Photo: Keith Thom

Peachland Deputy Mayor Keith Thom, with one of the wreaths he presented during his Netherlands trip to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE-Day.

Peachland councillor and deputy mayor Keith Thom is back home after a whirlwind tour of the Netherlands.

Thom was on a personal mission to reconnect with the memory of his father, Major Murray Thom, who led the Royal Canadian Dragoons as a part of the liberation of the Dutch city of Leeuwarden in April 1945.

"A humbling, amazing, emotional experience. I didn't realize that my father was as well-known as he was. I mean, there were banners in towns we went through with my father's picture on it," said Thom.

Thom was in the Netherlands to share in the celebration of the 80th anniversary of VE-Day, thanks to some generous donations that helped him pay for his trip.

"It was freaking amazing," Thom said.

He wanted to take a walk in his father's footsteps and try to track down some of the people who knew his dad, including a beautiful, smiling young woman.

"No, I kept waiting for someone to tap me on the shoulder and say, 'hi, I'm your sister.' But that did not happen."

He said more people than he could count approached him and told him stories about his father and the liberation of the country.

"An author (who) had just written a book about the liberation of Holland and my father's pictures is on the front cover of his book," said Thom.

The other highlight was when he met a 94-year-old man during a celebration in Leeuwarden who looked at one of Thom's photos and remembered waving at his father.

"It was quite something," Thom said.

Thom is now back home in Peachland, recovering from jet lag and planning the best way to share his experiences with the Legion in Peachland.

"I will do a couple of free shows and give some information about the trip. I presented two wreaths I bought (with me) while I was there. One was from the District of Peachland, which I presented on April 15, and on the night of liberation, I presented the Peachland Legions wreath in front of about 30,000 people in this park."

Thom said it was the trip of a lifetime and not something that he'll soon forget.

"It was just a massively emotional trip."