# Peacenik Vandals Deface Canadian War Memorial **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 13, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513 "2002-11-13T01:51:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scott\_evil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@scott\_evil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scott_evil)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/21 "2002-11-13T14:32:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > \*\*Did you know at least one of the Princesses of Orange was born in Ottawa during WWII? > \*\* Indeed, and a delivery room of the Civic Hospital (where I was born as well) was declared Dutch territory so that the Princess would be born on Dutch soil. Or so says my mother. Anyway, I have to admit, my little peacenik friends in high school had this psychological grip over me, and we’d boycott Remembrance Day ceremonies, saying they glorified war whilst ignoring those who fought for peace, freedom and change through peaceful means, bla bla bla, whatever. I’m still a socialist and a bit of a peacenik, but this makes me sick. It’s just retarded. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/22 "2002-11-13T14:36:09Z")
Sorry, no English site. But: > [@](#): > > Herbegrafenis Canadese soldaten > 12-11-2002 > > Zoals bekend is in september de Vickers Wellington die in 1943 bij Wilnis is neergestort in opdracht van gemeente De Ronde Venen geborgen. Tijdens de berging zijn stoffelijke resten van 3 bemanningsleden aangetroffen. > Op 27 november worden Flight Sergeant White, Flight Sergeant Thibeadeau en Warrant Officer Moulton begraven met militaire eer op de begraafplaats bij de Nederlands Hervormde Kerk in Wilnis. De ceremonie zal in de ochtend plaatsvinden. Het exacte programma wordt nog nader ingevuld. Zodra er meer details bekend zijn wordt dit via de gebruikelijke kanalen gecommuniceerd. I’ll translate it for ya. > [@](#): > > Reburial Canadian soldiers > 12-11-2002 > > As is known, a Vickers Wellington -crashed in 1943 near Wilnis- has been salvaged by decree of the “Hoge Venen” municipality. During the salvage operation, the remains of three crew members have been found. > > On November 27 (2002), Flight Sergeant White, Flight Sergeant Thibeadeau, and Warrant Officer Moulton will be buried with Military Honour at the cemetary of the Dutch Reformed Church in Wilnis. The ceremony will take place in the morning. The exact programme will be specified at a later date, through the usual means of communication. I’m glad they did the right thing. I hope these marching band guys are still alive for the official farewell. And to think this is just one of 400 such bombers… Canadian vets, thank you - merci. **RickJay** , I don’t know if your granddad is still alive. But he’s a hero - be sure to let him know, if you still can. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/23 "2002-11-13T14:38:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > **Amen, RickJay, we do indeed. Did you know at least one of the Princesses of Orange was born in Ottawa during WWII?** Of course. I was told that story when I as a little boy. Princess Margriet was born to Princess Juliana in 1943. On that day, the Dutch flag was flown on Parliament Hill and the bells rang out the Dutch anthem. During the birth, the Canadian government ceded the maternity ward to the Netherlands so that Princess Margriet was born on Dutch soil. (For those who don’t know, the Netherlands never surrendered their country during WWII; they fought every day of the war, and their government sat in exile in England.) President Roosevelt and Lord Althone, Governor-General of Canada, were among Princess Margriet’s godparents. After the war, the Netherlands gave Canada 1 million tulips as a gift for Canada’s efforts to liberate them. Today, millions of thousands of tulips still bloom in Ottawa every year, all carefully planned out to look as spectacular as possible. It’s a truly amazing sight; up and down the canal, along all the major boulevards, you see huge expanses of tulips in every colour imaginable. Just the fact those men WANT to come to Canada to play at the graves of the downed airmen means something. It’s in the remembering. Many Canadians still lie in Europe. While it would be good for them to be brought home, I think many of us know that those who lie in the Netherlands are with family. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/24 "2002-11-13T14:53:55Z")
And no, he’s dead. But I made sure to thank my other grandfather on the 11th. He was a bomber pilot in 427 Squadron. Flew 35 combat missions. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/25 "2002-11-13T14:55:27Z")
All hype and he’s a rapist. I’ll pass. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/26 "2002-11-13T14:56:37Z")
Uhhhh… where did THAT come from? I didn’t type that. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/27 "2002-11-13T15:04:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > \*\*Many Canadians still lie in Europe. While it would be good for them to be brought home, I think many of us know that those who lie in the Netherlands are with family. \*\* Rest assured they are, Rick. Another thing that got me, from the website of the Ronde Venen municipality, which has photos of the salvage operation: the flightmap that was on board the bomber. Thje site’s in Dutch, with some English, but for those interested: [http://www.derondevenen.nl/](http://www.derondevenen.nl/) Click on “Projecten” in the left margin, and then click on “Vickers Wellington”. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/28 "2002-11-13T15:05:01Z")
Board glitch? Did you mean to post it in another thread, or is it not yours to begin with? ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/29 "2002-11-13T20:25:53Z")
I remember reading about the Maternity Ward in Highlights as a kid. The tulips were also mentioned there. The Canadians did a whole lot more than most people think in WW2. When the Brits were facing the bombing of aircraft factories, the Canadians started producing Mosquito bombers, made mostly from spruce, a very common Canadian wood. They also contributed countless men in the invasion and helped bring peace to the world. I hope these “protesters” die on Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/30 "2002-11-13T21:01:52Z")
