Canadian Sappers along The Green Route Up: NW Europe 1944-1945

08/13/2024

WELCOME TO NORMANDY

After a few days spent regrouping and getting all the gear in order, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division was finally operationnal on July 24 1944.

The first assignment of the Division was to support and relieve units from the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Divisions in the Southeast sector of Caen, France.
The city, liberated on July 19th 1944, was pretty much left in ruins after more than a month of intense fighting and multiple bombing raids.
Almost 85% of CAEN was completely destroyed when the men set up their new harbor in Colombelles, on the Eastern outskirts of Caen.
From there, they got their first assignments as Divisional Engineers when it was decided to create a bypass road running from Fleury-sur-Orne through Cormelles and Northeast to Mondeville.

The 4th Canadian Armoured Divisional Engineers were assigned a part of the bypass roughly 4 km. (2.6 miles) long running between the Canadian medium artillery lines aimed at the German forces only a few kilometers...if not meters...South of Caen.

For 5 consecutive days, the 6th Field Park, the 8th Field Squadron and the 9th Field Squadron worked around the clock in order to complete the 44 feet wide road with a 24 feet wide center way made of 9 inches of gravel rolled and oiled.

Beside this important road work, the squadrons also had to fulfill their other duties as Divisional Engineers. This meant clearing of enemy minefields and defenses, blowing up obstacles, establish waterpoints for the troops, supporting the infantry and armoured in their patrols and actions...among others.

According to The Green Route Up (p.27): ''The week 1st-7th August was a very busy one and provided 4 Div Engineers with an invaluable battle innoculation.''

All three Squadrons recorded their firsts casualties resulting from enemy fire during those days spent in Caen. Most of the wounds came from shrapnels of German artillery shells fired from the enemy positions in the Falaise area.
Those enemy batteries had the area South of Caen pinpointed and fired all they got anytime they saw a cloud of dust or any sign of movement.

Let's just say that the 4th Canadian Armoured Divisional Engineers had to dive right into action from the moment they landed in France.
They got familiar with the sounds, the views and the smells typical of a WW2 battlefield and a preview of the upcoming months for them.

On August 6th 1944, the order came for the 4th Canadian Armoured Division to move to a new location just South of Caen and get ready for their first important combat experience:
OPERATION TOTALIZE.
Objective: the French town of Falaise about 30 km. to the South.

Next Post: Operation Totalize (August 7th-10th 1944).

07/20/2024

July 19th 1944,

On this sunny wednesday morning, the men of the 9th Field Squadron, R.C.E, were putting the last touch to their vehicles and equipment waterproofing.

After more than 2 years of intensive training, the men of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division were finally going to see some action.

They were all ready for June 6th, D-Day, but an order came at the last minute to advise the 4th Cdn. Arm. Div. that they'll have to wait for their fire baptism.

They've patiently stayed in England, listening to the news from the Allied invasion in Normandy.
Stationed only 52 km south of London, the men of the 9th fd. sqn. were at the front row to see the german's ''buzz bombs'' (V-1 rockets) flying toward the British capital above their heads.

On July 17th in the afternoon, the order came. The 4th Canadian Armoured Division was to cross the English Channel and fight the Nazi's in France.

ON July 18th, the Squadron moved from their field harbor in Chelwood Gate (Essex, UK), to the marshalling area in Tilbury (East of London).
There they witnessed the immense logistics efforts that were going on in England ports since the invasion of June 6th.
Eveything went smoothly, according to the 9th fd. sqn. war diary, and all was ready to embark the LST on the morning of July 20th.

The men were issued 24hrs rations as well as sea surviving equipment.
Those who had not do so before were asked to complete their will and set their life insurance policy informations.

Believe it or not, I can assure you that a large majority of the men that night were happy to finally see some action.
They did know dangerous tasks were ahead, they did know some of them will never come back.
But after almost 900 days of training since they left Canada in 1942, those guys wanted to show their ability once in the field.

For the next 2 days, the men of the 9th Field Squadron (R.C.E) and the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, completed preparations and loading on the ships that will bring them South of the Manche (English Channel), directly to the heart of the Allied offensive via the Arromanches-les-Bains Mulberry Harbor.

See you on French soil for the first operations of the 9th Field Squadron as Divisional Engineers for the 4th Canadian Armoured Division.

