The National Canadian Liberation Monument, Apeldoorn

        Waving with a hat in each hand, he stands there, a giant figure near the junction De Naald close to Het Loo Palace.

        He makes an enthusiastic impact with his arms aloft and his tall stature but from close up one is overcome by the melancholy emanating

        from him.

        Henk Visch was commissioned to create this bronze statue by the “Stichting Bevrijding “45

                                                                         and it was unveiled by Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet on the 2nd May, 2000.

                                                                            The waving gesture symbolises the welcome to the

                                                                            Canadian liberators but also the taking leave of the fallen.

                                                                         Joy and sorrow at the same time.

        In Ottawa, Canada, an identical example of this sculpture was

        unveiled by Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet in 2002 -

        the two figures greet each other across the ocean.

        The statue signifies the bond between Canada and the Netherlands;

        for a never to be forgotten past but also for a new and hopeful

        future.

        The annual Remembrance Day commemoration on the 11th November takes place beside this monument.