Yesterday was Remembrance Day; a day when we take time to remember those who lost their lives for our freedom, those who fought for Canada so that we can live in a safe war free country. I watched a few TV broadcasts of the different Memorial services around Canada and as I saw the faces of the war veterans I felt a surge of thankfulness well up within me.
In some of their faces you could see a sense of pride as they know they have served their country to the best of their ability. There was pride as they shared their stories with ones far to young to know what Remembrance Day is all about. In some faces you saw tears of sorrow as they remembered the friend who didn't come home from the war. In some faces it was almost as if they were reflecting or reliving a certain day during their tour of duty; maybe it was a day they got a letter from a loved one, maybe it was a day they had a warm meal to eat or a dry place to sleep and sadly maybe it was a day when they watched a member of their platoon die in their arms as there was nothing that could be done for them. Or they watched from a distance as a foxhole was raided and no one survived. Maybe they were reflecting on the day they arrived home safe and their family held them close more excited then they thought they could be to see their solider alive. Maybe they are remembering the day they lost a limb or limbs but are incredibly thankful to be alive even though they had to adjust to living with a disability. And there were a couple of faces I saw that looked as though they were lost; as if their mind is now protecting them from a time in their life where they saw great pain and sorrow. Maybe in some way this is nature's way of letting them cope with those experinces of war.
I don't ever want to forget what those men and women did for me and my family. I personally don't know of anyone in my family who served in any war so I don't know what it is like to loose a loved one to war or to know the incredible sense of pride of having a loved one serve our country. However that does not lesson the importance of Remberance Day for me and it does not lesson my pride as a Canadian.
Thank you to families who take their young children to these services on November 11 by doing so you are teaching your children the importance of our history, the price our veterans paid for our freedom and you and your family are paying respect to our war hero's alive and dead. You are teaching your children the importance of their freedom!
We still have Canadians in wars and peace keeping duties today. I trust you support them and I trust you pray for them and their families.
Thank you to all the war veterans from the bottom of my heart!!
God Bless you!
