Vimy Memorial by @Thorvald (El Thorvaldo)

The Battle of Vimy Ridge (9-12 April 1917) was the first battle of World War I in which the four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought in unison, and is commonly heralded as Canada's maturing as a nation. France granted Canada a 250-acre portion of the battlefield to develop a memorial park, its most iconic feature being this monument, situated on the apex of Hill 145, commemorating both Canadian casualties generally and those killed in France with no known grave. Construction of the monument began in 1925 and was completed in 1936; contrary to Allied propaganda, it was not damaged during World War II, and Hitler even visited it in person.

At the time of my visit, the monument was being cleaned up in preparation for the rededication of the site one month later. Fresh mud was being delivered to line the base; trucks would drive up and workers would shovel their loads straight out of the back. Tourists were generally discouraged from approaching, but I had the chance fortune of tagging along with a group of Canadian students that was allowed as close as the base; ascending the monument itself remained off-limits.

Original photo taken March 2007. Submitted to DeviantArt January 2012.