E. Street on Omaha Beach

The sand is hard to walk on, the hill is steep, these soldiers that lay in the graves deserve a massive amount of respect. Omaha beach is by far one of the bloodiest battles of Normandy, which I easily understandable. The soldiers had to wade through chest deep water and then run through the sand that essentially sucks your foot in. Then they had to climb up that hill that makes your feet hurt just looking at it. They had nothing to hide behind either, it would have been absolute hell. I don't think the majority of people on this earth could comprehend the fear that those soldiers felt on that fateful morning. Now we walk along the graves that stand row upon row. Is it strange that I think this is re most gorgeous cemetery I have ever seen? Maybe yes, but the crosses and Stars of David were made out of a beautiful stone thy looked like it was carved out of the earth into those shapes yesterday. These soldiers that lay beneath our feet in the earth could embrace deserved the best.











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Morrison's musings on Dieppe - the last paragraph is a must read :-)

Standing on the beach where so many Canadians Lost their lives in defense of European freedom, one can't help but think back to how the beach must have looked as the soldiers were landing. Looking up from the shoreline you can see the cliff and the Three tiered beach. From this perspective it's easy to see why this landing was such a colossal failure. With the sunshine pouring in over the coast and a gentle breeze in the air its hard to imagine the beach covered with soldiers who would never see another day.

Mr. Hoganson & Lawson gave what would later be referred to as "the legendary Dieppe tour." One wonders how two individuals could be so knowledgeable.

I can only express the utmost thanks towards the teachers who have so generously given up their Spring Break in order to provide this safe, nurturing and engaging environment that is so essential for us to fully absorb the wonders of history. They deserve significant raises at the very least, and I'm certain complimentary cruises or holidays even a nice meal would not be enough for all they do for us. (there were no additions to this blog, it is an original and ernest post)

















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Juno Beach... Loren A

March 31st we went to Juno Beach. After watching 'Saving Private Ryan' and the opening scene on the beach you have an idea of what D Day would be like, but not a true understanding. Once we were all standing on the sand, all I kept thinking of was how could such a peaceful place exist after the horrors it had seen. We also went down into a German bunker, and down there everything from how many soldiers stayed down there to which direction the doors opened was strategically planned out so any invaders would fail. The fact that they won the war on Juno beach made me even more proud to be a Canadian!














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Matt's moments at Pointe du Hoc

We went to Pointe du Hoc and looked at all the devastation. Most of the bunkers were destroyed. I can't even imagine scaling these cliffs to make an attack, i stood on top of the cliff and it was over 100 ft! It would be brutal, I walked through the highly fortified bunkers and I believe they could destroy anything. But against all odds, the US Rangers succeeded. It is nice to see that they made such an impact. After two days of fighting, only 90 rangers remained. It was an exhilarating experience to visit this site!
















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Day 9 - Dan Hohmann

Ypres and area... Here's what we did:

- we went to the Essex Farm Memorial where In Flanders Fields was written
- I found a headstone for a soldier who was only 15 yrs old when he died
- we went to Tyne Cot Memorial, there were 11 000 graces here, I found out some very interesting things about Canadian troops
- we then went to Hill 62 and Vancouver Crossroads

It was a busy day filled with Canadian War History.



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Aaron Belot - WW2 begins with Coupole

Today marked the beginning of our WW2 tour by taking the trip to La Coupole, a facility sanctioned by Hitler and his officials to create a new and powerful weapons of mass destruction to set the stage for future warfare. The Nazi's would utilize the strength of their civilian prisoners as well as the brightest minds in Germany to construct their weapons of terror. Near the end of the war, the allies discovered La Coupole in 1945 most of the technology was untampered with and untouched. Warner Von Braun, a scientist for the Nazi, and 150 of his brightest engineers were hired after the war by the USA to help construct their first satellites and to help
With NASA's space program.








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Victoria Hill - Menin Gate

MENIN GATE YPRES BELGIUM

On the ninth day of our travels, we witness not only a memorial for the soldiers that put their lives at risk during WWI in Ypres against Germany nearly a century ago, but to remember the horror and bravery that should never be forgotten. This was essentially an archway that contains over 50 000 names of those who had lost their lives during the war but were never found, which is heart braking none the less. Seeing this ceremony has easily shows us to be grateful for the life you have currently and that no person should ever dismiss the memory of this fateful event during the 20th century.
I can honestly say this was a real privilege to get to see a collection of tourists, citizens, and different generations come together and unite to honor all of the fallen soldiers, having a few groups of different people come up to respectfully place reefs, poppies, or other things on the side of the arch. Seeing all of these people gathered around the arch at once, listening to the pipers play, was truly a highlight of the Europe trip for me,and even to say I watched the Menin Gate ceremony made me grateful.

