Remembrance

On the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, white wreaths evoked Ottawa’s first Armistice Day   They began to gather at 7 a.m., the first of a crowd that swelled to 35,000 at the Remembrance Day service in the nation’s capital. Many came to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended the First World War; some came to honour relatives or friends, bringing along medals, photos and mementos; others came to honour the sacrifice of the 117,000 who have died in military service throughout Canada’s history, and in gratitude to the living who serve and the veterans who continue to suffer. During the ceremony, a special wreath representing all those who served in the Great War was placed by John Goheen, a school principal from Port Coquitlam, B.C. “The Great...

A tour of the Normandy coastline honours those who crossed an ocean to fight tyranny   The sky is cloudy, but the rain holds off for this year’s commemorative ceremony at the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer, France, on June 6. The audience is filled with veterans and their families, currently serving military, officials and dignitaries, and a new, younger generation—all here to reflect and remember. The day marks the 74th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, when a fleet of more than 6,000 vessels landed an assault force of 156,000 men on five beaches codenamed, from west to east, Utah and Omaha (American), Gold (British), Juno (Canadian) and Sword (British). Some 14,500 Canadians landed on Juno Beach by the end of the day. It is also a significant...

To all who lived through the war years, and more particularly to those who saw active service—today has been a day of sacred memories, different perhaps in detail to each one of us, but yet all based on similar experiences and similar emotions. With the lapse of years, Armistice Day becomes naturally less demonstrative. The ranks of those who saw service grow yearly smaller, as we pay our toll to time. And in future the day will grow less weighted with meaning to the generation born in the years between. But whatever changes may come, and however slight may be the recognition of future generations, I hope that Armistice Day may never cease to be impressive. I hope that the two-minutes interval of solemn silence will always be more than a formal, statutory gesture—that it will always m...