I avoided opening this thread for quite some time, partly because of suspicions that it was a bad joke about those “peacenick” _Columbidae_ that deface most of our cenotaphs every day, (they _are_ low-rent doves, after all,) and partly because deep down I knew it wasn’t. How fucking asinine. I’d like to believe that the culprits were _provocateurs_, and that the real aim was to equate the current circus with the uncontroversially just and necessary efforts made in the “great wars.” Of course, I’d like to believe in Santa Claus, too. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/31 "2002-11-13T21:19:04Z")
Any doubts that the perpetrators will be found to be the same kind of idiot kids who sometimes paint swastikas on synagogues just to get attention? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2002, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/32 "2002-11-13T23:00:50Z")
I believe Audrey Hepburn was a member of the Dutch Resistance-she would carry messages in her shoes. ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/33 "2002-11-14T02:40:53Z")
FUCKING ASSHOLES!!! IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING AGAINST IT DON’T DESTROY WHAT SOMEBODY ELSE CARES ABOUT!!! DO IT PEACEFULLY AND YOU WILL KEEP YOUR CAUSE!! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/34 "2002-11-14T04:03:40Z")
I smell a rat, of the type the French call the _agent provocatuer_. Like the guys who used to spread stories about American war protestors spitting on 'Nam vets in airports. Never happened, but the story never died. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/35 "2002-11-14T04:08:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Guinastasia \* > \*\*I believe Audrey Hepburn was a member of the Dutch Resistance-she would carry messages in her shoes. \*\* Yes, she did. See [this biography](http://www.audreyhepburn.org/grahamspage/biography.html). An excerpt: > [@](#): > > 1. > > … > > The Battle of Arnhem begins on September 17. After several days fighting the victorious Germans order all citizens to leave within twenty-four hours or risk being shot on sight. Ella and her daughter watch the exodus from the relative safety of the Baron’s villa: “It was human misery at its starkest—masses of refugees on the move…hundreds collapsing of hunger… We took in forty, but…there was literally nothing to eat.” Among the refugees driven from Arnhem, a young couple with their three sons at the time. They will end up in a chicken shack outside of Velp, where they will spend the rest of the war, including the brutal “Hunger Winter” of 44/45. The youngest child is 2 years old, as his father tows him out of his birthplace on a cart. He’s my dad. ---
**Author:** ![Rossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@Rossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rossarian)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/36 "2002-11-14T08:16:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elucidator \* > \*\*I smell a rat, of the type the French call the _agent provocatuer_. Like the guys who used to spread stories about American war protestors spitting on 'Nam vets in airports. Never happened, but the story never died. \*\* 😕 There was the link to the newstory in the OP. Maybe not as much proof as pictures of the deed in progress, but do you have reason to believe this event didn’t happen? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/37 "2002-11-14T08:51:58Z")
Personally, I hope that if they ever catch the assholes that did this, the authorities hand them over to the WW II vets. Those guys may be old, but as Buzz Aldrin proved, they’re tough sons o’ bitches who don’t take shit from nobody. Assuming any of the peaceniks survive, they should be forced to spend the rest of their days with “I got my ass kicked by an old man” tattooed on their foreheads. This is as bad as the colon lickers who decided to vandalize one of the planes that dropped the bomb on Japan. ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/38 "2002-11-14T14:16:36Z")
Disgusting absolutely disgusting! My Great Uncle died in Europe at the age of 21 so that both Eurpoeans and North Americans could live without oppression. He was a young man, who was described as quite and never was involved in a fight or scuffle in his life. He Joined the Newfoundland Regiment, because he believed it was the right thing to do. I believe in Peace and am opposed to the idea of war but NEVER should anyone deface a memorial to those who sacrificed their lives so that we can sit here grow fat and complacent and forget what the real price of our freedom is. An entire generation was laid waste because some leaders had ambitions of glory and others failed to keep them properly in check and this is what some idiots think of them. We must never let anyone dishonour those men and woman who gave up their youth for generations they would never see. And those others who would remain forever mentally and physically scarred so that we can openly debate ideas and beliefs without fear of reprisal. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/39 "2002-11-14T17:13:50Z")
> [@](#): > > I believe in Peace and am opposed to the idea of war but NEVER should anyone deface a memorial to those who sacrificed their lives so that we can sit here grow fat and complacent and forget what the real price of our freedom is. An entire generation was laid waste because some leaders had ambitions of glory and others failed to keep them properly in check and this is what some idiots think of them. I couldn’t agree more. I wonder if these idiots are ever going to grasp that the people who die in wars are, overwhelmingly, not the people who _create_ wars. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2002, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513/40 "2002-11-14T19:15:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine \* > \*\* > I couldn’t agree more. I wonder if these idiots are ever going to grasp that the people who die in wars are, overwhelmingly, not the people who _create_ wars. \*\* And I wonder how many of them are opposed to the concept of war simply because they’re draft age and worried that they might be called up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/peacenik-vandals-deface-canadian-war-memorial/136513.md?page=3)