Remembrance Day.lest we forget.
Here in Canada, we observe Remembrance Day, Tuesday November 11, for all of our fallen Soldiers and Hero's. This is a good read, and interesting information, for those who sometimes forget our Canadian Soldiers, and the sacrifices we've made that are all too often forgotten.
British news paper salutes Canada.. . This is a good read.
It is funny how it took someone in England to put it into words...
Sunday Telegraph Article From today's UK wires:
Salute to a brave and modest nation - Kevin Myers, 'The
Sunday Telegraph' LONDON:
Until the deaths of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan ,
Probably almost no one outside their home country had been aware that
Canadian troops are deployed in the region.
And as always, Canada will bury its dead, just as the rest of
The world, as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets
Nearly everything Canada ever does.. It seems that Canada's historic
Mission is to come to the selfless aid both of its' friends and of complete
Strangers, and then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly
Ignored.
Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of
The hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire
Breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and
Suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing
Resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once
Helped, glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her yet
Again.
That is the price Canada pays for sharing the North American
Continent with the United States, and for being a selfless friend of
Britain in two global conflicts.
For much of the 20th century, Canada was torn in two different
Directions: It seemed to be a part of the old world, yet had an address in
The new one, and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the
Gratitude it deserved.
Yet it's purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom
In two world wars was perhaps the greatest of any democracy. Almost 10%
Of Canada's entire population of seven million people served in the armed
Forces during the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great
Allied victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the
Most capable soldiers in the entire British order of battle.
Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright
Neglect, it's unique contribution to victory being absorbed into the
Popular memory as somehow or other the work of the 'British.'
The Second World War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy
Began the war with a half dozen vessels, and ended up policing nearly half
Of the Atlantic against U-boat attacks. More than 120 Canadian warships
Participated in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian
Soldiers went ashore on D-Day alone.
Canada finished the war with the third-largest navy and the
Fourth largest air force in the world. The world thanked Canada with the
Same sublime indifference as it had the previous time.
Canadian participation in the war was acknowledged in film
Only if it was necessary to give an American actor a part in a campaign in
Which the United States had clearly not participated - a touching
Scrupulousness which, of course, Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has
Any notion of a separate Canadian identity.
So it is a general rule that actors and filmmakers arriving
In Hollywood keep their nationality - unless, that is, they are Canadian.
Thus Mary Pickford, Walter Huston, Donald Sutherland, Michael J. Fox,
William Shatner, Norman Jewison, David Cronenberg, John Candy, Alex Trebek,
Art Linkletter and Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, Mike Myers, have in the popular perception become
American, and Christopher Plummer, British.
It is as if, in the very act of becoming famous, a Canadian
Ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who is as unshakably
Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom Canada has proved quite
Unable to find any takers.
Moreover, Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the
Achievements of its sons and daughters as the rest of the world is
Completely unaware of them. The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and
Are unheard by anyone else - that 1% of the world's population has
Provided 10% of the world's peacekeeping forces.
Canadian soldiers in the past half century have been the
Greatest peacekeepers on Earth - in 39 missions on UN mandates, and six on
Non-UN peacekeeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor, from Sinai to
Bosnia.
Yet the only foreign engagement that has entered the popular
Non-Canadian imagination was the sorry affair in Somalia, in which
Out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators. Their
Regiment was then disbanded in disgrace - a uniquely Canadian act of
Self-abasement for which, naturally, the Canadians received no
International credit.
So who today in the United States knows about the stoic and
Selfless friendship its northern neighbour has given it in Afghanistan?
Rather like Cyrano de Bergerac, Canada repeatedly does
Honourable things for honourable motives, but instead of being thanked, it
Remains something of a figure of fun. It is the Canadian way, for which
Canadians should be proud, yet such honour comes at a high cost. This
Past year more grieving Canadian families know that cost all too tragically
Well.
Lest we forget.
