RANKIN INLET
Rankin Inlet and Repulse Bay (Naujaat) sent nine of the 28 cadets who travelled to Europe to take part in ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the Allies Victory in Europe earlier this month.The war in Europe ended on May 7, 1945.
Cadet Sgt. Obadiah Sanguin and Sgt. Tatonya Autut pay their respects to fallen Canadian soldiers during the cadets' visit to Europe earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Dorothy Tootoo |
Joining Rankin and Repulse were cadets from Iqaluit, Arctic Bay and Iglulik.
The cadets visited the Netherlands, Belgium and France on the 11-day trip.
The cadets were accompanied by 11 chaperons.
The prime focus of the trip was for the cadets to gain an understanding of the true price of freedom in Canada and to understand what Canadian soldiers had to endure in two world wars.
Cadet Chief Warrant Officer Senna Oolooyuk, 17, is in his sixth year with the cadet program.
He has been accepted into the Aboriginal Leadership Opportunity Year at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ont.
Oolooyuk said each country they visited was an incredible experience.
He said pretty much everywhere they visited was beautiful in its own way.
"But for the real reason we were there, the place that struck me the hardest was Juno Beach," said Oolooyuk.
"The distance from the shoreline to where they were trying to get really wasn't that far but the challenges they had to overcome while being under constant fire from the German army hit me the most.
"It was very hard to imagine what it must have been like for the Canadian soldiers on that beach, and to process what they had to overcome to reach their target.
"It must have been terrifying!"
Oolooyuk said there was an incredible crowd of people out for the Liberation Day Parade in Holland.
He said he doesn't think anyone there will ever forget the fact it was the Canadians who liberated them from occupation.
"The people there thank you so much just for being a Canadian.
"There were thousands and thousands of people lining the streets for the Liberation Day Parade.
"So many people came up to thank us for liberating their country so many years ago.
"That just made me feel really, really proud to be a Canadian."
Oolooyuk said you can't help but be impressed with many of the towns and cities in Europe.
He said from the land itself to the beauty of the architecture, it can be almost overwhelming at times.
"Vimy Ridge was breathtaking, but, for me, I'd have to say the most impressive place was Groesbeek (Netherlands).
"That's the place where the Nazis actually surrendered to the Canadians, and it the amount of history there just blew me away.
"There's a definite vibe there, especially when you visit the cemetery.
"You can just feel the death weigh down on you there, especially knowing the big, big majority of the 2,000 or so soldiers buried there are Canadian."
Oolooyuk said he left Europe with a fierce pride in being Canadian.
He probably would never have gotten to experience anything like it if not for the cadet program, he said.
"I would strongly encourage other youths to get involved with the cadet program.
"Cadets is a great program that helps you mature as a person, lets you travel all over the place, and compete in a lot of different competitions.
"It's just a great opportunity for youth.
"You get to see a lot of cool things and have a lot of fun in cadets."
The Rankin cadets commanding officer, 2nd Lieut. Dorothy Tootoo, said the trip really brought home the realities of the war.
She said it really hits you hard, just how many people gave their lives for freedom.
"You can't help but be sucked right into those moments when you go from cemetery to cemetery, then to monuments and the Holocaust Museum," said Tootoo.
"To walk into Anne Frank's house, and realize this is where they were for so long, just staggers you.
"I can't imagine children being absolutely quiet almost all of the time, but they had to be because their lives depended on it.
"As hard as I tried not to, I probably cried at about five different moments during our visit."
Tootoo said going to Vimy Ridge was nothing short of incredible.
She said the stop had her going from one emotion to another.
"The Unknown Soldier is there and we did a little ceremony in our uniforms to pay our respects to those who had fallen.
"We're going to have another moment here in Rankin to talk with the other cadets about what we saw, and what we felt, while we were there.
"We really want to talk about what our freedom means to us now.
"We talk about the war and what it means to have freedom through lessons in cadets but to really be confronted with it was a whole other emotional level."
