|
Apeldoorn, The Netherlands —
Waves of cheers and applause rolled down Wellington Street in
front of the Parliament Buildings on Sunday as thousands of
veterans paraded to mark the 60th anniversary of VE Day.
In what was likely the last hurrah of the Second World War
vets — the average vet is about 84 — the old soldiers,
sailors and airmen marched and rode past thousands of
spectators who lined the road for blocks.
Some of the vets managed to march the route from the National
War Memorial to the site of the new Canadian War museum,
perhaps two kilometres away. Despite their years, they
stepped out smartly, arms swinging in time with the march
music, heads held high.
The bells of the Peace Tower played vintage tunes such as the
White Cliffs of Dover as the parade stepped off.
Vets also rode vintage war vehicles, from trucks, jeeps,
ambulances and motorcycles to tanks and tracked Bren-gun
carriers. Others were carried on modern armoured vehicles and
some rode buses.
Spectators clapped until their hands were sore as the old
troopers went past. Cheers and whistles echoed across the
pavement.
"We're her because of them," said 16-year-old Sara Clark as
she and her friends watched the parade.
An estimated 10,000 people, including veterans, dignitaries,
serving soldiers and cadets took part in a short service at
the war memorial to mark the anniversary of the end of the
war in Europe in 1945.
In Ottawa, Prime Minister Paul Martin and Opposition Leader
Stephen Harper were among those who placed wreaths in memory
of more than 40,000 Canadians killed during the war.
The remembrance ceremonies continued with the official
opening of the $136-million war museum.
In London, Prince Charles wore a naval uniform as he laid a
wreath before a monument to the war dead.
Second World War veterans and hundreds of other spectators
watched Prince Charles place a wreath of blood-red poppies at
the Cenotaph memorial in honour of some 260,000 Britons who
died fighting Nazi Germany and her allies — mainly Japan and
Italy.
The Queen will lead national commemorations on July 10, which
has been named Britain's main day of commemoration, and some
veterans expressed disappointment at the modest scale of
Sunday's Victory in Europe Day event at the Cenotaph. "We are
all disappointed that the Queen and the Prime Minister (Tony
Blair) are not here, when we arrived we looked around and
thought that this was a nonentity," said 83-year-old former
Royal Air Force Corporal Leonard Hamer.
At the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, President Jacques Chirac
laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier watched by
troops from the many nations that united to crush Hitler.
They included Australia, Belgium, Britain, Canada, the Czech
Republic, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand,
Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovakia and the United States.
Jets flew over the graceful tree-lined Avenue des Champs-Elysees,
streaking the sky with red, white and blue smoke — the
colours of the French flag.
At the former Mauthausen death camp in Austria, thousands
took part in a ceremony to remember some 100,000 inmates
killed by the Nazis there. It was the last big Nazi death
camp still operating when the U.S. Third Army's 11th Armoured
Division arrived in early May 1945.
Russian veterans gathered in Moscow to prepare for
celebrations on Monday to be attended by dozens of foreign
leaders.
In Germany, ceremonies in Berlin on Sunday included a speech
by President Horst Koehler in Parliament and a "Day of
Democracy" rally sponsored by churches and labour unions.
In Margraten, The Netherlands, U.S. President George W. Bush
paid homage Sunday to the "terrible price" paid by Second
World War soldiers who never came home from their fight
against tyranny.
"On this peaceful May morning, we commemorate a great victory
for liberty," Mr. Bush said at Europe's third-largest
cemetery for U.S. veterans near here in Margraten. "We come
to this ground to remember the cause for which these soldiers
fought and triumphed"
Mr. Bush marked the 60th anniversary of the May 1945 signing
of the Berlin armistice that ended the war in Europe in a
solemn remembrance at the Netherlands American Cemetery and
Memorial, where 8,301 U.S. veterans are buried.
Before his brief, 13-minute remarks, members of the White
House delegation donned orange plastic raincoats against the
cold and drizzle as Mr. Bush and Queen Beatrix of the
Netherlands laid wreaths of tribute, a bugler played taps and
military aircraft streaked above the graveyard's sweeping
arcs of headstones.
Past Headlines
Labor Party wins
UK Polls
NDA to boycott
entire budget session
Lalu wants to
speak to SC in confidence
Govt. retains
Fringe Benefit Tax to 30%
|
|
