57th CF contingent completes Nijmegen Marches

Nijmegen: Veel Success!

By Lieutenant Karina Masse

Nijmegen, Netherlands; 24 July 2009 — Congratulations! You have just spent four days waking up at three in the morning in a field of mud to march 160 hot, humid kilometres — not counting the hike to and from the finish line — with close to 15 kg on your back. To celebrate, you get to do a victory march of five more kilometres in battering rain! This is, of course, consistent with Dutch meteorological custom.

It’s miserable, but the Canadian Forces teams at the Nijmegen Marches couldn’t be happier.

That victory march is called the “Via Gladiola” for the flowers thrown at the marchers along the way by thousands of spectators. Fortunately for the CF contingent, the Royal Canadian Artillery Band kept weary feet in step despite the dizzying array of sights and sounds along the packed route.

The Via Gladiola capped what was, for most of this year’s contingent, their first Nijmegen experience. When asked what they will remember most about it, they shook their heads in awe of the Canadians soldiers who fought here in 1944 and 1945, who marched even farther and often found battle, rather than a bunk bed and a hot meal, at the end of the road.

This solemn thought is lightened by the enthusiasm of the children who live in these neat Dutch towns with their bullet-scarred buildings. Carefully taught about what the Canadians did here during the Second World War, they rush up to the CF teams to ask for souvenirs — stickers, flags, pins, anything with the Canadian maple leaf — and hand out food. (Fresh fruit and veggies were most popular, but the black liquorice was usually politely declined). Even sick children in hospital beds were on the route with their teddy bears, waving at the troops.

When asked if they will return next year, some marchers said that it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that cannot be duplicated. Others were non-committal, unwilling to forecast that far ahead.

One marcher who is sure to come back is retired Brigadier-General Peter Holt, who glided through his 17th Nijmegen in better shape than most participants half his age. His secret? “I’m always in training,” he said. He plans to allow himself a generous week of walking without the 10-kg rucksack before beginning training in earnest for the 2010 marches. Canadian Forces members who want to join him in 2010 may want to start hitting the pavement soon.