Nov 11 2014 I have attended Memorial Services in my youth as a girl guide, in 100 Mile House, and more recently, joined in the services here in the Village of Clinton. Some of us gather with memories of personal experience and sacrifices made. For others, like me, those memories are learned from our families and community. We, in turn, have raised our children to honour those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. Sadly, we continue to live in a world where that call for sacrifice is ongoing. Throughout my life this day has brought a specific pain felt through my mother’s family in that two brothers were lost, the eldest four days after landing on the beaches of Normandy and the younger, in January 1945 in Holland. The older brother, by one year, Arthur John Harrison was killed June 10th 1944, not far from the D-Day beaches he landed on. Arthur John is buried with a headstone marking his name at Bretteville sur Laize, France. There is a memorial board in Burnaby City Hall with the names of those from Burnaby who gave their lives for our country. While Arthur John Harrison is listed among those names Ernest Harrison is not as he was listed as MIA. Private Ernest Harrison, my mother’s brother was classified as a soldier with the 1st battalion of the Canadian Scottish Regiment and was moved with his battalion, into the area of the municipality Ubbergren. It was after the night of January 27th 1945 while on patrol to probe German defenses that he was declared Missing In Action. His body was never recovered in order for his name to be listed among those killed in action. Shortly after the war ended my grandmother received a letter from a German medic & minister who was there when Ernest was killed telling my Grandmother that Ernest received a Christian burial. He also described in detail the place of Ernests burial. This letter was written in German and was not translated at that time as my very stubborn and very proud grandmother wanted nothing from germans... rediscovered in recent years by my aunt Beatrice Messinger and was not translated until recently. This letter confirmed to the family that Ernest was killed by machine gun fire on the night of January 27th 1945. It is worth mentioning here that my Aunt Beatrice, kept a picture of the brothers and a copy of the letter from the German medic and Minister on display in the room in which she gave piano lessons. About ten years ago a parent of one of her students stepped into the music room and recognized the Canadian Scottish uniforms and asked for more information. Her mother, the grandmother of the student knew something about the Canadian Scottish soldier who was killed near her family’s farm. Once the letter was translated it was confirmed that Ernest was buried on a family farm in Leuth. My aunt, Beatrice, received the support from a gentleman whose father also served with the Canadian Scottish, contact was made with people in Leuth who identified Ernests burial site (a field belonging to the Vierboom family. While Ernests remains could not be removed from that site and properly interred at the Military cemetery in Groesbeek with all the other brave Canadians who died to free Holland in 1944-5. Beatrice Messinger went to Holland to unveil a monument in honour of her brother Private Ernest David Harrison on June 10, 2014 at Leuth, The Netherlands. I speak today in memory of Ernest David Harrison in recognition of the sorrow of all those whose family members were not appropriately interned and sacrifices were not noted due to MIA status, deeply aware of the way we measure sacrifice. In Canada today we continue to ask and they continue to serve. Let us remember. Let us remember the sacrifice of life, of limb and the scars that are invisible.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 22:01:46 +0000
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