This is a very moving tribute to the incredible men who defended a little town in Holland, and the locals who pay tribute in a very special way, to this very day. The concert in the video is part of that annual tribute.

 

Patriot Woodworker @Artie sent this to me, and we thought it would be wonderful to share here. Thank you Artie, this is absolutely one of the most beautiful events honoring our fallen, that have ever seen, and I had no idea that the locals who lived in that area of Holland even did this every year.

Please see the text contained in an email that Artie himself received from a friend, below.

 

Tribute to Operation Market Garden

A grateful Country that remembers our servicemen better than we do. This may be a revisit for some of you but it is so beautiful it could be a must see again.  Please read before viewing the video, full screen

 

It is really sad that the Dutch remember what Americans did for them, but Americans can't be bothered to even teach their school children that it even happened!

 "Il Silenzio" - Beautiful and very moving

  Please Read Before Viewing Video

 

The Silence

About six miles from Maastrich. in the Netherlands lie buried 8,301 American soldiers who died in "Operation Market Garden" in the battles to liberate Holland in the fall and winter of 1944-5. Everyone of the men buried in the cemetery, as well as those in the Canadian and British military cemeteries has been adopted by a Dutch family who mind the grave, decorate, and keep alive the memory of the soldier they have adopted. It is even the custom to keep a portrait of "their" American soldier in a place of honor in their home. Annually on "Liberation Day". Memorial Services are held for "the men who died to liberate Holland." The day concludes with a concert. The final piece is always  "Il Silenzio", a memorial piece commissioned by the Dutch and first played in 1965 on the 20th anniversary of Holland's liberation. It has been the concluding piece of the memorial concert ever since.

This year the soloist was a 13 year old Dutch girl, Melissa Venema, backed by André Rieu and his orchestra (the Royal Orchestra of the Netherlands). This beautiful concert piece is based upon the original version of taps and was composed by Italian composer Nino Rossi.

Beautiful and moving.

 

 

Links of Interest

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Market_Garden
• National Army Museum Operation Market Garden
• The Netherlands Story Line Operation Market Garden

 

Image of Interest

Loading paratroopers of the 1st Allied Air Force into C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft before the start of Operation Market Garden.
Location: United Kingdom
Date: September 1944

Source: http://albumwar2.com/loading-paratroopers-on-a-c-47-skytrain-before-the-start-of-operation-market-garden/

 

One day while on vacation in Hawai'i, I was playing my guitar at a picnic table when a family with grown sons from the Netherlands sat down next to me. We talked about life here and there, and finally the mother said she was very grateful for our help in defeating the Nazis but was a little bent that we didn't feel the same way. The husband was quite stiff in feelings about Nazi  Germany. Later, one of the sons told me privately that the hatred of Nazis runs very deep in the older generation and I should be glad I am not immersed in it. Feelings of appreciation run deep in France, also, which was devastated by 2 horrific wars. That may explain why they are hesitant to stand against Putin. I am very thankful that we did help, equally thankful we were never crushed by war on our home-front, and hopefully my family or anyone else's family will never have to endure the horrors of war.   

A friend sent me this in February 2014. It’s the oldest item in my e-mail, I won’t delete it. I saw Gene’s post (I think it was his) Lest we forget, and it made me think that this would be a good reply to that thread. However being the supremely talented techie that i am, I had no idea on how to get the e-mail changed into what you see here and post it (now you know how challenging woodworking is for me LOL). I sent John an e-mail asking for his help, and like always, John fixed it for me. I find the song haunting, and it’s nice to know that we still get some respect in some corners of this world. Thank you, John.  

Hello Artie

My wife is Canadian, and all of her family are thankful for our help in the war. Canadians don't get much recognition for their role in that effort. That's because people tend to talk only about their own history. South Koreans are very thankful for our help in the Korean War. I recall reading that New Zealand sent (or lost) a greater % of their men to the war effort than any other countries. I have a German friend whose father was conscripted into the German army for WWII and served as tank driver. They tried to emigrate to the US after the war but couldn't get in, so they went to Canada. I think part of our problem abroad is that Americans are often seen as arrogant. 

