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A Canadian veteran from WWII was re-buried today after his body was missing for more than 50 years.

Pte. Ralph Tupper Ferns died at Falaise Gap in Normandy in 1944. His family thought he was missing ever since. He was found in 2005, identified and reburied today in the Bretteville-sur-Laize cemetery to much pageantry.

A couple of TravelPodders visited the cemetery in the past. They visited the cemetery where Ferns is now buried, bringing back some poignant memories.

Mshulist aka Devon visited the site just a few weeks ago, and it affected him quite strongly

Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian Cemetery

At every memorial I got a lump in my throat, because it reminded me what our country, and others did to protect their (and our) freedom. We went to two Canadian Cemeteries: Beny-sur-Mer, 2049 Canadian graves, and Bretteville-sur-Laize 2872 Canadian graves. It was really sad walking in between row by row of graves. It was really hard to look at the names, and ages of these men. Most of the men were in their early twenties. It was incredibly sad to see how young these men were when they died.

-from Thoughts of Normandy-Devon, Bayeux, Normandy, France

Stevelegassick traveled to the famous cemetary back in 2004, saying he was most impressed by the sheer number of graves in the area.

Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian Cemetery

Elaborate WW2 Museum at Caen, but the most impressive and unmissable sights are the countless British Commonweath cemetaries and memorials throughout Normandy…as well as French, Polish and others….even German. You see the signs, or just bump into small cemetaries in the middle of fieds, wherever, because unlike Americans, who mostly choose to return the bodies home, the British tradition is to bury the dead where the battle occurred.

-from Normandy – Caen, France, Caen, France