Ultimate Sacrifice Recognized In Tiny Baden, Ontario

[DITNER, S.M.]

Gents:


Thought that if anyone would appreciate this bit, it would be the folks at Maple Leaf Up. Should warm your hearts.

When the village of Baden, Ontario (near Kitchener) recently began placing the street signs in one of its new subdivisions, it was noted that one of the placards bore a poppy, and the name "Hubert Ditner".

Those of you who read Maple Leaf Up's lively History Forum may recall the name from one of my endless queries: he was a Sergeant in the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards. He died fighting on the muddy banks of the Naviglio Canal, in Italy on the night of 04 January, 1945 after nearly two years at the sharp end.

Some may note the irony: Baden is a town in southern Germany; like many young men from Waterloo County, Hubert volunteered to fight oppression, and tyrrany, regardless of the culture that spawned it.

Hubert's brother, a veteran of the Medical, and Service Corps, lobbied the village to honour its war dead before he passed years ago.

Good on you, Baden.