It was a whirlwind tour of World War I and II. MFrom the time we boarded the tour bus at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris early on November 14, and headed northeast toward Belgium, we were regaled with the sights and stories of this much-embattled landscape. Within hours, we were crossing the Marne and the Canal du Nord. And the wars of the 20th century were making their mark. Hundreds of cemeteries dotted the landscape. It was the policy of the British Army, of which the Canadians formed a part, to bury their dead "where they had fallen." The struggles of the First World War are marked by these tidy cemeteries, strewn across farmer's fields and the towns and villages of northeast France and Belgium.

For those whose bodies were never recovered - and there were thousands - there are four great memorials: Thiepval, Tyne Cot, Menin Gate, and for Canadians, Vimy.

But the memorials were made personal with two stops the first day to visit the little out of the way cemeteries of St. Olle and Sancourt near Cambrai: the first to visit the grave of Earl Hewson, great uncle of student Justin Williams, and Stanley Brown, Steve's great uncle.

Huge Canadian flag served as a Juno Beach backdrop for the tour group We spent three days in and around Ieper, probably the most fought-over site of World War I: four major battles in five years, including the hell that was called Passchendaele. A visit to Essex Farm cemetery where John McCrae wrote "In Flanders Fields" in 1915 was followed by tours of other famous spots: Langemarck, Tyne Cot, Sanctuary Wood and Hill 62. And every time you looked up you could see the towers of the cathedral and Cloth Hall in Ieper: so much mayhem is such a small area.

One of the most moving parts of the whole trip was the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ieper. The gate itself is a memorial commemorating 64,000 dead of the British and Empire forces who died around Ieper. At 8 p.m. every night (since 1923) the street is closed to traffic, and the Last Post is played, wreaths are laid, and the people of Ieper and their visitors remembered.

A day in Brugge provided an interesting counterpoint of medieval cultural history: the Flemish masters in the Groeninge museum, the Belfort tower, and canal tour in the rain, and a visit to St. Mary's cathedral to see Michelangelo's Madonna altarpiece (the only one outside Italy).

The visit to Vimy Ridge lingers in the mind - the amazing memorial perched on the ridge; the trenches and craters, the tunnels, and the haunting statuary and the thousands of names carved in the monument of Canadians who died and who have no known grave.

An afternoon's bus ride and the focus shifted to Normandy and the Second World War. The group toured the Invasion sites: Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery in the American sector; Longues-sur-Mer with its guns still in place on the cliffs, and Arromanches where the temporary harbor of 1944 is still visible in the water in the British sector. And back in Bayeux, it was a visit to the Bayeux tapestry, an amazing embroidered tapestry, 370 feet long, recounting the conquest of England by William of Normandy in 1066.

Wednesday, Nov. 19, started with a visit to the Canadian cemetery at Beny-sur- Mer. Soldiers of the Lorne Scots lie among others from across Canada, killed in the landing and fighting inland from Juno Beach. And then it was on to Juno Beach itself, an exploration of the beach itself (which looks a lot like Wasaga) and the amazing museum in the Juno Beach Centre.

During the afternoon at the centre, students met several local dignitaries from Courseulles-sur-Mer and Bernieres-sur-Mer who expressed their appreciation of what Canadian students are doing to remember the significant part Canadians played in World War II, and in particular, memorializing individual members of the Canadian Armed Forces at Juno Beach. Two of the speakers had been young boys when the Canadians landed and liberated their towns and shared personal memories of "D Day."

Each of the students on the trip presented the biography of "their" veteran, all of which were recorded by the staff at the Juno Beach Centre. The proceedings shifted outside where the memorial plaques for the Dufferin county veterans were unveiled. It was quite moving to finally see all 46 plaques in place on kiosk #14.

As the daylight faded, we visited "Canada House" at Bernieres-sur-Mer, the first house in France liberated on D-Day, by the Queen's Own Rifles. And some of the hardier souls in the group took a plunge in the waters of the English Channel to celebrate the day. On the way back to Bayeux, we made a detour through Caen to the Abbe d'Ardennes to visit the garden, and learn the story of the 21 Canadian prisoners murdered there in June 1944.

And then it was off to Paris. After a tour of the stunning gardens and royal apartment of the Palace of Versailles, it was into the city. Two more days of intense touring and sightseeing: a visit to the Eiffel Tower at night to see the City of Light, a city tour and a cruise on the Seine, learning to navigate le Metro, visiting Montmartre and Sacre Coeur, the Louvre, Notre Dame, the Left Bank, the Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe - oh yes, and shopping!

As for the details of the last two days, we all invoke Rule #1: What happens in Paris, stays in Paris!

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the DVD's, please contact Neil Orford at CDDHS during the school week at 519- 925-3834 ext 258. The DVD's will be available after June 6th, but all orders must be received before that date. Cost is $25 per DVD. Proceeds from the sale of these DVD's will go towards the ongoing partnership between CDDHS & the DCMA for the Virtual War Memorial.

For further information on the Virtual War Memorial or if you know of any veterans connected to Dufferin County give us a call or email collectionsassistant@dufferinmuseum. com, as we want to make sure that everyone is Remembered!