Remembrance Day Myth

Halloween has come and gone and with it went my diet and craving for chocolate. I think I might have set a new record for most tiny Aero bars eaten in the time it took to hand out candy to the trick or treaters visiting the house.

No sooner does All Hallows' Eve pass and the annual controversy surrounding Remembrance Day and Christmas resurfaces with a passion and anger no other holiday can achieve.

I'm not sure what fueled this debate but I can guess that the world of retail sales likely had a lot to do with it.

How dare these stores start pumping Christmas carols out of their speakers before November 11th and the day we honour our veterans of past conflicts and wars. Why is this even controversial?

Is there some rule or bylaw that states celebrating the holiday season can't begin until we've officially recognized the sacrifices made by our brave men and women in uniform? Am I disrespecting their memory by listening to Jingle Bells on November 8th?

I consider myself lucky to have spent my entire life living in a military city. I have known many people who have served in dangerous places as peace keepers and in areas of brutal conflict. My uncle served in World War 2 and I knew a couple of men who landed on Juno Beach in Normandy on D-Day and survived. One man hit the beach and had friends on either side of him shot and killed as they moved forward.

These men I knew have since passed away but I asked one of them several years ago about this very subject. While he didn't like to talk about the war too much, he did feel strongly that he fought to preserve our freedom and way of life. Freedom means being able to celebrate whatever you want whenever you want and he had no issue or complaint with people celebrating Christmas prior to Remembrance Day.

He only asked that for that minute at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month you think about the sacrifices he and his fellow soldiers gave so that we may live as we do today.

I don't think that's too much to ask which is why I always try to attend the service at the cenotaph on November 11th or at the very least stop and silently remember them. I know for a fact that if I'm listening to Christmas music on the way to the service he'd be completely fine with that and that's good enough for me.

Holiday of Remembrance

Tomorrow is November 11th which of course is Remembrance Day in Canada. I believe they call it Veteran’s Day in the U.S.

It’s a day where all citizens should take some time to reflect, remember and thank those soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of their country and freedom.

Lately there has been talk of making the day a national holiday or statutory holiday to allow more people to attend services and to reflect on the meaning of the day.

Nobody loves having a day off or working a holiday for double time and half more than me but you can put me in the category of those who think this is a bad idea.

Holidays are great but most are meant to provide an opportunity for families to be together on special occasions. Christmas, Easter, Family Day, Thanksgiving and Canada Day are the one’s that come to mind. OK, Canada Day is more about celebrating the country’s birthday than being with family but the two usually go hand in hand.

Remembrance Day wouldn’t be about family, it would be about, well, remembering the brave men and women who fought in past wars and sacrificed their lives as it always has been. I honestly don’t think the majority of people would use the day for its intended purpose. Instead they would most likely sleep in and not even care about the day or taking the time to remember with a moment of silence at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month.

Of course the banks and government offices are closed already on Remembrance Day but they don’t count. They close on more days than anyone else. Heck, I think they’re closed on Groundhog Day.

I don’t think anything positive is gained by making Remembrance Day a holiday. School children can still be taken on a “field trip” to the local cenotaph or monument for the community ceremonies and I think that would continue to be a greater benefit and very educational.

When I was in public school, once Halloween was over, for the next eleven days we spent a lot of time talking about and studying about Remembrance Day, poppies and the meaning and purpose of it all. It is easily the reason why to this day some 30 plus years later I still appreciate the importance of it. We had to memorize the famous poem, “In Flanders Fields” written by Canadian WW1 physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. No kids, it isn’t a story about Homer Simpson’s religious next-door neighbour. Google it if you don’t know what it is and then kick your own ass for being so uneducated.

I heard that the local high school is planning a video conference call tomorrow with soldiers currently serving and fighting in Afghanistan. What a great idea and a perfect way to clearly illustrate what our men and women in uniform are doing right now while risking their lives.

There is no need to make this a holiday, especially if it comes at the expense of losing the existing Family Day holiday in February. If you’re going to make it a holiday then you should keep Family Day as well.

Any employer who won’t let their employees attend a local service should they choose to do so needs to be berated and made an example of. I think a couple of hours of lost time is a small sacrifice once a year compared to the thousands of lives Canadians have lost since WW1 all in an effort to ensure that our freedom and way of life continues. If you don’t agree than perhaps you should move your company to Afghanistan or Iraq.

