Remembrance Day… not just your ‘Grandpa’s war’.

Nationaal Archief

Each year at eleven in the morning, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, we take a moment to remember those that have sacrificed of themselves for the protection of our freedoms.  Like most people, your thoughts probably go immediately to those who fought in the Great War of 1914-1918 (world war one) or the Second World War (1939-1945), and that’s probably because when you were growing up, there was still an abundance of Veterans from those wars.  And while Remembrance Day was originally created to remember the Great War, It isn’t just about ‘your Grandpa’s war’, it has grown to encompass all of those men and women who have put on the uniform in defense of our country ever since.

Because of the immensity of those two world wars, the war in Korea was largely overshadowed, and called by some ‘The Forgotten War’.  The fact that there was no winner of the Korean War may have played a part in that too.  Why would we pay attention to something that we didn’t clearly win, right?  I’m glad that we as a society have realized that it’s not a matter of win or lose, it’s the fact that these people put themselves in harms way for us, and that is the whole point of recognizing them as well.  Sadly, that realization took many decades since the end of those hostilities before those soldiers got their due.  Many had passed away thinking that their sacrifice was taken for granted.  By the time the War in Afghanistan happened, the public perception of soldiers had changed for the better, and the Veterans of that war are held in high regard.

But what about the thousands of soldiers that have served during peacetime?  Do we recognize them on Remembrance Day too?  You bet we do!  All of those soldiers volunteered to serve their country in the same capacity as those who went to war, and were trained and at the ready should the peace situation change.  The fact that they didn’t have to go to war doesn’t diminish their sacrifice.  They stand ready to go where their country needs them, and that deserves recognition too.
And yet many did see wartime conditions during peacetime, but they were in the role of UN Peacekeepers, serving in places like Cypress and Bosnia.  Don’t let the name ‘Peacekeeping’ fool you, they were living in combat conditions in the middle of two factions trying to kill each other, and many times had to defend themselves.  I encourage you to read about Canadian Forces in The Medak Pocket, and tell me how it was any different from war conditions.  And that is only one example.

So this Remembrance Day, when you pause for that moment of silence at 11am, think about those that who have fought and died, those that fought beside them and survived, and those who stand ready today to protect us at all costs, perhaps with their lives too.

A reminder that this years Remembrance Day ceremony in Prince Albert will be held outdoors at Memorial Square, downtown.  You’re asked to be there before 10:45am.