Hasselt, Belgium #Day33

Today was a very emotional and meaningful day. We visited my great Uncle Sydie's (Nan's brother) grave in Hasselt. 

A War vistors group, a group of people who take responsibility for the local war graves and memorials, looked after us for the day~ 

We had lunch at the president, Andy's lovely home~

We visited Sydie's grave along with the 5 other young men that were tragically killed when their plane was shot down towards the end of World War 2~

Mum laying down some Australian gum leaves from home~

1 member of the 460 Squadron, the pilot, Alex Jenkins survived. We went to the exact place he landed under parachute. It was so fascinating to match old photos up to what we saw in front of us~ 

We visited Nicko, nephew of Rudi who wrote a book about the event.

Nicko and his wife Fiona and baby Pauline~ 

Nicko had a part of the tail section from the plane~

You can see a bullet hole~

He also had a glove~ 

And flying googles~

A model of the aircraft~

We then went to a beautiful memorial sight that the group had repaired and maintained across the years~ 

Later on in the day we went out for dinner at a beautiful restaurant by the lake~ 

We can not thank them all enough for their hospitality and giving us a tour of the main spots involving the 460 Squadron and for all the work they do to remember the soldiers. 

It's such an amazing feeling to know that they will never be forgotten.