I am planting for my uncle, Michael Boss

Pte. Michael Boss (1924-2008) was an ambulance driver with the Road Canadian Army Medical Corps during 1944/5. He was in Northwestern Europe with the 1st Canadian Army, 1st Division with numerous units including 4th and 7th Field Ambulance and the 21st Army Group. He participated in the liberation of Belgium and Holland and the invasion of Germany as the Canadian Army moved north from Ghent through Antwerp, Turnhout, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Arnhem, Hiversum, Amsterdam, Apeldoorn, Leer, Wilhelmshaven and Oldenburg. He returned to Holland only once after that, in 2005 with a group of Canadian veterans to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Liberation of Holland. I was named Michael Boss after him. Nobody in our family had realized that he was in the midst of these horrific battles, until the movie “saving Private Ryan” was in the movie theatres. He and my father went to see it together. Afterwards they came over to our place for supper and in talking about the movie (which we had seen earlier) we asked him about his experience during the war, and if it was like what we saw in the film. His eyes teared up and all he could manage to say was “It was worse than that…” and then he could no longer speak about it. We were startled and shocked by this revelation. The room went quiet for a moment and then we continued on a lighter subject while he regained his composure. Other than sending me a map, at my request, with the locations where he served highlighted he was not able to share with me any other details of his service. I have since read and learned more about what transpired in some of these places. May he and his comrades rest in peace.