46 Replies to “Lest We Forget”

  1. A few months back I met a young man who could no longer do the job the army required of him. He had been in Afghanistan, riding in the back of an LAV when it hit an IED. The young man woke up in Germany. After two years of therapy and surgery he was released to civilian life. The shrapnel still imbedded in his body wasn’t his biggest issue as the brain injury he suffered will haunt him the rest of his days.

  2. How much would it really, truely cost to take care of our vets? In a national referendum, in creating a ‘special’ category of governmental expense, separate from the national budget. Would the populace support the expense?
    I think it would.
    Is this a rediculous approach?

  5. My uncle, Peter Biollo. Never knew him but will never forget him. Died over France as a bombardier of a Lancaster.
    I’ll remember you when I vote on Saturday too. Rest easy Uncle Peter.

  6. I like to expound on the phrase “gave up their lives” so often used on this day. It is not that our soldiers, sailors, and aircrew die for us – everyone dies, and even in civilian life the manner of one’s death can be terrible, excruciating, and may come tragically early – that is their greatest sacrifice. It is the rest of their lives that they do not get to live, or the reduction of abilities and enjoyment of life that afflicts the wounded. And I say this to suggest that to honor their sacrifice, the best thing we can do is to think well on our good fortune in not having to make the same sacrifice, strive to live our lives worthily in the freedom and peace they win for us, and be guardians and stewards of those gifts to pass on to our successors.

  7. I have read and studied history all my life, military history in particular. As a nation, I never understood why Canada joined the 1st WW. Actually I do understand why but certainly will never agree with it. The ‘flower’ of Canadian youth sacrificed by British generals for what?
    IMHO WWI was all about the old boys network keeping a young Germany under foot. Keeping Germany from continuing their economic advancement which threatened them. European monarchs in a pissing match. It was this group that formed the conditions for Hitler to return 20 years later for added death. If Canada, Australia, NZ and the USA had sat out the Euros would have settled the war in 1917. Not likely WW II would have occurred.
    I have little use for the Euros as they chronically fail to meet their responsibilities and fail to actually carry out their commitments. Maybe I am a old style isolationist but Canada should not have been involved in any of the ME wars (except support for Israel), no Bosnia, no Libya, no Afgan, no Iraq, no Syria, no ISIS etc. If the ME is a EURO strategic challenge let them meet it. I am tired of hearing them brag about the EU being the 2nd largest economic group in the world and then beg for Canadian jets to patrol the Polish border against the Russians. The EU sandbagging Canadian heavy oil until they think they need it and then rebranding it to ‘good’ to go!
    My father and uncle served in Europe during WW II. My mother’s cousin, the lion of his extended family, died a hero in Holland in 1945. WW II was a necessary war only because of what the Euros had done.

  8. I think every non-progressive Canadian would support the soldiers,post-service. Our Country has along and inglorious history of mistreatment of our soldiers,and the current government isn’t much better.
    PM Harper must have been smoking some of Justin’s stash when he appointed Fantino to veteran’s Affairs. Now, the government seems long on show and lavish in-the-Press praise, short on follow up.Too many stories extant of Veterans not getting the financial support or medical care they need and deserve.
    I believe we should take care of our veterans as well as we take care of our politicians.
    On a personal note,this will be the second Remembrance Day our family will observe without our beloved Mother,who worked for the Royal Canadian Legion since 1936,and received her 70-Year pin before she passed away. Her Father, husband (our Dad), and both brothers served in WW1 or WW2.
    Bless ’em all.

  9. Good points CT.
    What the British generals did to our young, and theirs, with ill planned, bravo, hip hip mentality is despicable.
    Yet we had to do something because while you are right on some topics, you are wrong on others, like Europe.
    Nazism didn’t stop at Europe, they wanted the world, meaning us as well.
    I ‘rather’ fight over there, than here.

  10. Maybe CT but that diminishes in no way the sacrifice of those young men. As far as sowing seeds, one could argue the harsh terms applied by Germany on France after the Franco-Prussian War sowed the seeds for the crippling sanctions on Germany after WW1 which then led to WW2 – and the redrawing of borders after WW2, and the Satan USA, led us here today.
    We are warring beasts, we were then and we are now; to claim virtue now is folly in my opinion. We act in our interests, that’s our history. We felt joining with Britain was the right thing to do then and feel helping go after IS is the right then to do now.
    And we stand together as a nation on this special day because we are proud of what we did then and what we’re doing now.
    While honouring our war dead, we should also consider other casualties, as mentioned by others, those who are with us now and dealing in some cases with profound life changing injuries. Our thoughts and prayers should be for them too along with the countless members of the CF who gave their lives in peacetime in the performance of their duties.
    God bless them all. God bless Canada.

