I was sad to hear that veteran Canadian paratrooper Jan de Vries sadly past away on the 27th May, a member of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion of the 6th Airborne Division, he was involved in the Normandy drop, Ardennes offensive and Operation Varsity, crossing the Rhine. He was a member of C Company 8 Platoon, he was wounded on 31st July 1944 by a sniper and when he returned to his unit was immediately thrown into the Ardennes offensive. After the war he was president of the Canadian Parachute Association and helped with the Juno Beach centre. http://www.durhamregion.com/opinion/editorial/article/1363980--we-will-remember-pickering-s-jan-de-vries http://www.durhamregion.com/news/article/1363100--huge-loss http://www.chrisalexander.ca/2012/on-the-passing-of-jan-de-vries/ “Ex Coelis” - “Out of The Clouds”
RIP Jan was certainly one of the more visible and vocal Canadian ww2 vets. Always a proud advocate for Canada's airborne units and a fine gentleman.
In 2005, De Vries led a fund raising effort to preserve the Victoria Cross of Cpl. Frederick Topham, 1st Canadian Parachute Regiment. A cheque for $300,000 was handed over to the executors of the Mary Topham Estate in exchange for the Victoria Cross. The full medal group was then handed over by de Vries of the 1st CPBA into the care of a representive of the Canadian War Museum who agreed to place the medals in a secure display case to be shown in the CWM and at various locations across Canada. Corporal Topham, a medical orderly, earned his VC on March 24th 1945 during Operation Varsity.
Jan was both contributor and consultant for 'The Last Drop: Operation Varsity 24-25 March 1945'. I valued his support. Steve
