Brunssum, The Netherlands – Thursday 09 November the 23rd international remembrance service was conducted at the Monument of Tolerance, at Leudal.
Major General Staudenraus (Deputy Chief of Staff (Operations)) laid a wreath on behalf of Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum whilst Colonel Janssen-Kuijpers (NLD Senior National Representative) laid a wreath on behalf of the NLD community at JFC Brunssum.
Picture by Captain Briana O’Hearn
Every year on the Thursday closest to November 16th (WWII Liberation day of the Leudal area), the International Commemoration at the Monument of Tolerance in Leudal (Haelen-Limburg) takes place.
The Monument of Tolerance was unveiled on 08 March 2001 as a reminder of the war years 1940 -1945 and of the more than 800 soldiers of 11 nationalities who lost their lives in the Leudal area.
The Monument of Tolerance is a regional monument. It is a lasting memory of the military who lost their lives in the overall territory of the present municipality of Leudal, the territory of the municipality of Nederweert which lies east of the Wessem-Nederweert canal and the Noordervaart, and the territory of the municipalities of Maasgouw and Roermond, which lies east of the River Meuse.
The sculpture, cast in bronze, was made by Thea Houben from Roggel. It consists of a half arc on an equilateral triangle that symbolizes the Divine. The seagulls represent freedom. The sword with the laurel wreath and the clasped hands indicate the struggle that has been fought and the fraternization over death. The base of the monument is closed with boulders, one for every soldier killed. The red rays in the pavement symbolize the nationalities of the fallen.
Picture by Captain Briana O’Hearn