My main blog is still down, I hope to have it back running by next week.
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It’s November 11. I explained this week why we wear poppies to my friend who came from Vietnam. Here are some short stories from WWII:
My one grandfather was a bomber during WWII. He and his crew would take photos out of the bottom of the plane, and since the plane was not designed for this it was very dangerous. Someone held him into the plane as he snapped photos, but one time something happened and he slipped. At the last second he caught himself on the edge of the bomb bay, but injured his stomach. After the war he had to retire to a warmer climate than Toronto, and lived in southern California with his family.
My other grandfather was also injured in the war, before he went overseas. His leg was broken in an accident. In the hospital, to pass the time, soldiers were taught to smoke.
Dear friend,
“Soldiers are very unusual people.
“On the outside, they are the hardest, most demanding people, but underneath that, they are the most human, the most feeling, the most emotionally attached people who exist.”
Those words, my father’s words, come to my mind this Remembrance Day.
They come to mind because as old wars fade from our collective memory and new ones test our resolve, on this day, at least, my doubt is gone.
On this day, I do not doubt that even though my uniform is tucked away, I am still a soldier. I am a soldier because I gave a part of myself completely to my country and that part of me is gone.
That is what you are remembering today. That from the assault at Vimy Ridge to the patrol of a dusty road earlier this morning in Kandahar, Afghanistan, Canadian men and women have surrendered their destiny to this country’s will.
On Remembrance Day, the act of remembering is about stopping and feeling the weight of that sacrifice.
This Remembrance Day, I ask you to stop and weigh the feeling of being ready to sacrifice everything.
Because for Canada’s soldiers, that feeling is not a passing moment. It is their life.
Sincerely,
LGen the Honourable Roméo Dallaire, (ret’d), Senator (Quebec)
