This week on November 11th Canadians were asked, as they are every year, to take the time to stop and remember the brave men and women who have served our country to help protect the freedom we are so fortunate to enjoy as well as those who have served to bring peace and freedom to other countries.
Known as Remembrance Day in Canada, Veterans Day in the United States and Armistice Day in other countries, it is the day that marked the end of major confrontation in the World War I and the day we now pay tribute to all those who have served our country in the cause of peace.
There are many ways we as a country remember the sacrifice that our veterans have made for us. We wear poppies in advance of Remembrance Day. We recite the poem, In Flanders Field. We have memorials such as the National War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa that remind us of courage and sacrifice. In the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill are the Books of Remembrance which contain the names of soldiers who have fought and died in wars. Remembrance Day ceremonies across the country, including those here in southeast Manitoba, also involve the traditional laying of wreaths.
One of the most meaningful ways we honour our veterans is by observing the traditional two minutes of silence on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It’s a time to stop from our busy lives and to remember the sacrifice that others made. A sacrifice that has resulted in peace and freedom in our country and a sacrifice that was made on behalf of people and generations many of our veterans would never know.
Songwriter Terry Kelly wrote a song about the importance of this tribute. The song, A Pittance of Time, was the result of a real life experience he had in a store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia were customers were asked to observe two minutes of silence and remembrance. One customer was agitated by this disruption in his day and it became the foundation for this moving tribute.
Terry Kelly’s song is not just about the act of silence on Remembrance Day, but serves as a reminder that we can take other private moments throughout the year to remember and to be grateful for the freedoms we enjoy and for those who defended them.
There is often controversy about Canada’s participation in military operations. The fact that we can have that debate in a free and democratic society is itself a tribute to the men and women who have served our country. But where there can be no debate is that those who have gone into service and who made, or were willing to make, the ultimate sacrifice deserve our respect and remembrance. Remembrance Day is one day of the year, but the benefits of their sacrifice is remembered and treasured each and every day.
