Jan de Vries
Jan de Vries was born in Holland and came to Canada in 1930. His older brother enlisted first, and Jan tried to follow when he was 18. He applied for the air force, but was turned down because of slight colour-blindness. He was impressed by the sharp dress and discipline of some 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion members he saw on the street in Toronto, and with that decided that that regiment was the one for him. He was accepted, and became part of the famous Regiment. He dropped behind enemy lines at H-Hour minus six to destroy strategic bridges, and survived to fight (despite being wounded) through Normandy, NW Europe and into Germany. He is president of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and lives in Pickering, Ontario.
| Toronto whe re he became an urban planner. He lives in Don Mills with his wife.
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