The following is a collaboration of veterans and members of Royal Canadian Legion, who were asked to share their thoughts on Remembrance Day.
As long as I can remember, me and my brother and sisters watched our father march down main street to the cenotaph along with other veterans in the area on November 11. It did not matter whether it was cold, it did not matter if it was raining and it did not matter if it was snowing, the veterans stood there remembering the fallen; the brave young men who never came home.
My father was a RCNVR signalman, he did six Newfie Derry crossings and I asked him one year (I was 12 years old at the time) why he stood there on those cold wet days. His response, I still hear it echoing in my head some 54 years later: “Son, I will never be as cold as I was crossing the North Atlantic during a winter storm during the war. I stand, because some of my friends cannot, as they did not return home as I did, so you, your brother and sisters can have the life that they will never have.”
Every year since, I have stood there as a teen, as a member in uniform for 36-plus years, as a retired member and now as a member of the Royal Canadian Legion, paying my respect to the fallen.
A few years ago, here in Powell River, I did a Remembrance Day talk at one of the junior schools, talked about Passchendaele, Vimy Ridge, Dieppe and Juno Beach and how the convoys crossing the North Atlantic were so vital to the war effort. A few days later, I was standing outside the mall on Poppy Day and a young student recognized me and said hello. As she walked by she said to her mother: “I do not understand...”
The door closed behind them; it was a cold and wet breezy day. About 20 minutes later they came out of the mall and the mom put some money in the poppy box. I asked the young student what she did not understand. She responded with the following: “I do not know why you are standing outside here in the cold, when you could be standing inside where it is warm and dry.”
I asked her mother if I could pin the poppy on her jacket. As I pinned the poppy on her lapel, I asked if she remembered the talk I gave at her school; she nodded yes. Then I explained: “I will never be as cold as those young lads who were fighting in the trenches at Passchendaele and I will never be as cold as those young sailors who crossed the North Atlantic bringing those vital supplies to England.”
She smiled at me, gave me the biggest hug she could and said thank you for my service.
~
November 11, Remembrance Day, is the day we honour the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve our country in times of war, conflict and in peace. As Canadians, it is our duty to honour our veterans and never forget the service and sacrifices they made on our behalf. I wear my poppy as a visual pledge to never forget those who sacrificed for our freedom.
~
I grew up in Powell River during World War II and remember my mom and dad working in the pulp and paper mill. Dad was a papermaker and mom a laboratory technician and I was a little kid going to school.
During those years I recall the army commandos, who were training in Comox for D-Day, coming ashore in landing craft and engaging in mock combat with the local militia soldiers, and us school kids whipping around trying to pick up the empty shell casings before the soldiers did. This was long before TV and the only way we could see what was actually happening in all the theatres of war was to attend the movie theatre and see the black and white Movietone News clips of actual battles (sea, land and in the air).
On Victory In Europe Day, when I heard the news on the radio, I immediately decorated my bicycle with crêpepaper and clipped a playing card to the wheels to make a whirring sound. I raced up and down the main street shouting, hollering at the top of my voice and clanging a great big cowbell to celebrate.
During my high school years I was both an army and an air force cadet but when I graduated from Brooks High school, my good buddy and I joined the Royal Canadian Navy, where we were both seaman to start. I went on to become a physical education and recreation instructor and we both retired as chiefs.
~
My first Remembrance Day ceremony was on the quarterdeck of the HMCS Stettler while we were on exercise off of Panama. While in the military, I attended services from coast to coast to coast in Canada (the extra Coast being Canadian Forces Station Alert, which is the most northern permanently inhabited place on earth), and from Halifax to Victoria and many bases/stations in-between.
Upon retirement from Canadian Armed Forces, I joined both the Legion and the Naval Reserves and when working for the Workers’ Compensation Board of BC, managed to attend many more services throughout BC.
After almost 30 years in the navy and 40 years in the Legion and the Naval Reserves, I proudly remember all my many friends and comrades who I have served with and who have passed away in the service of Canada and also those who have supported veterans and their dependants through their service to Royal Canadian Legion.
I also remember and give thanks for my grandfather, who fought in the Boer War, and his son and my uncle who lost his life in battle in Italy in World War II.
I also say a prayer for my one cousin and uncle who flew for the RCAF in World War II and came home to live long and full lives.
I also remember all the friends and comrades I’ve lost over the years who were still serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and I also thank my family for standing beside me every step of the way.
I, along with millions of Canadians, will lay their poppies at a gravesite or cenotaph or even just in front of a picture, then pause from whatever we are doing for a few moments to honour those who died or were wounded in the service of their country.
~
My concept of Remembrance Day is very simple. It is the day we all remember those who gave their lives, those and their dependents who are still with us, and those who are still serving. Our veterans!
~
Remembrance Day is a day that should always be kept in the hearts of the nation. It is a day to remember and thank all those young Canadian women and men who left the security of their homes and went off to foreign lands to fight for a cause they believed in. Young boys and young men and, in more recent years, young women gave their lives so Canada could be a free country.
It is because of these people we have the freedoms we have today. It is the reason someone can disagree with their government and say “I have a right to do what I want” never even thinking of all the sacrifices and horrors these young people have seen.
Whether it was World War I, World War II, Korea, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and many more battles, they have fought for Canadians’ rights, and the rights of the people of other war-torn countries, with the hope of maybe one day allowing them the same freedoms we have come to enjoy.
This year will be a completely different experience on Remembrance Day. Instead of gathering in large groups around our local cenotaphs, listening to the prayers and pipers, we will have to remember in our own ways at home.
This year, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, please get together with your family and with bowed heads, have a moment of silence, and remember all those young men and women who laid down their lives for our freedoms.
~
As Legionnaires, remembrance is the reason we are here and sayings like “lest we forget” and “we will remember them” are in our rituals. The monies we raise through our annual poppy campaigns stay in the areas they are raised and are used to support our veterans and their dependents who are in need.
