1. Vimy Ridge Memorial, Vimy, France: This magnificent monument in Northern France underwent a $20-million refurbishment in time for last April's 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge [see also VAC's excellent "Links" page].
2. Juno Beach Centre [see "Canada in WWII], Courseulles-sur-Mer, France: The only Canadian museum in Normandy, the Juno Beach Centre is a permanent exhibit offering documents, photographs, maps, artifacts, audio/visual and audio accounts of the D-Day landings of June, 1944 [and check the superb "Links" here].
3. Canadian War Museum, Ottawa: This new state-of-the-art edifice is a fitting tribute to the men and women of Canada who fought, and in many cases died, for their country.
4. Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Mount Hope, Ont. Located at the Hamilton International Airport, the museum features the aircraft used by Canadians from the Second World War to the present, including a restored and operational Lancaster bomber dedicated to the memory of Victoria Cross winner Andrew Mynarski.
5. National War Memorial, Ottawa: Designed originally to commemorate the 60,000 Canadians who died in the First World War, the National War Memorial in Confederation Square has since come to commemorate all of Canada's war dead.
6. Canadian War Cemeteries in Holland: Most of Canada's 5,771 war dead in the Netherlands are buried in Canadian War Cemeteries in Groesbeek and Holten where schoolchildren care for assigned graves -- placing poppies on the headstones on Holland's Liberation Day and Remembrance Day as well as lighted candles at Christmas.
7. In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres, France: This fascinating First World War museum features a number of emotion-charged exhibits and a computer system where you obtain a card containing the name of a participant and follow his/her wartime experiences -- learning the person's fate on the last terminal before you exit the building.
8. John McCrae Gravesite, Wimereux, France [see end of link]: This Canadian medical officer was inspired to write the immortal poem In Flanders Fields after witnessing the carnage of the battles in Northern France during the First World War.
9. D-Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery, Portsmouth, England: Telling the story of Operation Overlord from its origins in the dark days of 1940 to victory in Normandy in 1944, the museum features the amazing Overlord Embroidery, a modern-day counterpart to the Bayeux Tapestry [good "Links" here].
10. Newfoundland Memorial, Beaumont-Hamel, France: This impressive monument in the Somme area of Northern France commemorates all Newfoundlanders who fought in the First World War, particularly those who have no known grave.
-- Tom Douglas, a travel writer and military author who has visited each of these sites and recommends them to anyone interested in Canadian military history.
