By Blake Cudmore

Once a year on November 11th in Canada we remember all the brave men and women who gave their lives protecting us.  My Grandfather - Lester Cudmore was one of these people.  In our Family there is not a day when we don’t think about these sacrifices but until 3 generations of our family visited Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in September 2023 with Tjarco and Jimmy (from the D-Day Dodgers foundation) I did not completely understand (I think this true for many Canadians).

Our day began at the Cemetery where for the first time (after 78 years) my father (Carl) visited his father’s grave. Dad was just 4 years old when my Grandfather gave his life so that we could live the lives we have.  My uncle (Brian) and son (Zach) rounded out our group 6 on this journey.  For my uncle this was his second visit to the cemetery and a special trip for him as he was going to learn about a father he never got to meet. 

Tjarco and Jimmy had a full day planned for us but before leaving the cemetery we took time to walk the cemetery and pay our respects.  We saw the grave of another fallen Canadian from Northern Ontario who won the Victoria Cross (Aubrey Cosens) who single handedly captured a farmhouse fortified by 21 German Soldiers.

After a quick lunch in Groesbeek we began to trace the steps of the last 8 days of my Grandfather’s life.  We set out across the border into Germany, stopping at a small church where Grandpa was buried before being moved to Groesbeek.  The Canadian Armed Forces did not want our soldiers buried in Germany.  We travelled through fields and small villages that the Canadians travelled in the Winter of 1945.  Many of the farm houses that became German strongholds still bear the scars of war.  Bullet holes can be seen everywhere in these brick buildings.  To truly appreciate what it was like we stood in these fields and looked out on flat land (like that of the Prairies in Canada) and saw very little trees or any other natural formation to hide behind to avoid being shot at by the German Soldiers in the brick farm buildings.  It is amazing that anyone made it across these fields alive and more amazing what Aubrey Cosens accomplished only to be shot heading back across these fields to report in at Headquarters. 

We continued across the fields arriving at the Hochwald forest where Grandpa spent the last hours of his life on March 3, 1945. He and 12 other brave Canadians lost their lives in this area on this day.  As we walked into the forest it was easy to see how easily a German soldier could hide.  On this Day Grandpa and Canadians he was with were in this forest when they walked up on a hidden machine gun nest.  All but one Canadian died here including the Germans operating the gun.  What was amazing about this was we also saw the trenches at the edge of the forest looking out across the fields we had just come across and again we wondered how did the Canadians even get into this forest.

After retracing Lester Cudmore’s (Grandpa) steps and standing in the forest where he died I truly understood for the first time the true sacrifice of the soldiers who fought here and continue to fight around the world.  It caused me to pause and wonder how any leader of any nation could think this is the solution to any dispute but again made me thankful for all the men and women who chose to protect us even when leaders make bad decisions. 

My son’s question at the end of this journey summed it up.  “Why are we not taught this in schools?”   Tjarco and Jimmy showed us that we do not do enough to remember the sacrifices our soldiers make.  They took the time to make us understand why we can never forget.  November 11th and every day forward will never be the same.  I will never forget and I encourage you to not just remember but learn more about why we need to. Thank You Tjarco and Jimmy for opening our eyes.