WAGENINGEN, the Netherlands — Ciny Ormel didn’t care what side you were fighting for if you were dying.
The Second World War nurse was blind to enemy or ally status, caring for all wounded troops with the same human compassion.
“When I took care of dying soldiers, I told them I loved them, whether they were English, Canadian or German,” she said. “They deserved that before they died.”
Now 93 years old, Ormel worked in a hospital in Arnhem and counts herself lucky. Her family home was not bombarded and she had a fiance with a large farm that fed them well during the war.
During five years of Nazi German occupation, thousands of Dutch people died of starvation or sustained themselves with tulip bulbs and grass. Others were mistreated or sent to concentration camps.
Attending Liberation Day ceremonies in her hometown Wednesday, Ormel said she remains grateful 65 years later for the soldiers who came to the rescue from far away.
“I was happy when the Canadians came,” she said.
kathleen.harris@sunmedia.ca