Next up, the first steps in Normandy, Caen and the big push toward Falaise.

🍁🍀

06/07/2024

Send a message to learn more

06/07/2024

June 6th 1944.

The first image is a testimony from a Canadian infantryman following the D-Day landings.

The original post is available (In French)...🤷‍♂️ at the bottom.

Feel free to ask if you have any questions!

May we all remember those who died and those who lived through days like this.
May we all REMEMBER, that those events STILL CAN happen.

Respect.
✌🍁

Send a message to learn more

08/03/2023

Allright, friends and followers, I must humbly admit that I took a bigger bite that I could chew by thinking I would be able to follow a precise schedule during summer time. 🤷‍♂️🤣

I sat back a little, enjoying quality time with my son and friends. I wish you can all do the same as it's certainly more important than anything else.

This being said, I also took time to ''Re-Think'' my next posts and I took some precious time reading War Diaries and other sources to add some interesting details for the rest of the journey.

I will post when I can, and when I am ready.
I truly believe that you will get the best out of ''me'' if I go with the flow of my ideas.

ENJOY! 🙏🧐🍁

TODAYS POST: 1943-1944 GETTING READY FOR THE REAL DEAL

WALLINGFORD, ENGLAND, JANUARY 1943.

After spending a comfortable Christmas in East Horsley, the men of the 4th Canadian Armoured Divisional Engineers entered a new phase of their training.
Now that the Sappers were getting quite skilled in their basic trades, it was time to learn how to use those skills on the battlefield to support their fellows from Infantry, Armoured and Artillery units in their various missions.

As I mentioned before, training an Army, or in our case, a Division, is like assembling a huge machine parts by parts. Another way to see it is like assembling a Professional Sports Team to compete in an Elite League.
To help you better understand what was the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, I leave you a very helpful link.
https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/organization/fieldforces/casf/4thdivision.htm

Don't hesitate to use all of this site which has been a great help for me so far in my researchs.

The Coachs (Officers), want to make sure every Athlete (Sapper) is in good shape first.
Then you want all of them to work as a team composed of various units such as Defensemen, Attackers, Goaltenders,etc.
If any part of the team fails in its role, defeat is almost certain.
But if everyone does it's job and knows how to react once the ''real game'' starts, Victory is possible even when facing a ''stronger team''.

WINTER 1943: FROM SQUADRONS TO DIVISIONAL ENGINEERS

In January 1943, Spr. Hogan's unit (9 fd sqn), along with the other 4th Arm. Div. Engineers units (8th fd sqn, 6 fd pk sqn, HQ RCE 4 arm div), were ordered to move from East Horsley for a month of intensive bridging training in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England.

At the end of January, many demonstrations were put up by the sappers of the 9th Field Squadron for the Generals Officer's in Command (G.O.C) of British, Polish and Canadian Forces in England.
Members of the British and Canadian Press attended some of these demonstrations as well as many important Officers coming from every units composing the 4th Canadian Armoured Division.

Various types of bridges and obstacles overcoming techniques were then being more and more commons to the sappers. The idea was now to make sure that other units were able to move over those bridges without too much trouble.

Don't forget that bridges and other obstacles overcoming tools had to sustain AT LEAST the passage of the ENTIRE Division and sometimes many more units.
**REMEMBER**
In 1943, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division was composed of more than 16 000 men and their materials. almost 7000 vehicles in total. THAT'S HUGE for any ''improvised'' bridge or floating devices.
The approaches often presented the most challenging aspect of those jobs.
I will come back to this later once in action!

The rest of Winter 1943 was spent between East Horsley and Wallingford where the Squadrons did a lot of forced marches (minimum 12 miles with full combat gear, NO DRINKING WITHOUT ORDER, NO TALKING) and a lot of traveling in Covoys, another essential aspect of fast moving warfare.

FEBRUARY 28th 1943, BENTLEY, EAST HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND.

ORDER RECEIVED FOR THE 9th CANADIAN FIELD SQUADRON.

**PREPARE TO MOVE ON MARCH 1st 1943 FOR EXERCISE SPARTAN**

Taking place in Southern England during the first weeks of March 1943, the ''SPARTAN SCHEME'' was a huge ''War Game'' between various units of the British and Canadian Armies.