To be continued....




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Dan Drisoll's Poem

Hello All,

Just wanted to let you know, that when I was typing Dan's poem, I forgot to flip the page and type the last 3 verses.  I have now updated it and it is worth the re-read.

Thanks for following and all your support.

Jason

Drake's take on Vancouver Crossroads

We went to a tower. It was no ordinary tower. It is the Brooding Soldier and it's there to commentate the first gas attack on Canadians. It represents 2000 Canadian soldiers that died in this battle.

The Brooding Soldier is a design that came second in the competition for the Vimy Ridge Memorial. I really like how it starts as a slab of stone and then changes into a soldier on the top. On the base of the monument there are directions to the other battles/monuments from the war.










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9 Elms Cemetery - Grayson's Post

We've just left Nine Elms Cemetery in Poperinge, Belgium. It was extremely moving being able to see my Great, Great Uncle Charlie McDonald's grave. Seeing my class mates pay their respects to my relative, I found it quite hard not to shed a tear or two. I'm so fortunate to have such an amazing piece of heritage and to have been given the opportunity to have visited my Uncle's grave. He was only 18 years of age when he died, one year older than I am now. How could I not be humbled by such an incredible sacrifice, and at such a young age. Thank you to all my teachers and fellow students who gave me this amazing opportunity and for paying their respects. I will remember this moment for the rest of my life.















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Where Flanders Fields was written - Lucas' update

Today we travelled to the grave site called Essex Farm Grave Site. This was the grave site where John McCrae was a field doctor. This was the grave site where he was inspired to write Flanders Fields. He was I spired to write this because of the number of men who were buried there. This grave site holds many soldiers from the war but also holds a fifteen year old soldier who fought and died in the war. And when you think about it, fifteen is a young age to be serving your country. I hope they all rest in peace. Lucas



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Dan Driscoll's poem

Remember the Lost Generation

Lost to their fathers
Lost to their mothers
Lost to their sisters
Lost to their brothers

An entire generation
Lost to us forever
Men and boys gone
But forgotten, never

We will always remember
The deeds of the brave
Who sacrificed themselves
For their families to save

Some were in it for glory
A noble goal none the less
For king and for country
Putting their skill to the test

Some consider the Ridge
To be a great victory
But to the families of the lost
That is not what they see

Many saw Vimy Ridge
As a virtually impeneterable wall
An almost hopeless venture
It was sure to never fall

Then came the Canadians
Cementing their place in time
Always to be remembered
In ballads, songs and rhyme

We Remember the deeds
Of these Candian men, so brave
A generation lost, perhaps
But whose memory we will save.

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Drewe's Tyne Cot Update

We visited Tyne Cot cemetery in Belgium today. It is one of the largest British War cemetery with around 11 000 buried soldiers. It has amazing architecture - there is a wall around the back to commemorate all the missing soldiers as well as a large Sword of Sacrifice in the center. The cemetery is very well kept with lovely flowers for the brave soldiers who fought in these wars. When in places like this I feel the soldiers bravery and fear they must have had while fighting in these places. I am in awe of all the people who fought for peace and freedom.




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Charlotte Jones' Dinner

Tonight we are having dinner at restaurant at the hotel. Like every other dinner on this trip, tonight's dinner consists of three courses. The appetizer tonight is a small fresh salad and a crepe that had ham, cheese and a mysterious sauce. It was very well done and scrumptious. My palate approves of this type of food! For the main course there were pork slices and gravy poured over the entire thing. On the side there were potatoes and vegetables! It was another amazing course. Finally we had dessert. We were served a chocolate mousse which was creamy and had nuts that were on top. Overall the meal was sweet and delicious! We are eating very well!




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Vimy Ridge - Steven and Ian

Steven Timlick

With a crash you can hear the sounds of artillery firing ahead of you, the ground shaking, your brothers dying around you, the smell of death permitting the stale air. The rush of adrenalin coming with the beginning of the charge. This is my best imaginings of what it would be like in the hell that was Vimy Ridge, would be like. I could not even comprehend the sheet magnitude of terror that must have come with being in the trenches. This would be one of the most horrible things that could happen. The idea that you are living in up to 3 feet of water with constant noise and horrible smell of dead and dying men. The constant fear of death, being the only thing keeping you going. Even the horrors of the concentration camps could not compare to that of this war. One of the most horrible things that you could possible have done to you, happened to all of these brave soldiers. The uncertainty of whether their families were decimate or if they would ever be reunited with their homes. They lived like this for over 4 years.

Wr must never forget their sacrifices!

