With silent, steadfast resolve

Wherever they gathered on Remembrance Day 2014, Canadians shared a heightened sense of resolve that again galvanized their will to never forget those who have died in the service of Canada.

The horrific events in Ottawa and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.,—just a few weeks before November 11th—led to a surge of expression that swelled around war memorials and cenotaphs in small towns and big cities. There was anger and sadness, but overtaking that was a tremendous amount of gratitude for Canadians who have served their country—expressed in a day that became more personal for a lot more people, even though many already have very compelling reasons to remember relatives and friends who served and died in war.

Words can say a lot about how people view remembrance, but it was the expressions on the faces of those who attended that spoke loudest about how we—as Canadians—feel about the 1.5 million soldiers who have served throughout our nation’s history. Clutching homemade signs that read ‘Thank You’ and embracing portraits of loved ones, people of all ages followed their hearts to remember the nearly 118,000 who left home and family never to return.

In Ottawa, more than 50,000 filled the streets in and around the National War Memorial. For many, it did not matter if they had a front-row view of the national Remembrance Day ceremony. What mattered—there and elsewhere across the land—was being present to remember—to be part of the deeply felt and abiding respect Canadians have for those who would put themselves in harm’s way.

And there they were—front and centre at ceremonies across Canada—young veterans and veterans in their 80s and 90s placing wreaths or looking on with memory-filled eyes, remembering moments that have never left them and never will.

But on their faces—and on the faces of ordinary Canadians who were quick to express their gratitude—was also a silent, steadfast resolve; a memorial in itself that presented a united front—a sentiment hard as granite that gripped the entire nation this year, even during the days leading up to Remembrance Day when The Royal Canadian Legion distributed nearly 19 million poppies.

So where do we go from here?

Seventy-five years after it was unveiled, the National War Memorial has been rededicated with words from Governor General David Johnston that remind us of who we are and what we must continue to do. “And now here we stand, and here we shall remain: unshaken in resolve; grateful in remembrance of those who have sacrificed; rededicated, like this memorial, to our eternal duty: peace and freedom—the very soul of our nation.”