Between March 1st and March 12th, th 9th Field Squadron followed the 4th Canadian Armoured Division on a ''real'' campaign to push back enemy forces and breakthrough their defensive lines.
A taste of what was to come during the Normandy Campaign the following year.

This exercise included a total of 10 Divisions, among which 4 were Armoured Divisions. There are no official numbers of how many troops were involved, but an estimation of close to 100 000 is not an exageration.

SPARTAN was probably one of the largest ''War Game'' ever organised between Allied Forces during the entire War.
After the exercise ended, some high ranking officers were discharged of their actual command and some units reorganisation took place in the Canadian Army.

On March 20th 1943, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division came under command of the 2nd Canadian Corps as part of the First Canadian Army.

Summer and Fall 1943 went as the year started. Men took part in various schemes in Southern England while getting more advanced training and classes.
During those ''routine'' months, men were allowed privilege leaves during which they could get up to 7 days off to travel to various locations around England.

I had a huge surprise when I learned that my grandfather visited Ireland (Eire) during one of these leaves at the end of June 1943.
My family always thought that Earl never had the chance to visit our ancestor's land, but we were wrong! 😏✌🍀

FALL 1943- BRIDGING, BRIDGING, BRIDGING and....Oh yes! BRIDGING!!!

There is one word that comes very often in 1943's 9th fd sqn War Diary: Bridging. Bridges. Bridge....any terms associated with it.

Bailey Bridges.
Floating Bailey Bridges.
Floating Rafts.
Etc.
All the available types of military bridging material was used until the men knew exactly every parts of them by heart.
They got so used to build and tare down and rebuild those things that they could assemble them in pitch dark and complete silence just by feeling the parts with their hands.

I think you get it!

Beside this main training, the Sappers got more familiar with mines. Anti-Personal, Anti-Tank, B***y Traps, Unexploded Devices (UXD) and the use of various explosives for demolition purposes on the battlefield.

Those months were also essentials for Officers and NCO's from the 4th Canadian Armoured Division units to get some training alongside the Engineers so their men learned the basics of a Sapper's job.
In the same way, Officers and NCO's from the Engineers unit's took some classes in Infantry and Armoured units of the Division.

It is fair to say that by the end of 1943, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division was starting to look like the fine tuned ''Elite League'' team the Allied Forces needed to win the War against Germany.

✌🍁

NEXT UP:

1944- FROM PRACTICE INTO ACTION.

The next post to come will bring us in the final preparations for the Invasion of France and the first battle experiences for Spr. Earl John Hogan and his fellow sappers.

07/25/2023

Better late then never...😅

Dear friends and followers, I must humbly admit that the ''Training in England'' part of the story was a larger bite than expected to chew!

In fact, this part of the story, that covers more than 2 years, could be the subject of an entire research project. I tried to do my best to fit it into a single post, but there could me a lot more details added.

This being said, here it is:
PART II- LEAVING CANADA AND SETTING UP IN ENGLAND

The last post left us in Petawawa, Ontario, Canada, where Spr. Hogan was going through Advanced Training with other members of the Royal Canadian Engineers.

This part of the training was to be at least 8 weeks to be completed in Canada before a Sapper could be posted into a regular Troop and become ''active for Service'' if I can say so.
But in late May 1942, after only 4 weeks in Advanced Training Camp, the 9th Field Squadron and all the 4th Canadian Armoured Divisional Engineers units were ordered to get ready and prepare to board ships for England.

On May 31st 1942, Spr. Earl John Hogan was ''Scratch Of Service'' from A5-Advanced Training Center in Petawawa and was sent to Debert Camp, Nova-Scotia to regroup with the rest of the 4th Armoured Divisional Engineers before embarking for the trip overseas.

The Divisional Engineers were the first units of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division to leave Canada. On June 4th 1942, the 9th Field Squadron boarded the troop ship SS Duchess of York while the 8th Field Squadron and the 6th Field Park Squadron had the pleasure to travel aboard the Polish Liner MS Batory ''The Lucky Ship''.

The two ships left Halifax as one of the many North Atlantic Convoys between Canada and England. During the crossing, ''several unsuccessful submarine attacks added interest'' to what was overall a ''pleasant trip'', according to The Green Route Up.