Ian

We got to go to the Vimy ridge monument today and we had a great day for it! It was sunny and clear making the massive, stoic and pristine white monument stand out drastically against the naturally green hillside. The monument is beautiful and was very touching to behold; it made me feel very proud to be a Canadian! An interesting fact that I learned about the monument is that the statue of Mother Canada is facing away from the battlefield because the monument designer wanted the statue to face the way the Canadians were advancing after the battle of Vimy Ridge.




















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Teachers are still smiling!

Parents!

Trip is going great so far and we, the teachers, are still smiling!

The kids love hearing the comments you are leaving.

We are all learning a lot about food, culture and history!

Today was Canada day here, everything we saw was WW1 and involved Canadian troops! At lunch we had some French steak hashe and the teachers decided we miss a lot about home but we miss Alberta beef the most!

Keep checking the blog & thanks for your support! You've got great kids!

The teachers




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Lauren's quote of the day

"What we saw today (Vimy Ridge & Beaumont Hamel) makes me proud to be a Canadian."


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Dan's quote of the day

"If Nutella was a religion, I would worship it. In fact, I might even become ordained priest of it." after eating a delicious European breakfast that included cold meat, multiple types of bread an cheese and, of course, nutella


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Beaumont Hamel - Virginia's Update

The official title of today's tour was - Canada Day! The first stop was Beaumont Hamel, one of the first battles of the Somme. In today's setting the birds were singing, there was calm and a feeling of life in the air, trees stood tall and were decked in green and a bright sunny day. Back to 1916, 3 out of the 4 things were not there, there were no bird brave enough to fly over the battle field unless they were carrier pigeons. The air was full of bullets from machine guns, mortar shells from artillery guns and dirt and shrapnel, the only tree standing was the danger tree, the tree that stood between the 2 trenches and miraculously stood against bombs and gun fire. Those soldiers who made it there knew they were going to die due to its position between two machine gun ranges. The brave Newfoundlanders who were sent to the front line at Beaumont Hamel by the British army because of mixed messages, they thought they would find glory honor and earn money to help their families at home. Unfortunately, the Germans had already fortified their positions with the use of natural formations.after 30 minutes the group of 1000 soldiers was reduced to just 100. After this defeat, the Newfoundland regiment rose and were successful in other battles, eventually earning the title of 'royal' from the British army. In November 1916 the 51st regiment of the Scottish army took the German line on Beaumont Hamel. Virginia








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Theipval Memorial - Brock's Entry

Theipval is a big monument that towers over all of its surrounding area. Names were written in alphabetical order on the sand stone slabs. The early afternoon sun shined brightly on us shedding an inviting light on the monument bringing out the monuments true size and glory. The smooth breezy combined with an Ernest desire to find my ancestry drew me in and captured my attention. Before setting us loose, we assemble before the monument to take a picture in order to capture this moment. Everyone was excited to find their family names on the walls. I was fortunate to find my Mom's maiden name on the wall, in fact, I found 3 Newtons. I was ecstatic to find my mothers side but I want able to find my fathers name. That particularly bothered me. I searched in vain through the registry books. Another feeling I discovered there was a solemn somberness. In the countless people, names, all had sacrificed do much for my freedom; the soldier fought for their homes and for peace. May I never forget. Brock













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Going the extra 3000 miles

Alison's father joined us at Beaumont Hamel! It was a touching site and a touching reunion.










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The largest potato in France - Sam Adam's quote of the day

We had an amazing dinner last evening, it was the largest potato you have ever seen, the name of the potato is 'the melody'. Sam Adams said, 'I fought a good fight but lost in the twelfth round... That potato knocked me out.'










The remarkable feat of finishing the whole meal went to one student only.... The amazing Joe Wright, "this amazing vessel was defeated by the one and only, me."




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Natalie's Verdun

Firstly I would like to wish my little brother a happy birthday! Happy 13th birthday!

So today we went to Ossuary and Douaumont. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is a memorial for all of those soldiers that died when Germany was taking France during the First World War. This memorial has soldiers from both armies. However, right after the war not all soldiers were found, so new soldiers are added to the memorial every year. Most of these soldier are so old that they can't figure out who they were. These soldiers are put into the ossuary, where they lie with thousands of other unknown soldiers. These sites are really well done and pay proper respect to the memory of these soldiers.




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Joe's Quote of the Day

"my mom WAS right."

Reflecting on how useful his headlamp has been.


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Dan's Quote of the Day

"I'm sad we are done in Verdun!"


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Carson's Verdun

The Citadel
The Citadel was very interesting and informative. Nine students hoped into each cart which took us through the under ground tunnels which included holograms of people reenacting important events of World War One, such as conferences and agreements. After the ride we walked through a series of displays with a relating audio. In my opinion, it was an amazing learning experience.








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