On Remembrance Day, we thank those who served in battle for Canada. With tears, pride and poppies, we remember on the 11th day of the 11th month, at the 11th hour.
This year, because of the war in which Canada’s soldiers are participating, Remembrance Day seems to have much more meaning. With each passing year, the Canadian public has become more aware of the suffering, the selflessness and the sacrifices made by the military. The soldiers are not putting themselves on the line to directly defend Canadian soil – they are there to help citizens of another country, half a world away.
Many Canadians have died in wars – well over100,000 paid the ultimate price to help someone, somewhere on the globe. Soldiers trudge off into the most horrible, almost unbearable conditions. In the earlier wars, they fought in blizzards, in mud and in trenches filled with water. As if the foe with cannons, poison gas and artillery wasn’t enough, the Canadian soldiers faced more devastation. The other enemies were lice, rats, trench foot, dysentery, hunger and disease. Soldiers in this decade’s war face different but just as miserable conditions: whipping sand, exhausting heat, giant spiders and an enemy that may arrive in the guise of an innocent child.
How can we thank them enough for conquering all of that to free others?
The first Remembrance Day in Canada was held in 1919 and was called Armistice Day. It was a moment to commemorate the end of the Great War on November 11,1918 at 11 a.m. The people of the world hoped that never again such a war would happen. World War Two dashed those hopes.
And still today, brave, dedicated young men and women go off into battle to aid those in desperate conditions. They believe in their mission. Thank you to Canada’s soldiers, veterans, and their families, for making the world a better place. You are not forgotten.
