Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I also thank the witnesses for coming here to share their views with us on the upcoming commemorations in the Netherlands.
Major-General Rohmer, I would first like to tell you and my committee colleagues that I had the opportunity to take part in the commemorations for the 69th anniversary of the Normandy landing two years ago. The Canadian veterans delegation was not a big one. There were only 10 or 15 people.
What struck me and moved me the most was to see the warm welcome from the French to the veterans. They treated them like true celebrities. People of all ages, 20, 25 or 50 years old, wanted to speak to the veterans, to have their pictures taken with them and to thank them for freeing their parents or grandparents and for saving their lives. I was deeply touched by that.
As you said, Major-General Rohmer, in your wise counsel to the minister, at the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands, we will need to focus entirely on veterans because they are aging and we are unfortunately losing them from year to year. For a number of them, this will probably be the last time that they will be able to travel there.
You told us that you participated in some commemorations in the Netherlands. I imagine that, in those situations, veterans are treated in the same way, with deep gratitude, and that people invite them to share a meal with them. I heard those kinds of invitations. If I were a veteran, I think those types of stories would be the most meaningful gesture of gratitude for me.
Could you briefly tell us about your experience with the Dutch and tell us whether they were as welcoming and grateful as the French two years ago?