He rescued her when she was 3 in 1944, now, the two meet in Ottawa for the first time since then
In a moment that was almost 80 years in the making, a 98-year-old Ottawa veteran reunited this weekend with the girl he rescued when she was just three years old in Holland during the Second World War.
"I'm elated," said Dr. Roly Armitage of meeting Sonja Jobes in person after so many years. "It's unbelievable."
"I never expected this, never," said Jobes.
The pair, along with family and friends, gathered in the city's west end on Sunday afternoon to celebrate.
Armitage was behind the wheel of a Jeep on a cold night in 1944 when something caught his eye in a nearby ditch.
"I thought I saw movement and I looked and lo and behold two children," Armitage recounted.
He pulled both of them out of the ditch and brought them to a field kitchen to give them something to eat and get them warmed up. The little boy went home, he said, but the little girl was sent to a nunnery and he had no idea what happened to her after he was forced to move on with the troops.
Earlier this year he told his story to Dutch media in the hopes of somehow figuring out who the little girl was and it worked.
Jobes, now 83, lives in Minnesota and came across the article online.
"I read it and I knew that was me," she said. "It was like a puzzle kind of came together."
The two spoke over the phone and by e-mail but only met in person for the first time this weekend.
"When I first saw Roly, well I told you I was going to give him a big hug and never going to let him go again, and then after I let him go he said 'I thought you said you were never going to let me go,'" she said laughing. "Then I held him again and gave him another hug and held on for a little while… he was my hero really."
"I’ve told her 1,000 times I love her and how much I admire her," Armitage said.
Both Armitage and Jobes say they plan to stay in touch now that they've reconnected.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.