A REVERED CANADIAN TRADITION; #RemembranceDay #LestWeForget #CanadaRemembers #dogladysden Share on XRemembrance Day has always meant a lot to me. My father was a Korean War vet, thrust into battle on the front lines. It was his first command as a young Lieutenant. Thankfully, he survived, and without injury, unlike many others.
There were different scars, however, like dark brown hair turning prematurely grey and a severe case of malaria. Worse yet, was the PTSD (a diagnosis in hindsight), severe nightmares and alcoholism.
Those of us who have never experienced the horrors of war cannot fathom what these brave soldiers go through to protect our way of life.
#RemembranceDay #LestWeForget #CanadaRemembers
On the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour, Canadians pause for two minutes of silence to remember all who served in Canada’s armed forces, particularly the wounded and the fallen. From the Canadian Encylopedia:
In Canada, Remembrance Day has proven to be a flexible and enduring term. It has grown to include the remembrance of war dead from the Second World War, the Korean War and the War in Afghanistan, as well as from peacekeeping missions and other international military engagements.
In all, more than 1.6 million Canadians have served in Canada’s Armed Forces and more than 118,000 have died in foreign conflicts.
Throughout the commonwealth, millions of poppies are sold each year to support veterans and their families. In 2014, Canadian residents purchased a record 19 million. On Remembrance Day, we stand together, with our poppies pinned close to our hearts.
My father was a member of the Royal Canadian Regiment for 26 years. Along with his combat experience in Korea, he also survived dangerous “peacekeeping” missions in Lebanon/Syria (1958-1959) and the Gaza Strip (1964-1965).
In 2017, I visited London, Ontario, where we had lived from 1959-1965. The army base there houses a treasure trove of military memorabilia in the RCR Museum.
The following images can be viewed individually and full size by clicking on them. The last photo, bottom right, is from my father’s collection. He died in 2011.
Read more HERE►
Here is the famous poem, written during WWI by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.
He penned it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over a friend and fellow soldier’s funeral.
Today, it is part of every Remembrance Day ceremony:
In 2007, a stretch of highway between Toronto and Trenton, Ontario (where there is a military base), was officially dubbed the “Highway of Heroes” to honour Canada’s fallen military personnel. Most of them died in Afghanistan.
Canada’s combat role in that country began in October of 2001, after the U.S. 9/11 terrorist attacks. It ended in 2011 when the focus shifted to training Afghanistan’s army and police force. The last service members departed in 2014.
This 2008 video from NBC news describes it well:
As mentioned, Nov. 11 is also Veterans Day in the U.S.,
where similar ceremonies and tributes will take place.
Wishing everyone a memorable day!
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Dog Mom and (retired) Canine Innkeeper in suburban Toronto, Canada, known as The Doglady. Former corporate workaholic. Writer, photographer, digital creator. Animal lover, music fanatic, inveterate traveller. Eternal hippie/rockchick. History, literature and cinema buff. Hockey and soccer fan. Dedicated night owl. German/Canadian binational, multilingual. Let me entertain you!
64 thoughts on “A REVERED CANADIAN TRADITION #RemembranceDay”
Hi Debbie
We must never forget what those who have gone before have sacrificed or what those who serve now are doing. I just feel so sad that it seems such a wasted effort.
On happier subjects we are coming up to Christmas and hopefully seeing family and friends I wish you lots of happiness and good health. 💜💜
Agreed! And yes, it all seems futile. Very sad!
I hope you and your family have a happy and healthy holiday season as well. Thanks, Willow. 🙂
Hi Debbie I love that we both chose John McCrae’s poem and put our own perspective on it.
I am grateful that your father survived. My father was totally deaf so could not serve in the forces in WW2 but he served a firewatcher and firefighter during the air raids.
I also have a brother who served a full career in the army and saw active service in Valeze, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and prepared troops for two Afghan wars. …. There so many people to be thankful too!
It’s such a shame that the world has learned nothing.💜💜
Yes, that poem captures the spirit of Remembrance Day so well! 💖 As someone who also has family in the military, you appreciate the solemnity of the occasion as much as I do. Sad that peace in our lifetime appears to be unachievable! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post. 🌹
Thank you so much for the link, Debbie. I really appreciate reading your beautiful tribute to your father, and to all who have served their countries. xo
And thank you for reading this post, Kymber! 🌹 I appreciate you taking the time.
Thank you for this touching tribute to your dad and the Canadian military, Debbie.
Such a hard and difficult loss.
Love and light to you.
Thank you for visiting, Robyn. 🙂 Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving! ?
As an ex-pat Brit living in the US… and studied for a few years in Canada, I still have a great deal of admiration to all Canadians who have served and fought for freedom, including your father.
Tragically, wars continue to be waged, including the disastrous invasion of Ukraine. As you probably know my ongoing pieces for the WEP/IWSG Challenge feature two Canadian-Ukrainian female pilots -ex-RCAF – helping fight for freedom https://rolandclarke.com/2022/10/19/wep-iwsg-october-challenge-thriller/. Fictional, but my research keeps me aware of the real heroes in uniform.