When he finally sat foot on English soil, Spr. Hogan was now more than 7500km away from his departure point in Rouyn, Québec.
Keep that in mind!! 🧐

On June 12th 1942, the 4th Cdn Arm. Div. Engineers were comfortably set up in East Horsley, Surrey, England. The last weeks of June gave time for the Sappers to complete their Advanced Training.
On July 3rd 1942, Earl John Hogan officially became qualified Sapper Earl John Hogan and was assigned to the 3rd Troop of the 9th Field Squadron.

During the next months, men went through more specific training and various formations. The Royal Canadian Engineers need a lot of various skills, or trades, among their ranks to be able to fulfill their missions on the battlefield.
Some men qualified as: Capenters, Macons, Cooks, Drivers, Mechanics, Tinman, Welders, etc.

Beside that, the troops were introduced to more and more complex ''war games'' to learn the basics of the operations on the battlefield. During those exercices, or ''Schemes'', men had to learn defensive and offensive techniques for example:

-Digging trenches and dugouts;
-How to defend a position;
-How to attack an enemy position;
-Supporting Infantry and/or Armoured units in their operations;
-Map reading and drawing;

The goal of these schemes is to make every piece of the Squadrons to work togheter so the ''BIG DIVISION MACHINE'' can work as well.
The objective of training is also a way to develop a strong team spirit among the troops, or Esprit de Corps that is essential to maintain morale and confidence.

Another important part of the Engineers training was introduced in July 1942 when the Sappers were introduced to their new Heavy Steel Best Friend: The BAILEY BRIDGE.

For the next years, this incredibly versatile piece of military engineering will become essential for the Allied advances and victories on all fronts of World War II.

The Sappers will learn to use the Bailey Bridge in all sorts of situations, they will get to know every single parts, welds and holes even in pitch dark.
The heavy trusses and pannels were loaded, assembled, disassembled, reloaded almost every days and nights by all the troops.

Well...I think you get it...
BRIDGING...BRIDGING....BRIDGING....and....MORE BRIDGING!!
Here is a very interesting link to an article detailing the parts of the famous Bailey Bridge from the Canadian Military Engineers Association.
I will come back to it again often, but this is a REALLY good BASE for you my friends to read.

https://cmea-agmc.ca/sites/default/files/bailey_bridge_primer_v2_0.pdf

At the end of 1942, the 9th Field Squadron spent their last days in East Horsley where they celebrated Christmas in the unit's HQ established in an Old Manor House named ''The Ghost Manor'' by the men.
Even if away from home, the men tried to enjoy themselves as much as possible during the months spent in England.
Unit's tried to set up entertainment centers as well as other facilities to make life more interesting for the soldiers in their free times.

Don't forget that even if they were deployed overseas, every member of the Canadian Army had some free time for themselves as well as leaves accorded once in a while.
Being a Soldier is a ''Job'', don't forget that!

Some men, when not harboured in the field, had the pleasure to stay in billets among the civilian population. They slept there and reported to the unit in the morning or to take their duty.
Villages and towns accross England saw their population sometimes tripled by the number of foreign soldiers stationned in their areas.
You can imagine that the Pub's did some good business during those time.

THATS IT FOR 1942.

THE NEXT POST (FOLLOWING LATER TODAY) WILL COVER FROM JANUARY 1943-JULY 1944.

07/13/2023

Suprise post before we start the campaign.

You can imagine that men are not send on the battlefield without any preparation.

In fact, the 4th cdn arm div engineers spent way more time getting ready for war vs. time ''At war''.

This first post and pictures will bring you back in late February 1942 when Earl John Hogan decided to volounteer for service in the Canadian Army until his unit was sent overseas to England in early June of the same year.

GETTING THERE PART I: TRAINING IN CANADA (Feb./June 1942).

A week after celebrating his 25th birthday on February 17th 1942, my grandfather, Earl J. Hogan was attested as an official member of the Canadian Army.

After enlisting in Noranda (Quebec), Earl took a train for the first 700 km of his journey to begin his Basic Training Course in No41 Canadian Army Training Center located in Huntingdon, Quebec, Canada.

Basic Training was, and still is today, mandatory for any new member of the Canadian Forces. Before being a Sapper, a Cook, a Tankman or any other trade in the Army, everyone must have a basic Soldier formation.

