Submitted by Don Graham
Initials carved into a tree in a forest in Holland in a wooded area outside of the town of Eelde went largely unnoticed for nearly 70 years. The tree was marked by the letters HWR with the words Toronto Canada underneath. The message was discovered by a local resident who took a photo of it and posted it on Facebook and through the magic of social media, the wheels of discovery began turning.
A Dutch journalist named Ernst Abrouw was intrigued by the picture and began researching the initials and the location; Toronto, Canada. His search proved fruitful and the mystery was solved. The initials were carved by a Canadian soldier named Harold Wilber Roszwell. He was killed in action in April 1945 at the tender age of 21 only days before his scheduled return home.