Thanks for the postings. 

 

 I think its important to remember that unemployment was high in the US after WWI and the Great Depression. The advent of WWII offered jobs and good pay to many men who signed up for that reason. The realities of WWI were not forgotten but earning a living and paying bills is a powerful motivator. Several guys in the original Band of Brothers said "Hell, I get extra pay for jumping out of an airplane! Why not?"

2 hours ago, hatuffej said:

I think part of our problem abroad is that Americans are often seen as arrogant. 

And that is a shame and also I might add, an ignorance on the part of the folks abroad, as it's the farthest from the truth, we are completely aware as Americans the sacrifices of Allied Forces. It's a well known, so well known that when we talk about the great wars, it's just assumed that we all know and it's not mentioned all the time because, yes we do bring attention to our own roll in the great wars because we are Americans, and we talk about Americans mostly, all the while though we understand and know very well that we did not do it alone.

So when we talk about our roll in the wars, the discussion would be pretty long if we had to preface every discussion about the wars with, and we can't forget the Brits, the Canadians, the ANZAC, Australia, France, etc etc etc.

We have to be able to talk in generalities or we'll never get a good discussion going or even finished, if we have to acknowledge in every discussion those who served with us, or us with them.

 

Americans are not arrogant, we are proud, and we just assume everyone else is just as proud of their own country as we are.

 

1 hour ago, hatuffej said:

Hello Artie

My wife is Canadian, and all of her family are thankful for our help in the war. Canadians don't get much recognition for their role in that effort. That's because people tend to talk only about their own history. South Koreans are very thankful for our help in the Korean War. I recall reading that New Zealand sent (or lost) a greater % of their men to the war effort than any other countries. I have a German friend whose father was conscripted into the German army for WWII and served as tank driver. They tried to emigrate to the US after the war but couldn't get in, so they went to Canada. I think part of our problem abroad is that Americans are often seen as arrogant. 

Thanks for the postings. 

 

Having been overseas with some of my fellow Americans, arrogance might be an understatement for some of them. I’ve seen enough ugly Americans. It’s not All of us though. The Canadians have fought besides us, many times. Our best ally.

6 minutes ago, Artie said:

I’ve seen enough ugly Americans.

It's a very small minority Artie, unfortunately all it takes is a few to falsely promote a bad image.

Not to get off topic too much, but really, us Americans can be waaay to hard on ourselves. We are the big guys on the block, the most powerful nation on earth, and being so, we have a target on our back, nobody likes the rich guy on the hill, and we are that guy.

Now, if you want to talk about how despised the Brits are in Belize, man! The Brits are seen as the rudest and crudest, and most disrespectful tourists the Belizians ever have to deal with. Long story, but I stayed in Belize for while, and they hated the Brits but loved Americans.

It's unfortunate, we just hear the bad about us, but believe me, there are horrible people from Canada too, and some of them make horrible tourists! Someday, the Brits, I'll tell ya'll the story!

Thank you Artie.

In the winter, Phoenix is considered Ontario South. We've never met a rude or disrespectful Canadian, down there. And, in our travels in Canada, we've always been treated very cordially. 

1 hour ago, Gene Howe said:

We've never met a rude or disrespectful Canadian

I haven't either Gene, that I know of, but being as humans are imperfect, I am sure they exist. How do you know if "that guy" who cut you off on highway isn't a Canadian?

They don’t do that, they’re too polite. They don’t even riot after their hockey team loses game 7 at home....Oh wait that happened in 2011. (Sorry, Bruins fan here).

10 minutes ago, Artie said:

They don’t do that, they’re too polite. They don’t even riot after their hockey team loses game 7 at home....Oh wait that happened in 2011. (Sorry, Bruins fan here).

Oh they riot with the best of us!

https://thehockeynews.com/news/article/heres-a-list-of-significant-hockey-riots-in-canada

Someone complained the boorishness of some hockey fans hurts the reputation of the other 1% . 

Another said he was watching a fight and a hockey game broke out.