Thoughts on Remembrance Day

This morning, as I often do on this day, I watched the Remembrance Day broadcast from Ottawa on TV. I could have also attended my city's local services since Ottawa is two hours ahead of us here, but this week I am in the mountains, far away from any cenotaph. I feel connected to the whole country when watching the Ottawa ceremonies. I am moved when listening to the speeches by various representatives of related organizations, and by the dignity and respect displayed by the people in attendance. I grew up honouring Remembrance Day and continue to hold the day sacred. Even when we weren't able to attend the ceremony, my parents still honoured the two minutes of silence at eleven o'clock in our home. 

As I listened to the commentators describe the event I heard one say only three veterans from the Second World War were in attendance.  I remembered the Remembrance Day ceremonies of my childhood, when a fairly large number of World War II vets, and even a handful of very elderly WWI vets, would attend. Now, of course, eighty-one years have passed since the end of WWII, and the youngest people who served in the war would be approaching one hundred years old. That got me thinking. Once people who grew up during the war years are gone, like my parents, we won't have anyone left who remembers that time and what it was like to live through it. Although documentation of their memories is excellent, and we have miles of film footage from the conflict, it cannot replace the visceral effect of in-person shared recollection. 

Much of the public focus for the past couple of generations has been placed on World War II, and for good reason, but personal memories of it are obviously fading with the passage of time. We need to put more of a focus on the recent battles to which our country has provided military support. Thousands of veterans of international conflicts are still relatively young. It's time to bring them and their stories increasingly into the spotlight. Our soldiers have served in major conflicts in Korea, the Persian Gulf, and Afghanistan. They have served in several dangerous peacekeeping efforts globally, including in former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Ukraine, and they continue to serve in several areas all over the globe. If we are ever to conquer the terrible scourge of war, we need to keep the personal cost to veterans (and their loved ones) in the forefront of our minds, no matter which part of the world they served in. We need to remember them, honour their service, and appreciate their sacrifice, while promoting lasting peace and diplomatic relations in our world. As the old saying goes, "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." 

Towards the end of this morning's broadcast from Ottawa, one of the reporters was able to interview one of the last remaining WWII Canadian veterans, Alderville First Nation member, Don Smoke who turned 100 in February. His advice to all of us is to live in peace with our neighbours and to love the people in our lives. Peace begins at home. In an increasingly divisive and uncertain world, it's hard to argue with that wisdom. 

'til next time,

Rebecca