Thank you so much Roland! It is tragic, in these supposed “enlightened” times, that wars are still happening. I read your excellent WEP entry for August, but missed the last one. Thanks for the link!
Yes, today’s Veterans Day. My father was in the service for about 26 years, and was shot in both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. If he ever had any trauma, I don’t know anything about it. He never talked about what happened when he was overseas without us (I lived in Tokyo for 3 years), or at least never talked about it with me (I have a feeling Mom might have known something), and overall he was pretty steady so I never saw any negative aftereffects. Although internally I celebrate everything our soldiers did in the name of the United States, I’ll admit that it’s a tough day to deal with mentally.
Hi Mitch! I didn’t know you were a fellow military brat. Another thing we have in common! 😀 You are fortunate that your father survived the wars with little fallout. My father didn’t talk about his experiences either, but he had horrible nightmares. Remembrance Day is always emotional for me too.
Debbie,
Beautiful tribute to your dad. I deeply appreciate his sacrifice and of so many others who bravely defended freedom loving countries to keep evil leaders from our homeland. I pray the hard work done by those before is never forgotten and the willingness to fight any man/country who tries to take our liberty away. Special thanks to our sister, our allied, our neighbor Canada and her awesome veterans. May God bless you!
Thank you so much, Cathy! ♥ Have a good week.
Beautiful tribute to Canadian Remembrance Deb. Isn’t it funny how those poppy pins we donate for, never last long? I lost two off my jacket in one day, lol. <3
Thank you. 🙂 I know, those pins always fall off. I bought some enamel ones with clasps from Amazon, but still donate money whenever I see a box.
A salute to your father and all who served….
In Britain, we always celebrate Remembrance Day on a Sunday, so it will be on the 13th this year. It is taken very seriously here, and the debt we owe to Canadians who fought with us as allies is never forgotten. This is the memorial in London.
https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/green-park/things-to-see-and-do/memorials,-fountains-and-statues/canada-memorial
Best wishes, Pete.
Hi Pete! We caught a bit of your Sunday services on the news tonight. I know Britons and Canadians share a reverence for Remembrance Day. Thank you for the link. I didn’t know about the Canada memorial, but remember seeing the Canada Gate when visiting in 1969. Both are lovely! Thanks for coming by.
My city planned a Veterans Day parade for tomorrow. It has been canceled because of Tropical Storm Nicole. The schools are also closed today. Those who serve in the armed forces often go through hell.
Love,
Janie
HI Janie! I hope Nicole didn’t cause too much damage. War is hell, no doubt!
Debbie, such a touching tribute. When my husband served in the United States Air Force, he became friends with a fellow airman from Missouri. We were invited home to spend a holiday with his family. His father was a Korean War Vet with PTSD and I blogged about us witnessing this firsthand. I salute both you and your father. When we visited Ottawa years ago, we went to a war museum – not the current Canadian War Museum- I think it may have been either in or near the Parliament Building. This would have been around 1998, I think.
Thank you, Alana. 🙂 PTSD is difficult to deal with for everyone in the family. Ottawa has several museums. I haven’t been there since the 1980s; about time for another trip!
Wonderful tribute to your father and all the other soldiers who made sacrifices throughout many conflicts. It’s always a sombre day on Remembrance Day remembering all the soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice and did not return. Then there are the other soldiers like your dad who did return, but were changed and so damaged in different ways, both physically and emotionally.
My dad served in the Forces but was so lucky to never see combat. I was in the Air Reserve Band in Montreal and also took part in many Remembrance Day services every year and also with my choir for many years until the pandemic. I was glad to be able to be a part of the services, actively honouring all the men and women who served.
Thanks for sharing this, Debbie. It’s powerful.
Thank you so much for those kind words, Cathy! As a fellow Canadian, I know you appreciate the solemnity of the occasion. Your dad was fortunate to avoid combat, but his service was equally valuable, as was yours! Your band and choir were surely integral to the ceremonies.
Debbie,
I like the Canadian tradition for remembering your country’s heroes. That should be adapted by all countries. I’m deeply grateful for those who served. There are many in my family who did their part. I have three uncles who served in Vietnam. That was a scary time especially for the little girl that I was at that time. My uncles came back physically unharmed but PTSD to various degrees affected them. One was exposed to Agent Orange. I recall when he came home he suffered a nervous breakdown. I don’t know much about that other than hearing those words ‘nervous breakdown’ and was in the hospital for it. Over the years his health has increasingly declined because of the Agent Orange exposure. War is cruel. Unfortunately as long as humans live fighting of some kind will go on. It would be grand if we could all live together in peace. Thanks for sharing and remembering. Be blessed, my friend!
I love the term Rememberance Day. We must remember them all. Thanks.
I’m late reading the Remembrance Day posts, including your great tribute to some wonderful people, including your da. Thanks you from a grateful Brit with emotional ties to Canada – I went to college north of Montreal and in Toronto.
Thanks for coming by to read this post, Roland. 🙂 Remembrance Day is an important occasion all over the Commonwealth. There are many Brits living in Canada. At one time, they were the largest group of immigrants. Interesting that you lived here, as well. Cheers!
