnerable people who cannot receive visitors right now. Lets not forget ‘our’ veterans either. Even if you do not speak or write in English, that’s of no importance, that you think of them, ís.
Underneath the address of The Market Garden Foundation in The Netherlands who will take care of collecting all the post for the British veterans. The post will be send to The Taxi Charity of Military Veterans in England. Apart from the fact they are the people who take the British veterans to The Netherlands, France, Belgium or anywhere else, they take care of these gentlemen, as we speak. They won’t abandon them and will make sure your post is getting there.
Hereby also an invite to every organisation (!) (we are not spreading ANY personal address) who want to take the task upon them to distribute post for ‘our’ American, Canadian, Polish friends, or where-ever they may be.
Lest we forget
British veterans (do you know any of them by name, just direct personally, they will make sure it gets to them, other post will be divided equally).
- Market garden Foundation
Susterenhof nr 15
6845 DC Arnhem
We do hope more organisations will report to us so that we can let veterans who live further away than the United Kingdom, know we do not forget.
Please email to:[email protected]
