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economist suntribune remembrance day saturday nov 9 2002 immigrant cant forget wars five cruel years by hannelore volpe staff writer the memories of war are seared into helen huismans mind but they are memories she couldnt begin sharing with her children until the 50th anniversary of the lib eration of holland in 1995 the stouffville resident was a girl of nine in the dutch city of delft when the second world war broke out it is still fresh in my memory said mrs huisman these were five cruel years as with many who have lived through war once the memories start it is like a dam breaking they come like delicate ribbons from the past bound in steel nineyearold helen saw her neighbours pulled from their homes by the nazi occu piers never to be seen again helen screamed as she watched in horror just days before she asked her mom why the couple wore yellow patches with the star of david on their sleeves when told that they were jews the youngster asked what are jews fear was accompanied by hunger there was no food nothing to eat she remembers as the war dragged on and con ditions worsened she thought everybody has left us nobody cares about us and yet she remembers her childhood as a very happy one born during the depression years she and her older sister never felt deprived when her father lost his job as an accountant he farmed a few acres of land growing every type of vegetable he could to keep the family fed while her mother staff photomike barrett stoufrvijjes helen and art huisman second world war years are still fresh in my memory says helen preserved and canned she remembers being the envy of the neighbourhood because of the toys her parents made for her and her sister including a doll house fashioned from an orange crate wallpaper tiny furniture made out of matchboxes and cro cheted dolls there was no educa tion for four years since the germans used the school building as barracks when hunger got the better of them kids would crawl near the barracks to forage for potato peels from the germans garbage cans which came from potatoes taken from dutch farmers she remembers returning to delft with her mother and a cart filled with food and supplies that they had pushed over many miles when they approached a dyke a german soldier stopped them he told them i hate being here he looked down at helen and said he had a daughter the same age he was worried about his wife in berlin because he hadnt heard from her in four months and the city was being constantly bombed but hope came again on may 9 1945 when delft residents heard on the underground radio radio england that canadian troops had arrived in the southern part of holland later when the radio announc er said the war was over everyone ran out of their houses and pound ed on their neighbours doors to tell them the news people danced in the streets for joy and threw flowers as the canadians came in with their tanks she met art at the dance classes all youngsters went to at that time the huismans were married in 1953 their four children ron perry joyce and ingrid were all born in canada the family has lived in stouffville since 1969 when the huismans arrived in canada it was almost intolerable to mrs huisman to hear german spo ken but art told her they had to leave all the hate behind we have to get over this he said the family prospered but the war years were so traumatic the huismans could not talk to their children about what they went through until recently when i hear how many wars there are now i feel sorry for the children mrs huisman said two of the canadians who helped to liberate holland live in stouffville and received special holland medals earlier this year from the wapenbroeders dutch canadian legion of hamilton the medals were presented to bill collins bill scott and posthumously to alfred barton and robert hutchison loc ceremonies markham and whitchurchstouffville resi dents have many remembrance day opportu nities to honour canadas war veterans trie town of markhams ceremony is 1030 to 1130 am monday at the markham civic centre theres also a 1030 am thankyou planned at union villa on hwy 7 west of main street unionville the nowdefunct unionville and district veterans association recently donated its hall on main street to the unionville home society which operates union villa in stouffville services include a 1 pm sunday ceremony at stouffville cemetery on 10th line south of main street as well wreaths will be laid at the legion at 230 pm on monday an 11 am wreath laying takes place at the legion cenotaph on ninth line markham veteran remembers preparing for death staff photosjoerd witteveen markham district veterans association past president tom clayton and st patrick catholic elementary school grade 8 students from left alexandra mcneill matthew bennett caitlin bahen david murphy bright nti jessica moniz and emily pellegrini hang out after mr clayton spoke at the markham community library thursday by kristin mackey special at 21 years old bill williamson was preparing for his death we didnt expect to live much longer explained the navy war vet eran he was speaking to grade 8 students at st patrick school who gathered at the markham community library to hear about the day during the second world war mr williamson described as his own dday it was june 5 1944 one day before canadians british americans and others stormed the beaches of normandy and the vessel he served on the minesweeper had swept the english channel we knew a battle was about to take place because of all the sur rounding ships in the area said mr williamson who is now in his late seventies he spoke of the constant threat of german mines anchored to the ocean floor during battle the mines would explode and sink nearby ships causing many casualties having survived battle mr williamson was sent back to canada where he served the remainder of the war mr williamson merle mcallister bert dawe and tom clayton spoke to the students as part of an event organized by the library and the markham district veterans association it allowed vet erans to share personal stories of battles friends who died and life in the trenches it was an experience i would never want to go through again but it was a great experience explained tom clayton 83 who served nearly five years in the second world war i really grew up you grow up very quickly in the service he said mr clayton hesitated but smiled when one student asked him how often he showered you tried to keep clean he said with a laugh you changed your socks mr clayton and one of the stu dents later laid a wreath at the markham cenotaph a sculpture dedicated in 1967 for those who died for freedom students and library staff later recited the famous canadian war poem in flanders fields students enjoyed the veterans stories but some couldnt imagine going into battle at such a young age i would have wanted to serve my country but it would be scary to be that young because you dont have much experience said jessica moniz 13 it made me respect them more because they fought for our lives it was amazing to hear their stories vehic l e leas in g onep shopping vjjew m used vehicles any rriatebrmoti v c n 1 l c l c m p 1 iv u prestige imports x vv jgjfl- v prompt pers6nalsrvice bakkycox 9053054 g8fflgg bcoxlandmarkleasingcom buy what apprecjj0iw for quote or information call barry at 9053054783 8920 woodbine ave markham 3 lights north of hwy 7 at hooper st