A Saskatchewan connection to the Netherlands is seeking to honour fallen liberators of their country.

The Holten Canadian War Cemetery located in Holten, Netherlands is the resting place for 1,392 men and one woman, many of whom are Canadian soldiers who fought in Second World War.

Jan Braakman, a volunteer researcher, guide, and host at the cemetery. He said that the organization he volunteers with, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is taking steps towards archiving and commemorating those who inhabit the gravesite.

He said that their focus is on collecting information about the soldiers, and in turn, being able to better know and understand those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

"As a researcher, what I do is look for the files of those men that are buried at our place and find relatives of them, and try and get some more information about the people that are buried in Holten."

The next part of the organization's research is contacting the families of those whose resting place is in the cemetery.

Once that information is collected, Braakman said that they would construct a video to be able to show at the cemetery to visitors, hoping to instill in them the fact that every one of the nearly 15,000 headstones are overtop of fathers, sons, and a daughter.

"All these people that have fought in the Netherlands had their own lives, and they all had their own relatives in Canada who missed them, and who loved them, and they gave the most important thing they had, their lives for our freedom."

The organization is planning on taking a trip to Canada in autumn to try and speak to the relatives of the soldiers resting in Holten, some of whom are in Saskatchewan.

Another reason that the memorial is an essential remnant of the Second World War, is to serve as a reminder of the struggles caused by conflict.

"It's important to always tell younger people how bad war is. You should say to all the people all over the world 'never go to war, never go to war. That's the worst thing you can do."

Braakman said that he had a personal connection to the Canadian military's involvement in the Netherlands in the Second World War. His grandmother was killed in a fire that also killed two Canadian soldiers when the barn they were in caught fire after being attacked.

All of the members of the memorial, except for 11, have information such as names and birthdays. Around half of the residents, have letters, or photos with a caption that provides extra information on the fallen soldiers.

Braakman said time might be running out for the other half.

"Now after more than 70 years, it's our last chance to speak to people who have actually known the people who are buried at our place, because they are at least 80, or maybe even 90 or older. You have to be lucky to find someone [who can provide more information.]"

Braakman urged anyone with information on those who may be buried in the cemetery to contact the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to give more background.

He said in an ideal situation, they would be able to provide as much information as possible for every member of the memorial.