It makes me feel so good that there is a tradition like that. We need to be grateful for the service and this tradition is an entire nation’s way of expressing that gratitude. I am so glad you shared, Debbie. I wouldn’t have known at all.
Thank you, Parul. 🙂 This is a huge tradition, here in Canada, as well as the UK and Australia.
A beautiful tribute, Debbie. The poem by John McCrae gave me chills. Now I understand the symbolism of the Poppy. I took every opportunity to thank and appreciate the Veterans in my life – known or unknown. At a concert near my town, Toby Keith invited service people up on stage. There were so many (as the audience cheered in pride) they ran out of room on stage.
Thank you, diedre. 🙂 The poppy is an important symbol of remembrance in Canada, the U.K. and Australia. What a great thing for Toby Keith to do. The applause must have been thundering!
The Highway of Heroes is heartbreaking and that news clip… My heart breaks for all of them that must travel that road. <3
Yes, the Highway of Heroes trip is heartbreaking for the families who have to take it. ? The unflagging support of the public is good to see, though. Thankfully, since pulling out of Afghanistan, that road is travelled less frequently.
A wonderful legacy, Debbie. Veterans day in the US is a wonderful holiday as well, and gives us all the opportunity to reflect and thank those who sacrifice for our country.
Thank you, Terri. 🙂 This day, in one form or another, is celebrated throughout most of the world, as it should be. Gratitude abounds! ?
We all must be grateful for those who have served – it is a sacrifice even if you come home in one piece. As you said, there are invisible scars to the mind and spirit. God bless
Yes, the invisible scars are also devastating. Thank you, Carol. ?
I think I like calling it Remembrance Day more than Veterans Day. It’s for the vets for sure, but we must never forget that the world went to war Twice to stamp out tyranny.
Definitely! There have been other wars besides WWI and WWII, which should also be remembered, though. Yes, those were the major ones, but plenty of people fought (like my father) and died in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, for example, not to mention, Afghanistan! Our “Highway of Heroes” was established to honour those casualties. Unlike in the U.S., which has two separate occasions of remembrance, (May and Nov.) we combine everything in one. From the Canadian Encyclopedia:
Thanks for coming by! 🙂
A lovely tribute Deb! 🙂
Thanks! 🙂 It’s always heartwarming to see poppies everywhere this time of year. The video shows how selling them accomplishes so much good. ?
Heroes are heroes, in any nation. My salute to your father and his colleagues.
Indeed! Allies are so important. 🙂 Thank you!
Whatever we call the day, we should remember those who came before us to allow us to have what we have now.
Nice tribute.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
Well said, Arlee! 🙂 I’m glad you liked the tribute. Have a memorable Veterans Day!
A very nice and obviously heartfelt tribute to your Dad, DEBBIE.
‘War Is A Racket’ – as the book’s title accurately states – and sadly, it’s the “everyman” and “everywoman” who suffers from them, while those who initiate them make billions of dollars. I am confident that this is coming to an end soon. In the meantime, we honor the brave and mourn their loss.
Again, Debbie, this was a first-rate tribute you put together. Well done!
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS
Thank you, Stephen. 🙂 My father and I had a strained relationship until his later years and then he died. This is the least I can do! ? Your comments about war are spot on. The rich and powerful are the only ones who benefit.
What a wonderful tribute to your father, Debbie! Have a lovely Remembrance Day and we must never forget the fallen.
Thank you so much, Eugenia! ? Wishing you a memorable Veterans Day.
What a wonderful tribute to your father. War is such an ugly business.
Have a blessed Remembrance Day, Debbie. ♥
Thank you, Sandee. 🙂 Wishing you a memorable Veterans Day!
You are right Debbie. We can never imagine what our unsung war-heroes have to go through just so we can sleep peacefully at night. I just finished a book based in war-gripped Syria. Even the little bit shared in that book was enough to make my skin crawl.
Your post was a good tribute to your Dad.
My mother survived WWII in Germany and shared a few horror stories, but my father refused to talk about his experiences. Pity! It might have helped him to do so. Thank you and I’m glad you liked the tribute.
Lovely tribute to your father.
Thank you so much! ?
Beautifully written and a tribute to your dad. I am certain that growing up, it was tough and only when an adult, could you understand the reasons behind his alcoholism and personality. I might be choosing the wrong words so forgive me. My dad fought in WW2 and was wounded hear the end of the war. He had some stories but I don’t think he suffered as many others have. My mom, on the other hand, had severe PTSD but we didn’t know. She endured the war and lost 2 brothers and even though they were German, I believe Remembrance Day is for all soldiers( barring the Nazis) and people who endured and keep enduring war.
Thank you, Birgit. ? It’s true, my childhood was no picnic. My mother also suffered at the hands of the Nazis (she was jailed) and likely had PTSD as well. As you said, these things became clear to me as an adult. If only there could be no more wars! So sad to see what goes on in the world…
Ah there is so much pain and pride in this one, Debbie. We should never forget the fallen and the sacrifices they have made for us.
Yes, and yes. ? Thank you.
GREAT POST, WE MUST REMEMBER THE FALLEN, CHINA
Indeed! ? Thank you, China. 🙂