In 1942, the Basic Training Course (or Basic T.C.), had a duration of 8 weeks during which men had to follow classes, on field training and tests to obtain their qualification and proceed to Advanced Training in a more specific trade.

During Basic T.C., Spr. Hogan was qualified in the followings:

- Drill (military march);
- Physical Training;
- First Aid;
- Marching (forced march in complete battle dress);
- Rifle (handling and shooting);
- Anti-tank Rifle (handling and shooting);
- Anti-Aircraft (Rifle and Light Machine Gun techniques);
- Pistol (handling and shooting);
- Bayonet Fighting;
- Light Machine Gun (L.M.G) (handling and shooting);
- Protection Against Gas (P.A.G.);
- Gas Chamber Test;
- Field Craft;
- Map Reading;
- Fundamental Training (various basic military tactics, methods, history, etc.);

That's a LOT for such a short time.
But it's usualy during Basic Training that discipline and esprit de corps starts to form among the men. Some of them will stay with the same buddy from this very early start to the bloddy battlefields...keep that in mind!

During Basic T.C., nights are shorts, you get physically and mentally exhausted but for most of these young men, it was seen an ''adventure'' and a big change comparing to their civilian life.

In the late days of April 1942, now qualified, Spr. Hogan left the Huntingdon Training Center in Quebec to proceed into Advanced Training in the A5 Advanced Training Center in Petawawa, Ontario, Canada.
This base was one of the Royal Canadian Engineers training center as well. There, the sappers slowly got familiar with their future tasks as Combat Engineers.

This advanced training in Canada was kind of ''cut short'' when it was decided that the newly formed 4th Canadian Armoured Division (born from the conversion of the 4th Infantry Div. into an armoured Div by Canadian Army in early 1942), was to be sent in England during the summer.

For the Divisional Engineers, this meant leaving Canada in the first week of June 1942 since they were to be used in building the accomodations for the rest of the Division that'll follow in the next weeks.

See you all in a few days for the move to England and ''Real'' Advanced Training.

✌🍁

NEXT UP...

PART II-
LEAVING CANADA AND TRAINING IN ENGLAND (June 1942-July 1944)

07/07/2023

WHAT IS THE GREEN ROUTE UP?
PART II: THE BOOK

At the end of the Second World War, a lot of units published books, or somekind of memory diaries to be kept by the soldiers when they returned home.

The 4th Canadian Armoured Divisional Engineers decided to do so and the result is a 121 pages book titled: The Green Route Up. Published by Mouton & Cy. Ltd. in The Hague, Netherlands, in late 1945, it contains a lot of precious anecdotes as well as pictures, drawings and maps.

I think there are no better words than those of the Editor in Chief of The Green Route Up to describe it:

''The purpose of this book is to provide firstly a record of the formation's activities during the war, and secondly, a lasting memo which will bring back to the reader's mind in years to come, the bright spots as well as the black ones in World War II''

-Lieut. M.O. Rollefson R.C.E- Foreword, The Green Route Up, p.17.

WARNING!!!

This is a book that was written and edited BY Sappers, FOR Sappers almost 80 years ago meaning that it might seems a ''heavy'' or even ''boring'' read for someone who's not very familiar with military terms and operations.

BUT....

The following link will lead you to an online version of The Green Route Up available on the Canadian Military Engineers Association website that was a little bit adapted in 2006 by (then) Maj. E. van Weelderen, Commanding Officer of the 33rd Field Engineers Squadron (the new name of the late 6th Field Park Squadron RCE).

Maj. van Weelderen added footnotes, index and lists of abreviations that make the reading way easier.
*Note that the Online version DOES NOT contain all the pctures and maps from the original version.
https://cmea-agmc.ca/green-route-informal-history-4th-canadian-armoured-division-engineers

The main part of the book is divided into 6 chapters:

I- ''FROM CHELDWOOD GATE, SUSSEX TO BRUGES, BELGIUM''.
Covers from July 16th 1644 (Arromanches-les-Bains, France) to September 8th 1944 (Steenbrugge, Belgium).

II- ''CROSSING THE CANAL DE GHENT AND THE SCHELDE POCKET''.
Covers from Sept 8th 1944 (Steenbrugge, Belgium), to October 15th 1944 (Philippine, Netherlands).

