Tuesday, May 5, 2020, marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands in the Second World War, and Legion Magazine has released a new web video to mark the event.

Lieutenant-General The Honourable Roméo Dallaire narrates this instalment of the award-winning web video series Military Moments.

The Liberation of the Netherlands web video takes viewers back to the German invasion and occupation of Holland, depicting the terrible hunger and hardship inflicted on the Dutch by Nazi Germany and detailing how Allied forces—led by Canada—liberated the country. From September 1944 to April 1945, Canada played a key role in ending the Second World War, as Allied forces closed in on Germany from all sides.

Dallaire was born in Denekamp, Netherlands, in 1946, and his family immigrated to Canada when he was six months old. He is a Canadian general, senator, humanitarian, author and statesman. He served as commander of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Rwanda in 1993-94, and subsequently founded The Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers. He has also been a prominent advocate for veterans with PTSD.

“My dad was pretty old when he went over, around 38 (that was pretty old!).  He remembered the ones working for him being so young, and he was deeply affected by so many young men losing their lives and injured, too.  Seeing these young lives destroyed took a different toll on him, as he had so much life experience already.” – Dallaire remembering his Father’s wartime experience as a non-commissioned officer in the Canadian Army during the Second World War.

For the past five years, Legion Magazine has worked with notable Canadians in sharing Canada’s history in the web video series Military Moments. These educational videos have featured a stellar roster of narrators, including Dan Aykroyd, William Shatner, Mike Myers, Alex Trebek, David Suzuki, Gordon Pinsent, The Honourable Mayann Francis, Linden MacIntyre, Alan Doyle, Barry Pepper and the late Leonard Cohen. Military Moments is available on the Legion Magazine YouTube channel.