I remember going to school around November 11th and seeing poppies fill the halls on all the students and teachers. I remember bringing my quarters to school so I could buy poppies (always at least one a day because they just tend to disappear on you). I also remember being lined up into the school gymnasium for the Remembrance Day assemblies. We sang O’ Canada, listened to a recording (or someone in band as I hit junior high and high school) play The Last Post, stood silently for the minute of silence and finished with hearing The Rouse. I also have vague memories of hearing the poem In Flanders’s Field but couldn’t tell you if that was in the assembly itself or just in the classroom. I don’t remember actually understanding what was going on though, especially in elementary school. I knew that we were supposed to remember the soldiers and I knew that both my Grandpa and Grandad had fought in World War II but like any kid it didn’t really affect me because it was in the past.
As I got older I still kept going to the assemblies. I started to get into the history and began to read anything I could find on aspects of the World Wars. I also began to be more aware of the world around me and started to see that we were still fighting wars all over the world. (It’s a strange world when you realize history is still happening and that the things you thought were in the past are actually still going on – but that is a blog for another day.) As I became more aware, Remembrance Day also became a connection not only to the history I was learning but also to my own family history. It made the day a little more special and important, at least while I was in school.
When I graduated high school the assemblies stopped happening. I went off to university and started to really get into history. I spent hours reading story after story and textbook after textbook. I was fascinated especially as I began to learn more about the Canadian connections to important war changing battles. Sadly, although I did get to the odd ceremony, it was never a priority for me to attend. I would always think of my grandfathers on the 11th but usually the day would pass with me just happy to have an extra day off to get an essay written or a day to sleep in.
That changed for me though when I went to Europe in 2008. Actually that trip changed a lot for me, when it came to how I think about and experience the history I had long studied. I was walking in the spots where the battles had taken place that I had studied. I was visiting gravesites full of graves from the soldiers that had made the ultimate sacrifice to do what they believed in. I really began to realize just how many people lost their lives and the huge scale of what went on during those two wars.
One of the most powerful moments of my trip was when my tour guide took us to Juno Beach. It wasn’t a planned part of the tour but the guide knew I was Canadian and offered to take us if the other people on the tour were ok with it, which they were. As I stepped onto the sand of a very pretty beach I got goosebumps on my arms. At that moment as I stood there it was just a beach but I knew that on June 6, 1944 it was a battleground. The Dday landings played such a huge role in ending World War II, it was awe inspiring to be standing there knowing the history the way that I did. I was standing where thousands of men, Canadians as well as other members of the British Commonwealth, had fought so hard. I tried to imagine what it must have been like on that day of the landing and tried to match that with the calm that I was experiencing while I was standing on the beach. They just didn’t quite line up. In that moment, standing there, I could really feel the history, physically and emotionally. It was a very moving moment for me and one that I will not ever forget. (Here is some more information on Juno Beach)
After the stop at the beach, the tour guide took us to the Canadian Cemetery at Beny-Sur-Mer. Throughout my vacation I had been going to commonwealth grave sites, where you would see maple leaves on some of the tombstones but nothing could compare to walking around Beny-Sur-Mer and seeing all the graves with maples leaves. It made for a beautiful picture but it also created another connection for me to the stories I had studied and learned about.
This was the truth behind the battle fought. War means loss of life, no matter how you look at it or spin it. When I came back from that trip Remembrance Day had a new meaning for me. I started going to Remembrance Day ceremonies. I finally understood on a deeper level how important November 11th is to me. For me it is a connection to my family history, to my country’s history and just simply something that I feel is important to remember. It has nothing to do with religion for me it is a matter of respect. So many gave up their lives for my future I can spend a few hours each year remembering all of them. I am grateful that people exist that are willing to fight to protect and defend people like me.
As I end this blog I just want to share my hopes for the future. It is my hope that all people will continue to remember and value the importance of November 11th. I hope that one day we will find a way to get along with each other and actually find world peace so that Remembrance Day can stand for finally achieving peace. I also hope that since we no longer have any World War I veterans left in Canada, and the numbers of World War II veterans continues to dwindle people will continue to recognize and value what they did for us. I hope that children will be taught the importance of the day and learn to value the gifts we have been given. Lastly I hope that even if the option is there to opt out of remembering that people will continue to choose to do it.
In remembering our history we learn the value of where we are today.
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