III-''MOVE TO ANTWERP AND ADVANCE TO STEENBERGEN''
Covers from October 15th 1944 (Move from Philippine to Antwerp) to November 8th 1944 (Steenbergen, Netherlands)

IV-''WINTER SOUTH OF THE MAAS AND KAPELSCHE VEER''
Covers from November 8th 1944 (Move from Steenbergen to Helvoirt, Netherlands) to February 20th 1945 (Lith,Netherlands).

V-''MOVE TO CLEVE AND CLEARING OF RHINELAND''
Covers from February 20th 1945 (Lith, Netherlands) to March 24th 1945 (Emmerich, Germany).

VI- ''CROSSING THE RHINE AND ADVANCE TO VAREL''
Covers from March 24th 1945 (Emmerich, Germany) to May 8th 1945 (Wilhelmshaven, Germany).

Beside the main part are some additions such as:

-Hand made draws of some unit's members.

-Foreword from the Editor in Chief Lt. M. O. Rollefson, 9th fd sqn.

-Message from Lt-col. J. R. B Jones R.C.E Commander Royal Engineers of the 4th cdn armoured div.

-A brief ''chapter'' about the Formation and Training of the Division.

-A message from the Padre H./Capt. J. G. Murdock

-A brief chapter about Concentration in Holland Awaiting Repatriation after the war ended (this part is dated from November 6 1945, the last part written just before publishing)

Finally, at the very end of the original version are three important lists:

#1- Personnal Honours and Awards.

#2- Personnel Wounded in Action.

And obviously, the most important part of all:

#3- IN MEMORIAM section in which are written the names of the men that never came back.

With the following pictures, I will show you parts of the original copy of The Green Route Up that I am so lucky to have. Thanks to Spr. Hogan and his wife (my late grandmother), who kept it all these years.

In the following weeks, we will get into the heart of the story.
Starting on July 16th, as the story in the book, I will guide you along the Green Route Up on a ''day to day'' or ''events to events'' way!

Thanks again for following and commenting this page.
It's always a pleasure for me to have feedback from you all.

See you soon on the ''battlefield'' for a campaign that I hope will bring you to discover a less explored part of the North West Europe Campaign.

✌🍁

07/03/2023

Good morning to you friends and followers.

After some weeks of preparation, research, reading, etc. let's get into action!!

Today's post:
WHAT IS THE GREEN ROUTE UP?
PART ONE: THE ROAD ITSELF

The Green Route Up was the name of the main axis of advance or route followed by the 4th Canadian Armoured Division during WW2.
From July 16 1944 until May 5 1945, this road stetched from Arromanches-les-Bains, France, to Wilhelmshaven in North-West Germany. A parcours of almost 1000km (600 miles) filled with water obstacles, mines, craters, roadblocks, name it, the Germans did all they could to slow down the Allied advance.

It was the task of the Divisional Engineers, such as Spr. Hogan, to make sure that the road was opened and tactically useable for the passage of the Division wich was roughly composed of:

- more than 7000 vehicles of which some 350 were close to 40 tons in weight. (Trucks, Half-Track, Carriers, Tanks, AVRE's, etc).

Beside this immense task, the sappers were also to provide any close support the Infantry or other units could need during an assault. For example, foot bridges, demining on the field, construction or destruction of buildings, etc.

The following pictures will show you some different scenes along The Green Route Up as well as some important informations to know for a better understanding of the posts to follow.

The next post will focus on the book: The Green Route Up.

Again, any comments or questions are welcome.
Feel free to share this page to whom might be interested in Canadian Engineers in North-West Europe.

Many thanks to those who keep on following and participate in my project.

See you soon, take care!
G.H.L
✌🍁

06/19/2023

Wall of flames in Alberta, Canada.

Our country is at War with Nature at this moment.

Wildfires across Canada burned 54 000 sq/km so far.
It's almost 2 times the size of Belgium.

It is an absolute record for this time of the year and the temperatures ahead are nothing to help.

Please have a thought for all the firefighters, Canadian Soldiers and all those who risk their lives since almost a month to fight those apocalyptic fires.

Also a special thought for all those who came from around the World to help us.

May you all stay safe!
🙏🍁🍀