Port Perry, Ontario
Ms. Nancy Hamer Strahl is the daughter of parents from Belgium who suffered during the battle of the Bulge in 1944. She is also the granddaughter of a Veteran who was a Prisoner of War in Germany for five years. Born and educated in Canada, she has lived her life dedicated to thanking those who rescued her family from an oppressive enemy. She accomplishes this lofty goal through teaching Canada's military history to her students at Port Perry High School. Under her tutelage, the students were encouraged to help put together a museum that houses historical artifacts of Camp X, a spy training school located in the Oshawa area during the Second World War. Ms. Hamer Strahl also conceived a project for the students to build a time capsule, filled with donations from Veterans. The students buried their capsule on Juno Beach and pledged to return in forty years to unearth it on the 100th Anniversary of D-Day. Ms. Hamer Strahl recently travelled to Hong Kong where, with her students, buried another memorial capsule at the Sai Wan Cemetery in honour of Veterans of the Battle for Hong Kong. Ms. Hamer Strahl is a teacher who has given her students a passion for history.