Canadian liberator returns to Appingedam, Holland

[Hanno Spoelstra]

" Canadian liberator Jim Parks back in Appingedam: 'I want to give back the appreciation' "

https://www.rtvnoord.nl/nieuws/10187...ing-teruggeven

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Automatic translation:

Canadian liberator Jim Parks back in Appingedam: 'I want to give back the appreciation'
The 98-year-old Canadian Jim Parks is back in the city he helped liberate in April 1945: Appingedam. He is probably the only living liberator.
Parks laid flowers tuesday at the plaque of his former unit The Royal Winnipeg Rifles in the outer wall of the Nicolai church in Appingedam.

Blown through window
Parks landed in Europe in Normandy, near Juno Beach, in 1944. He fought in the Battle of the Scheldt and ended up in Friesland and Groningen via the east of the country. He remembers fighting a lot, especially in Delfzijl. "I remember being blown right through a window in an explosion. That's where I became deaf.'
He can't remember much after that moment. Only that he ended up outside and had to run for his life. He then entered through an open window. But after that moment, he doesn't remember anything. Until he was in an aid station with a cup of tea in his hands. "It's like in a flash. I lost an hour or so," he says with a laugh. "I don't think I'll ever get it back."

Appreciation
The veteran was with six family members in Appingedam. "My grandson and three sons are here too. They've been here before and they have a good idea of what the Canadians have done and the appreciation for that from the people here.'
It means a lot to Parks to be back here: "It's an honor for me to participate in this." (...) 'It sometimes gives a shiver to walking here: you can see that it means a lot to the people. And I sometimes want to give the appreciation back: I appreciate that they appreciate it, if you know what I mean.'

Liberation of Appingedam
Park is probably the last living veteran of his unit. "We know there are still some lives from other units," says Joël Stoppels of Battlefield Tours, a company specializing in giving war tours. 'The Dutch embassy in Ottawa also monitors it, but you notice that most of them are no longer there.'

Appingedam was liberated on 23 April 1945. "Jim Parks' unit then liberates the city. At that time, the Germans had guns at Delfzijl, Nansum and Fiemel. They turn all those walks to Appingedam to fire massively on Appingedam. Then the Canadians decide to evacuate the entire civilian population. That had a huge impact on the population, because they had just been liberated.'

Shelling and mines
Seven thousand Damsters were then evacuated, says Stoppels. 'That was quite an operation, to evacuate them from Appingedam to Groningen, to family members. It was a liberation with a black edge.' And not an easy task: 'A committee was set up that was in contact with the Canadians to steer it in the right direction.'

As if the evacuation itself wasn't complicated enough, there was another obstacle: 'There were also mines at the access roads to Appingedam, so you had to know which roads you could use to get safely to the city, which had already been liberated. That was terrible, because you still had those hellish shelling. And the fighting continued, because at the same time there was fighting in Holwierde and other places, just to come to Delfzijl.'

Laggards
"A handful of people stay behind to protect people's personal property," Stoppels said. "Doors and windows were open. It was a group of 17 people who stayed behind in Appingedam. And then a group of Canadians, not Jim Parks' unit, took "souvenirs." Honor was looted there. They even took furniture.' A number of those Canadians were court-martialed after the war. 'But returning Damsters found their destroyed house or found that property had disappeared.'
Jim Parks' unit did not stay long in Appingedam. His unit moved almost immediately to Leer, where there was also heavy fighting. "The units that succeeded Parks had already fought in Sicily and had already had a hellish campaign," says Stoppels.


Veteran Jim Parks is driven around Appingedam
© Elwin Baas/RTV Noord

[maple_leaf_eh]

Great effort by all involved and good stories.