Keep Remembrance Day as it is. I attended the local services the last two years but tomorrow I will be at work and unable to be there in person. But I will be remembering and taking my moment of silence at 11 o’clock. I have already set the alarm on my mobile phone to remind me just in case I forget. I don’t want to forget, and neither should you.

Eleventh Hour, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Month

Copyright 2009 Mark Kennedy

This coming Wednesday is Remembrance Day in Canada and like all of the years past, Canadian soldiers who sacrificed their lives for their country will be remembered on this day.

Some people will remember family members or friends who fought and died in the great wars or other conflicts right up to the latest fighting in Afghanistan. I hope others with no personal connection will at least stop for a couple of minutes even if only to show a quiet respect for those brave men and women who lost their lives in battle.

I’m guilty of not knowing or perhaps remembering enough about my own family’s involvement. The only family member I can recall who took part in any war directly was my Uncle Hollis; who served aboard a sub-chaser in WWII. Beyond that, I can’t recall much else and sadly he passed away a couple of years ago so talking to him isn’t possible.

Another friend of our family is nearly 90 years old and he served in Europe during the Second World War with the Canadian artillery. He never liked to talk about it too much but from time to time he would volunteer a story from that experience and I was quite interested in what he had to say.

My father used to work with a man who stormed the beach on D-Day in Normandy and although he has since passed on, he did share some stories with my dad. His name was Rusty and he spoke of how he never understood why he was spared. During the landing on Juno Beach he had two fellow soldiers shot and killed on either side of him yet he survived. I’m sure stories like this were very common among those involved in that invasion.

These men and all of the men and women who have given their lives in service to their country and freedom deserve our thanks and unwavering gratitude now and forever.

War has changed a lot since the 1940’s. There were no smart bombs, drones or heat-seeking anything. Apache helicopters, F-22 Raptors and patriot missiles could never have been imagined. You knew your enemy and quite often you could see them as you fought them. Today, those battles are rare indeed. Of the over 130 Canadians killed in Afghanistan, the majority were killed not in traditional battles but by improvised explosive devices (IED’s) planted in the ground by the enemy.

The battle fields have changed, but the resulting loss of life, sadness and heartache never changes. Regardless of your opinions of war you have to respect the sacrifices made in the pursuit of freedom for all. Your right to express your opinions is directly related to those who have fought for our rights and freedom. Without those sacrifices, you wouldn’t be enjoying the freedom you have today. So if you can’t get to your local Remembrance Day service in person on Wednesday morning, then at least pause for two minutes at 11:00 a.m. wherever you are and remember them. They would have done the same for you.

Copyright 2009 Mark Kennedy

90 Years of Remembering

On Tuesday morning I woke up early on a day off and decided to get mobile and head down to the local Cenotaph for the Remembrance Day service.

I was glad I did. I always support our troops and I certainly appreciate the sacrifices made by those who fought to defend our freedoms but I rarely have had the opportunity to attend the service in person.

Despite the cool November weather the attendance was great.

I hope where ever you were you took a minute to reflect, respect and remember.

I snapped some photos while I was there. Just click on the photos if you'd like to see them larger.

Photos Copyright © 2008 Mark Kennedy. All rights reserved.

Take A Moment To Remember

Tuesday is Remembrance Day here in Canada.

I hope you've been wearing your poppy.

It is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918.

While any relatives of mine who served have passed away I do have a family friend who is nearly 90 years old and served in WWII. He doesn't speak about the war often but from time to time he will speak of some memories of that time.

Of course there have been many conflicts involving Canadians and the continue to fight and die for their country today in Afghanistan and other parts of the world.

Take a moment to remember them at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Here is a video by Terry Kelly that you have most likely watched before but it's always worth watching again.

Clip of the Week - November 11/07

Today is Remembrance Day and we must remember.

They died for us, for their homes and families and friends, for a collection of traditions they cherished and a future they believed in; they died for Canada.

For many of us too young to remember or too far removed from current conflicts, war is something we watch on television broadcasts or read about in newspapers or online.

For those who fought overseas or served their country by staying home and working in factories, voluntary service organizations and wherever they were needed, we need to not only remember them on this one day set aside in their honour but every day we are able to go about our daily lives free of fear.

On Remembrance Day, we recognize the sacrifice of those men and women who served and continue to serve their country and we are responsible to work for the peace they fought hard to achieve.

The following is a short video montage produced by Veterans Affairs Canada.