Major PEDERSEN,   Recruiting Officer VESTER,   Members of the Danish Home Guard,  Honoured Danish Veterans,   Honoured guests.

I must start by saying what a very great honour it is for me and my son Gordon to be here today.   Unfortunately my daughter Courtney who is a member of the
Canadian Army Reserve was unable to accompany us.

Like David Geddes and millions of others of my generation we had relatives that we were never able to meet.   We heard of them from our families and we heard
of the heroic and tragic sacrifices that they made during the war.  My father Gordon was very close to his brother Arnold and his cousin Bill and Bill’s sister Betty. 
When the war came, my father joined the Canadian Army, his brother Arnold joined the Royal Canadian Navy and Bill joined the Royal Canadian Air Force.  Bill’s
death on September 25, 1942 was a double tragedy to our family.  Just 11 days earlier Arnold had been killed when the destroyer HMCS Ottawa was torpedoed
and sunk while on convoy escort duty in the Atlantic.   From Bill and Arnold I have the great honour of being named William Arnold EMERSLUND.

When I was a child I was told about Bill and Arnold and how they had died in the war.  It was explained to me by my father and my Uncle from my mother’s side
who had been in the RCN “that a war had to be fought and a duty had to be done”.   My father and my grandmother and Bill’s sister Betty did not know the
circumstances of how Bill died.  They were under the belief that Bill had been shot down somewhere over Germany.  It was not until about twenty-five years ago
that I discovered that Bill and his crew had died here and were buried in Denmark when I found a book about all of the 16,000 Canadians who had died in World
War 2 while serving in the RCAF or RAF.   That book is called “They Shall Grow Not Old”.   It was me who told my Aunt Betty that her brother Bill was buried in Denmark.   Betty passed away several years ago at least knowing this.

As a child, then a teenager and then an adult I thought often of Bill and Arnie and what could have been if I had met them.  The uncles I never got to know. 
Knowing of them and their devotions and sacrifices has had a very great effect on me and my family heritage.    I suppose this is evident by the uniform that I am
wearing and this has been passed on to my son and my daughter. 

I have learned of how many people from countries occupied by the Germans such as Denmark fought on while serving in the RAF and other services and of the
brave resistance of the citizens of those countries including Denmark to the invaders. 

Several years ago I discovered on the internet the fantastic and thorough research that has been done on Lancaster R5679 by Anders Straarup, David Geddes,
Mike Brewser and many others.  I was overwhelmed when I found out that this little village of Gronhoj in Denmark has honoured seven young men from Britain
and Canada who died here some 73 years ago.   It was an overwhelming pleasure to be put into contact with David and Anders and to learn of the incredible
research that they had done to honour these men. 

Lewis Morrison,  Cedric Coldicott,  John Duffield,  Alexander Cormack,  Thomas Bevan,  Edwin  Dyson and Bill Emerslund were extraordinary young men with
bright futures before them which ended tragically here nearly 73 years ago.

My family will always have a great deal of pride and comfort in knowing that a little piece of Denmark will always be Canadian.  On behalf of my family, all members
of the Canadian Military and the people of Canada I thank you all for your caring and concern.   God bless Denmark and all of you.    Mange tak.