Much is made of the special and enduring friendship between the Dutch and Canadians that began with the triumphant arrival of liberation forces in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands in May 1945. The arrival of Canadian soldiers ended five years of terror and tragedy that claimed the lives of thousands of Dutch civilians, as many as 30,000 in the horrific “hunger winter.” Nearly 300,000 young Canadians answered the call to arms and served bravely and with honour.

As a record of their collective achievement, Goddard’s book is a success. But there is a deeper and more important story for the reader here: war is a dirty and miserable, lonely, and even tedious business from which no one escapes unharmed. To survive war means that one has witnessed misery and death firsthand, and it is impossible to follow the path of this book as it unwinds from Normandy to VE Day and not be moved by the accounts of soldiers and civilians whom fate united on May 5.

Copiously illustrated, the text alternates gracefully and compellingly between first-person interviews with Dutch civilians and Canadian servicemen. Goddard links the accounts with a succinct and admirably compact historical narrative that manages to convey broad strategies but keeps the momentum intact. On occasion he slips into sentimentality or trite observation (“The war was truly a team effort”). These occasional stumbles seem trivial overall in what is a graphically stunning account. Young people especially will find this book a valuable introduction to an important chapter in Canadian and world history.

“It seemed no one was interested,” writes veteran John Drummond upon his return to Canada. “No one asked questions, what it was like. It was just like when you come home, okay, get on with your life.” We must do honour to those who did so much and asked for so very little in return. This book may be a beginning.