Remembrance Day: A Lagacy and a Future

Today is Remembrance day in Canada.  It is the time to reflect on those Canadian soldier's who fought, served and perhaps perished in service and defence of their country.  What those men and women sacrificed for Canada needs to be honoured and remembered because it was that bravery and action that allowed Canada to thrive and flourish as a Free Nation.

This is a time of reflection of times past, and a time when we use words like Honour, Duty, and Valour.  It is a time when we reflect upon those that we have lost, and those that have returned to us scarred by war.  It is a somber time.  We must honour the legacy that those that sacrificed so much have left us.  We must never forget what they have done for us.

 From battlefields around the world like Vimy Ridge, Ypres, The Somme, Passchendaele, Amiens, Dieppe, Sicily, Montecchio, Fosso Munio, Normandy, The Orne, Dunkirk, Calais, Kapyong, and Afghansitan to name just a few, to the many peacekeeping duties and emergency response duties, our men and women in uniform have served us with distinction.  Their legacy is our freedom.

However, there is a future to be found from this legacy.  It is up to all Canadians to live up to this future potential.  It is up to all Canadians to educate each other, and to educate new Canadians about the significance of this day, and about the importance of our men and women in uniform.  Unfortunately in too many countries, uniforms mean something entirely different, and we must ensure that all new Canadians understand that our servicemen are first and foremost soldiers of peace.

We must educate new Canadians and encourage them to remember this day with us, even if it does not directly relate to them.  Make this day about them as well.  After all, they came to a free Canada because of what Canadian servicemen and women have sacrificed.

There is another side that must be addressed as well too,  That is the education of our young people.  Many young people are totally indifferent to Remembrance Day.  Not only that, but it seems that every year somewhere across the country there is at least one instance of vandalism at a cenotaph or memorial site.  This has to stop.  The desecration of these sites is obscene.  We need to begin to re-educate our youth about our history.  We need to make our youth understand that the wars of the past are not just things that happened a hundred years ago and now mean nothing.  Those wars shaped how our country is TODAY.  Because of those wars and the dedication of our servicemen, we are a free society.

At 11:00 every rise and salute for "The Last Post" and then two minutes of silence.

 In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields

(John McCrae)