FERGUS – This week we mark the 103rd commemoration of Remembrance Day in Canada.
ROBERT STUBBINGS
At 11am on Nov. 11, the solemn ceremony we observe is meant as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the service of our country.
“Thank you for your service,” is silently whispered by many.
The Canadian public strongly identifies the Legion with all of the rituals of Remembrance – the wearing of the red poppy, the colour guard, the orations and prayers, the two minutes of silent reflection, the playing of the Last Post and the laying of wreaths.
Remembrance is about remembering our veterans’ sacrifice and honouring their service and, appropriately, tends to focus on grief.
Those who have attended the cenotaph service over the years are aware of the lengthening list of names read, of the increasing number of wreaths laid.
Time has taken its toll on our World War veterans. A legacy is anything given to you from an ancestor and is most valuable to the recipient when there is a personal connection and meaning.
Have the World War generations left us a legacy? Harry Lauder, a Scottish minstrel popular during both of the World Wars, wrote: “If we all look back on the history of the past, we can just tell where we are.”
Our awareness of Remembrance is grounded in the aftermath of the First World War. The impact on humanity of this global conflict can be seen in the response writers, sculptors and artists gave to immortalizing its significance.
The designation “Great War” (the numerical “First” did not appear until after the Second World War occurred) spoke to the massiveness of the appalling conflict.
Rudyard Kipling’s To our Glorious Dead and Lest We Forget gave reverence to the fallen. The vision and efforts of Fabian Ware to respectfully inter the dead gave rise to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission which has been called The Empires of the Dead.
Here at home, to prevent the memory of their fallen sons from being lost, communities across the nation erected local war memorials.
John McCrae’s poem gave all Canadians the torch for Remembrance. Walter Allward’s Vimy Memorial in France hallmarks Canada’s presence for all posterity. Vernon March’s The Response, depicting fighting men from the Great War, became Canada’s National War Memorial.
The superlative was strived for in all cases. After all, it was supposed to be the “war to end all wars”.
And then the Second World War, considered by some as a continuance of WWI only interrupted by a period of exhaustion called “peace”, erupted.
As their fathers had done in the previous generation, sons and daughters stepped up for military service, driven by a clear sense of moral certainty and belief in the principles for which they fought.
Canada would not have achieved the global recognition it did without them, for at the onset of both World Wars our country was not prepared. We had the most meagre of professional armies such that by the time our forces were in full operation they, for all intents and purposes, consisted of citizen soldiers.
Between the two World Wars, 1.75 million Canadians put on the uniform, from which over 100,000 were killed and close to a quarter of a million were wounded.
From a country with less than eight million citizens in the First and approximately 12 million during the Second, Canada’s butcher bill from the World Wars cannot be easily forgotten.
It is an indelible number of our ancestors to remember for their service and sacrifice. The memory of Remembrance is confirmed for all time.
But let us look past the numbers and try to put ourselves in their place. At the beginning of both wars a pivotal concern had to be: can civilians, however willing, brave and trained, be made in a few months the equals of professional soldiers, inspired veterans who in both wars swarmed in unbridled victory across all of Europe?
It was a formidable question, but of course we know the answer. The Canadians in both wars were, when the smoke cleared, quite able to defeat all aggressors.
Military strategists will correctly speak of discipline, morale and the officer/other rank relationship and how these knitted elements were necessary for military success. There was something else though.
Their measureless force of spirit to support each other, their unwritten code to not let down their brothers, of self-sacrifice and the unwavering sense of purpose of these ordinary Canadians gave indisputable proof they had the root of the matter in them. Simply put, they all “did their bit.”
At the same time we must remind ourselves that Canadians on this side of the Atlantic were also exposed to the trials and testing of both World Wars.
Everyone was touched by the wars, particularly those in homes where a family member had given their life or was permanently disabled.
To speak of victory rings hollow to widows and orphans facing a precarious future in the absence of a husband or father. Upheaval became the daily norm for these people who endured when the world was at war.
Supply chain disruptions, economic chaos, inflammatory media, self-interest groups, governments stretched beyond their capability.
Are we talking 1916, 1943 or 2022? The past and the present are in the room together. World War truly means Armageddon. It is merciless, arbitrary, personal, repulsive and existential.
War is also the great leveler of society. It has no regard for a person’s social status, wealth, education, skin colour, native tongue, faith, age, gender or any other parameter by which humans measure and categorize themselves. All are equally annihilated.
But instead of perseverating on war itself, we need to focus on the human participants in war – our ancestors. Many families hold dear the wartime photographs of their parents, grandparents and great grandparents in their army, navy or air force dress uniforms.
These heirlooms give proof of their contribution, but should also remind us of what they did, of what they endured. The end of the war was not the end of their story.
When the guns of the First World War went silent, the transition from military back to civilian life was difficult for those who had served, primarily because they had been away from home for so many years
Wartime governmental propaganda had promised veterans a “land fit for heroes,” but the fragile Canadian economy could not support all of these now unemployed soldiers.
Veterans, mobilized by the Legion, lobbied for government support and received a progressive policy of pensions and land grants. But not all benefited equally, and some were abandoned to hospitals or left to the care of loved ones.
Nevertheless, most veterans moved on and rebuilt their lives after the war.
This was repeated after the end of the Second World War, when again while some survivors struggled with their war experiences others embraced them and moved on, privately carrying within themselves the lasting impact of the war. But they did move on and got on with living.
Think back on your own life experiences so far, and in particular those that have had a far-reaching impact on your life and contributed to who you are today. Ultimately, we are all guided by our own life experiences whether they be narrow or broadly endured. So too were these remarkable members of the war generations.
Regardless of their service branch, when our veterans came home they continued to embrace the comradeship, a term born of endearment and common sacrifice, which they forged in battle and which sustained them through years of hardship.
Across the country our citizenry became part of a collective whole as people identified with their neighbour’s suffering, pain and loss because they had experienced the same. They could also share in their mutual joy and relief with wars’ end.
This mutual experience remained with them for the rest of their lives, expressing itself through their sense of community. What they became as Canadians continued as part of their normal, daily existence.
The true history of war, specifically the experiences and stories of the individuals involved, is intensely personal.
Their stories need to be told and passed on because they create in our minds a real person, a genuine Canadian.
The sum total of their experiences holds the message these Canadians have to convey to us and that message is timeless. Their collective, horrible reality bore fruit in a clearer vision for their future and gave voice to our nation.
When you enter the Canadian War Museum you read the following: “This is your legacy. It is the memory and evidence of how war has affected your life in Canada today. It is preserved here so you can share it and remember.”
Here lies the opportunity for Canadians to learn of the legacy left to us by our war veterans. The war and post-war stories of our ancestors, not only on the battlefields, but also in homes touched by the wars, is an integral element of our Canadian heritage.
Yet, while people may leave the Canadian War Museum somewhat more connected with this legacy, the truth is many Canadians never visit 1 Vimy Place.
Fortunately, we have numerous local historical preserves where these memories and stories can be heard again. Regimental headquarters, county museums and Legion branches all have a part to play. Listen to their representatives recount their tale; hear their pride; feel their passion.
In your mind’s eye put yourself into the story, remembering that most of the combatants were young and inexperienced. Think about how you would have reacted faced with the same circumstances.
Memorize their name; you have just connected with a veteran.
These amazing Canadians did not do what they did to impress us today, but perhaps they can inspire.
We can look to them to find direction for a better today, a better tomorrow.