  11. Beautiful ceremony in Ottawa, well done and a huge crowd, probably record setting.
    Having reservations about mentioning it but saw no burkas among them. No Imam spoke, that would have been a mockery after the killings of two of our soldiers in the name of Islam. One guarding ceremonially the tomb of a young unknown Canadian killed in WW1. The other simply going about his life in a country our forefathers fought and died for to keep us free and safe.These acts of terror by scum of the earth fueled by so-called “extreme” ideology is the ultimate insult to all that’s good in humanity.

  12. Both sides of me family liberated by Canuck soldiers in Holland.
    Some of my earliest memories are of my Mom taking me to the cenataph in Whitby Ont. – the WW1 vets were in their 70’s maybe 50 of them or so and the WW2 vets in their 40’s perhaps 100 vets. Cant be but a handful left – sad to watch such a great generation leave the stage.

  13. 100% with you on WW1, CT.
    And I’m doubtful about WW2.
    I’m currently reading a beautiful book entitled: The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul FusselI. It’s more intellectual and literary history than the usual war battle fare.
    It deals extensively with language, euphemism, poetry, government propaganda, and how the world changed forever.
    No disrespect but, no, those poor souls didn’t “sacrifice their lives”.
    They went off on a poorly understood adventure and got themselves slaughtered by upper crust public school twits for …. nothing.
    That said, I have profound empathy for the common man victimized by this monstrous and unnecessary cataclysm.

  16. […]”No disrespect but, no, those poor souls didn’t “sacrifice their lives”.
    They went off on a poorly understood adventure and got themselves slaughtered by upper crust public school twits for …. nothing. ”
    […]
    I can’t say that I agree with this sentiment. Years ago, when I was in my 20’s, my dad and I talked a bit about what things were about in southern Ontario during the war years. While there were certainly lads who relished the adventure of a foreign war, I suspect many knew pretty much exactly what they would be signing up for, if they decided to go. Not all soldiers were in their teens and 20s – many were in there 30’s and 40’s too. Many, like my dad, were youngsters during the first. Many had fathers, uncles, cousins who fought the first war, didn’t return, or if they did, their stories were often romanticised to give them comfort about what they experienced. Generals mot always lead from behind, but then, there always has to be somebody leading the charge. WWII was a very different war than WWI.
    Dad tried enlisting but was not accepted, in truth, he was a small slight man, and wouldn’t have lasted a day in actual combat. He had more to contribute at home with General Motors producing war machines than he would have accomplished on the lines. But not being able to go always left a bit of a mark. By his sombre conversation, it was clear, there were few illusions as to what he was trying to enlist for.
    Men who go off to likely die, share a certain false bravado. Adventure is what they want to call it, but make no mistake, most knew exactly what they were heading into.

  17. Just a bit of a follow-up: to my mind, one of the principle things that has gone lost from our current secularized society, progessived out it, I suspect, is a concept that was very strong in my dad’s day, a bedrock value, so to speak. That concept is Valour. Outside of the exceptional people who sign up for active military service today, valour is hardly a benchmark that modern men and women embrace. Liberals actively run from conflict, prevaricate, and shun and belittle those who stand on principle; conservatives waffle and procrastinate when doing the right thing should be obvious.
    The Ottawa service was superb, and it was interesting to watch the different networks handle the same video feed. Credit where credit is due, I thought the CBC (ptui, may their house be infested with fleas) did a decent job. CTV’s commentary was abominable. Please Lisa, Remembrance Day is not about you, or Bob Fife, or the rest of CTV’s national sycophants. Hillier did a better job than the entire CTV crew. There are times when the media really need to STFU, and not try to be the story…
    Having a rabbi conduct the non-denominational benediction was inspired… 🙂

  18. Then I am nothing. “They went off on a poorly understood adventure and got themselves slaughtered by upper crust public school twits for …. nothing.”
    They sacrificed for me.

  19. Lest we forget.
    August 8, 2014:
    Toronto Councillor Ceta Ramkhalawansingh is asking city council to vote next week to request the federal government to change Canada’s national anthem to be “gender inclusive, thereby including all Canadians.” She wants to see the words “all thy sons” changed to “all of us.”
    November 11, 2014:
    Toronto Councillor Ceta Ramkhalawansingh flubbed the names of two Canadian soldiers killed just a few weeks ago in two separate terrorist attacks during her speech at the city’s Remembrance Day ceremony.
    “This year is of course particularly sad as we honour the memory of Mr. Cirillo and Mr. Vincent – I forget his name. I’m sorry, I’m a little nervous,” she told the hundreds gathered around the cenotaph at Queen and Bay Sts.
    After the ceremony, Ramkhalawansingh said she couldn’t remember the soldiers’ titles.
    “It is not a big deal,” she said.
    Asked what she would say to people who may be offended by the omission, Ramkhalawansingh said she doesn’t know “anybody that would be upset by that.”
    “When you get asked to stand in at the last minute, trying to prepare with remarks … sh– happens,” she told the Toronto Sun and the Globe and Mail.
    “I said I was nervous and I apologized. I had their names written down but I couldn’t remember their titles, their ranks and I didn’t want to give the wrong ranks.”

