Every year, we as Canadians donate to pick up little red poppies to put on our lapels and honour our veterans – but the sentiment seems to drop as soon as Nov. 11 passes and the plastic poppies end up in the trash cans.
And in some, the sentiment perhaps never appears at all, as the day passes without acknowledgement, ceremony or reflection on what the men and women who served in the military have done for us. We rush to finish work and school, pick up groceries, bring the children to soccer practice and later head to our lovely homes, not realizing that the veterans have contributed to make our lives so rich and meaningful. The veterans defended the freedom of our country, the very reason we can build satisfying lives instead of living in fear under a dictator.
Many of the Second World War veterans had no idea what they were doing when they enlisted. They and their friends were carried away with the glamour of fighting for freedom, of wearing a smart-looking uniform, of heading overseas and returning to Canada as heroes. Many were only 18 or 19 or 20, just past childhood, heads filled with images of grandeur.
The realities, however, were stark. About 45,000 returned in body bags, and even of those who came back alive, life was never the same. While every year we find veterans willing to share their stories, there are others who could never talk about the horrors they experienced, even to their own families. This was long before the days when “post-traumatic stress disorder” was a medical term, but the effects were nonetheless severe. Back then, it was called “shell shock” or “war neurosis.” The violence they witnessed and endured was pure trauma.
The world war veterans not only defended our freedom but then returned to build our country, starting businesses and families and toiling in factories to make Canada the strong economic force it has become.
Remembrance Day is a day to recognize veterans from all conflicts as well as current military members who continue to fight for us and for world peace, often putting their lives at risk in dusty and dangerous countries. In Afghanistan, 158 Canadian soldiers died, and many others committed suicide upon their return.
Our military members continue to serve and defend, to risk their lives for below-average salaries, so we can simply carry on with our days.
Do as you please on Nov. 11 – but realize that you can only because of them.
– Editor Christine Endicott
