Fields of Freedom Kohler, Haldimand County

The Story of The Poem "In Flanders Fields" and the Red Poppies that We Wear.

Throughout History, the scarlet corn poppy has been a symbol of life. But after the publication of "In Flanders Fields" in 1915, it became a universal symbol of remembrance.

Linda Granfield's The Story of the Poem by John McCrae, illustrated by Janet Wilson, Lester Publishing, 1999.

Veteran Harold Schaus was sixteen years old when the war broke out. He had six weeks of basic training at Camp Borden, Ontario, and was eventually shipped across the Atlantic on the Queen Mary in December 1942, docking in Glasgow, Scotland. More training, more courses ~ the only good thing during this period was meeting the lady who would become his wife, Edna. She was seventeen. He was nineteen.

In July, 1944 Harold's advanced party in the Argylls landed in France approximately five weeks after D-Day. His description of front-line battles, charging up hills where the Germans were well dug in, German counterattacks and the inevitable human losses leave the reader solemnly grateful. "I had a friend who went there after the war and they toured the battlefield. He said he couldn't believe they would send us up that hill without softening it up for days. It was impossible to think we'd try it."

The Argylls' attack on Hill 195 where the German advance was stopped, was later "taught at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, as how to plan a night attack."
Schaus' detailed description of the realities of war and the hardships these soldiers endured are shocking and riveting. "Lest We Forget," wear a red poppy proudly, attend the Remembrance Day Service at the cenotaph tomorrow and remember to say "Thank you, Mr. Schaus for your service." Harold and Edna reside in Haldimand County.

~ Soldiers' Stories, Kirk Du Guid, First Choice Books, 2009

Veteran Lothar D. Lewis came into The Neat Little Bookshop the day we opened and expressed his love of reading. He offered to staff the store to keep it open an additional day of the week. "Lew" is gone now, died alone at his residence in Cayuga at the age of sixty-four in 2009. Lew, as everyone knew him, purchased many of only one type of book: Non-fiction ~ Vietnam war. No historical fiction for Lew.
Frankly, we did not know quite what to think about this immaculately dressed man -- walked poker-straight, smoked and drank too much, took a lot of pain-killers. It was not until Du Guid's book came out that everything fell into place. It all made sense.

Lew got to read his chapter in Soldiers' Stories before he died because author Kirk Du Guid provided each soldier with a copy of their story prior to publication.
Lew served in the U.S. Marine Corp in Vietnam. His story is told with humour, heart-breaking honesty and with lurid detail. Rest in peace, our friend Lothar D. Lewis. Thank you for your life -- your service -- and thank you Kirk for telling it.

Soldiers' Stories, Kirk Du Guid, 2009 First Choice Books. Available at The Neat Little Bookshop

A Poppy Is to Remember ~Heather Patterson & Ron Lightburn

North Winds Press, 2004, A Division of Scholastic Canada Ltd.

"War and Remembrance" A Special exhibit commemorating Haldimand's military history from the War of 1812 through WWII.

Join Haldimand County Museum & Archives for a week of talks on Haldimand's military past.

Mon., November 7 ~ War of 1812, 1 pm
Tues., November 8 ~ Fenian Raids, 1 pm
Wed., November 9 ~ 114th Battalion, 7 pm
Thur., November 10 ~ WWII, 1 pm

Haldimand County Museum is located in the park beside the County Court House on Munsee St. (Hwy #54) For more information please contact the museum at 905-772-5880.

"Lest We Forget" ~

Veteran R. Clark MacDonald was born and raised in Cayuga, Ontario. He left his job as butcher at Harold Reece's grocery store to join the Royal Canadian Air Force in April, 1941 as a radar technician. He was shipped to numerous locations by various means of transportation, enduring conditions and risks that many of us would consider extremely uncomfortable. In India he was shocked to witness the poverty; in Ceylon he was isolated from any news from home.
"I was then posted back to Bombay to a place called Juha Beach and assigned to a Combined Operations Unit. This consisted of army, naval and air force personnel. There was intensive training with various small arms including submachine guns, anti tank rifles, mortars and anti tank grenades."

In central India, he removed radar equipment and FFI equipment from Liberator bombers in temperatures reaching 150 degrees Fahrenheit inside the planes ~ 120 Fahrenheit at night.
MacDonald welcomed VE Day*, May 8 1945, while in England on a two week leave. Back in Cayuga in July 1945, after four and a half years in the RCAF, he married Ruby Hedley and traveled Haldimand County lecturing and moderating discussions with the National Film Board and the Federation of Agriculture.
Clark MacDonald's brother-in-law, Lloyd Hedley, a Spitfire pilot, was shot down and killed over Verden, Germany, on an air reconnaissance mission on April 26, 1945. He is buried in Soltau, Germany.
* Victory in Europe Day
~ Soldiers' Stories, 2009 Local Author, Kirk Du Guid

The Winner of Saturday's Draw is ~ Barbara Nelson. Thank you Barbara and everyone who visited The Neat Little Bookshop booth at the Trade Show. Thank you to the Cayuga and District Chamber of Commerce for organizing another successful event.

A copy of Kirk Du Guid's Soldiers' Stories will be going out to Barbara