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
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.