Lest We Forget

Today, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, I paused for a moment of silent reflection for those who had sacraficed their lives during the wars. After the moment had passed I wondered if that had been enough. Those people, at the time, had given everything including their lives to the war effort. Was two minutes of silence really enough of a tribute?

Both my paternal Grandparents served in the second World War. In exactly what capacity, I'm ashamed to admit I don't really know and the window of opportunity for finding out has long since past. I do vaguely recall a long running family joke in regards to my Grandma being of a higher rank than my Grandpa. At the time of the war they were still living overseas in the Channel Islands. Having a front row seat as they did, I'm sure was a great motivator to join the cause. With the fighting being pretty much on your front door step, how could you do anything else? Sometimes I think about how fragile the fate of our family was at that time. Even if they hadn't both been enlisted, they were still living in a war zone.

Now my maternal Grandparents were safely here in Canada. I know for a fact my Grandpa did attempt to join the fight. I say he attempted because as I type this his certificate of rejection sits here in front of me. It lists his birthday as January 26, 1914. Grandpa's birthday was always something of a mystery to the family. What with the poor records that were kept during that time. As a family we always celebrated it on Boxing Day, December 26th. It also lists his height, his weight, hair, eyes and that he had a 3 inch scar on his right hand. It doesn't mention why he was rejected. Something that to this day remains a mystery, since Grandpa never said. Being rejected for service was not something that was a source of pride for him.

I mentioned this story today to a friend after our moment of silence had passed. She replied that he should have considered himself lucky not to have to go to war. Sure that's the way we think today, but I know Grandpa didn't consider himself lucky back then. I think it's safe to say there will never be another war like the previous World Wars. The technology of the world today wouldn't allow for it. For each year that goes by we lose more and more of the Veterans from those Wars. Very soon, there will be none left. No one to continue to tell the history. Sure we can read about it in history books, but it won't quite be the same thing.

Why don't we truly honour our veterans and make Remembrance Day a National Holiday? Why not do it now while we still have veterans to honour? Why not write your MP and make that suggestion?

I hope that if you saw a Veteran today or you have one in your life that you took the time to shake their hand and say Thank You.