Leo Major, a retired Canadian soldier, was relaxing at home.
When suddenly, there was a knock on his door.
Leo's son opened the door and saw some Dutch military officers standing in front.
As soon as they saw Leo, they all saluted and thanked him in unison.
The son was astonished.
He asked,"Dad, who are these people?"
Leo replied calmly,"Son, these are Dutch Army generals."
The son became even more confused.
His father was a retired soldier, blind in one eye,who was rarely visited even by his own country's soldiers.
So why had the Dutch Army general come to his house and why was he saluting him?
When he sat down and listened to their conversation,he learned that there is a street named after his father in the Dutch city of Zwolle.
When all the officers had left,the son asked curiously,"Dad, what did you do that earned you a street in Holland?"
Then Leo told his son the whole truth for the first time.
Leo, a major, was a sniper in the Canadian Army during World War II.
He landed with his battalion in Normandy.
One day, he went with his best friend to reconnoiter the German-occupied city of Zwolle.
There, his friend was shot by German soldiers and killed on the spot.
From that moment, Leo was shattered.
Filled with anger, pain, and a fire of revenge,he entered Zwolle alone.
First, he killed two Nazi soldiers on guard duty.
Then he destroyed a machine gun nest.
After that, he reached the city center and killed anyone in sight.
He captured a Nazi soldier and ordered him to drive a German vehicle with the lights on.
Leo continued firing at the Nazis from the moving vehicle.
He had the same soldier announce over a loudspeaker that a large Canadian force had attacked the city.
This caused great panic among the Nazis.
Frightened, they fled the city.
When they saw the Nazis fleeing,Frits Kuipers, the Resistance leader of Zwolle,came out with three companions.
They called out the rest of the city and announced on the radio that Zwolle was now liberated.
Leo returned to his army outpost with the body of his dead friend and reported that he had single-handedly liberated Zwolle.
But no one believed him.
Newspapers reported that he had found an empty city and the Nazis had already fled.
The media either downplayed his role or ignored him completely.
Leo was deeply disappointed.
Even after returning to Canada,no one believed his story.
Eventually, he stopped telling it altogether.
But the investigation into the truth continued in Holland.
The investigation proved that the bullets found in the Nazis' bodies were fired from Leo's rifle.
It was finally determined that Leo Major had single-handedly killed 93 Nazi soldiers,intimidating them, and freeing the city.
He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
But by then, he was so tired of people's mockery and distrust that these honors held no value for him.
After this, the Dutch army began visiting his home almost every year to thank him for his bravery.
A street was named after him in the city of Zwolle.
He was honored by being invited to Holland.
A documentary was made on him and shown on Dutch TV channels.
Leo Meijer died in 2008.
To this day, he is remembered in Canada and Holland as the "Original Rambo."
Read more : - The Elephant and the Disciple
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