This past weekend, officials from around the world converged on the French shore 65 years after Allied troops began their push inland on D-Day.
Like many Canadians who are here as a result of the efforts of the young men and women in uniform who fought and sometimes died decades ago, we stopped what we were doing to catch a bit of the commemoration on television.
Some day we hope to visit those sites out of respect for family and strangers who gave their lives. We understand the solemnity of the grounds and that the rows of crosses leave very few visitors dry-eyed. Thanks to veterans, a few people know the true horror of what happened on those shores.
Many old soldiers will have made their final pilgrimage to those distant shores for these recent ceremonies. We are happy for them, in the sense that they deserved to see that Europe and the world still appreciates the great sacrifice they made as young men.
Restoring democracy to a troubled continent, let alone sparing the free world from the tyrannical whims of dictators was no small feat and the price was high.
We hazard to guess that a price was still being paid as memories from a lifetime ago washed over their frail bodies on the weekend.
In our Newspaper this week, we celebrate with the Harriston Legion and members of the Elora Legion too, who are doing their part to keep history alive as they work to honour the fallen. Time has a way of diminishing memories, but through the efforts of veterans, the Legion, and their families, respects can be paid for past service and contemporaries can encourage continued peace.
We can remain hopeful that a war of that scale never occurs again, but still today, tyranny exists in far flung corners of the world. Those are places where specious leaders prey on the weak and attempt to dominate, economically and physically, pitting religious sects and races against one other. This hatred makes no sense to us, but it still goes on.
Mankind’s future depends on fighting oppression at every turn.
That is our torch to carry.