  20. No. It’s not a ridiculous approach. Our veterans should be taken care of regardless of the cost and anyone who disagrees is an ungrateful asshole. It’s utterly shameful that we can flush a billion plus dollars a year down the CBC crapper yet become tightwads when it comes to dealing with veterans. Funding the CBC in any way, shape or form is a national disgrace but when veterans have to do without, it is unfathomable.

  21. Taxs for Veterans are the tears of angels as far as I’m concerned. Sick of political life long Politicians hogging al,l while leaving those who fraught penniless.The miserly golden parachuted pigs. The ones who couldn’t defend a house cat.

  22. Now thats a campaign I can see canadians getting behind and the usual pissants having no effective argument against.
    Take it from the CBC and give it to the veterans.

  23. Don Morris said:
    “Our Country has along and inglorious history of mistreatment of our soldiers, and the current government isn’t much better.”
    …-
    Albert Bruce Burton said:
    “Nobody treats its veterans as well as Canada,” said Burton. “They treat me well. Anything I want, I get … We take care of our veterans.”
    “Albert Bruce Burton is 91 years old and is a resident at the Perley Rideau Centre.”
    http://www.ottawasun.com/2014/11/10/old-soldier-proud-of-his-service-pleased-with-care-canadian-vets-get

  25. Germany young. Jung. Ha. Hardly just the Germans and Prussians under a different flag
    English generals , yes poor ,but they weren’t the only one who used 19th century tactics in a 20th century war. It was the English tank that changed the tactics and broke the stalemate .
    As for young lives, the Brits had a million “men” enlisted under the age of 18 at the end of the war. At the beginning of the war part of the uniform was a moustache , by the end too many soldiers could not grow them so it was dropped. Most of the soldier were recruited from the public schools, they wiped out a generation of their middle class, I think it contributed to the yob society that British get now

  26. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/fantino-failing-veterans-272398961.html
    and: http://onwardjames.blogspot.ca/2010/08/canadian-war-veterans-are-mistreated-by.html
    You know why the Royal Canadian Legion was formed,maz2.
    I don’t give sh** what political stripe the government is, since WW1 they have played the “patriotism and noble warrior” card when recruiting, only to pull the rug out from under the Veterans after the fighting is over.

  27. Noticed the lack of Imams too. They either are ashamed or supportive. But an Imam Religion of Peace speech would have been poorly received.

  28. If you look at the 1911 edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, you will see, in the entry under military fortifications, the game plan for WW1. These dig-and-defend tactics were developed during the Crimean war and the US civil war.

  29. Well I don’t…please give us some details. My parents were both veterans and were treated like gold. Perhaps some veterans are not being treated well, but it is up to them to ask why….not the lame-ass politicians who don’t really support our veterans (Liberals and NDP and Greens).
    They only find the time to hear such complaints for a political purpose. Funny how we rarely, if ever, hear about how veterans are treated poorly when Liberals are the government. You are pathetic Don to jump in with the political opportunists. Particularly on this day. How dare you insult a 91 year old veteran. You are an embarrassment to all Canadians.

  30. I have nothing but gratitude and empathy for those Canadians who made the sacrifice for freedom – and nothing but contempt for those who thew them into these meat grinderrs

  31. Canadian veterans, I have possibly them, and those who died, to thank for my very existence. So a big THANK YOU to them
    As to the pros and cons of the various wars, that has nothing to do with the intent and bravery of soldiers and civilian support teams of those wars. We can not diminish the valor of these ppl over the politics of the wars they fought!

  32. “IMHO WWI was all about the old boys network keeping a young Germany under foot. Keeping Germany from continuing their economic advancement which threatened them. European monarchs in a pissing match. It was this group that formed the conditions for Hitler to return 20 years later for added death.”
    Exactly. Much like you I have studied this all of my life. England, France, Austria, and Russia did not appreciate it when Bismarck united the German states and considered the new Germany a competitor. The first to try to roll back German unification was Austria and they were soundly defeated by Germany. The French were the next to try, were beaten and lost Alsace-Lorraine. Three wars in the Balkans also contributed to the general unease.
    After the Franco-Prussian War an uneasy peace existed and all sides began to frantically build up their armaments with the international defense treaties and assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand being the trigger for WWI.
    Wilhelmine Germany was not evil. It just wanted a seat at the colonial acquisition and industrial commercial tables. Nazi Germany was evil, as was Bolshevik Russia, and today’s radical Islam and the Marxist evil among us.
    There is a sidebar to all this human carnage of WWI and WWII, as well as the carnage waged by the communists in Russia. I believe the tremendous loss of men
    has led to the population decline in Europe and to the importation of immigrants whose aim is to bury the old Europe.
    Shamrock said, “God bless them all. God bless Canada.” I agree wholeheartedly.
    May they all rest in peace and may we not forget them. May we also be prepared to do it again when evil threatens.

  33. Wanted a short video news story about Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa and to see PM Harper. CTV video summary had not one shot of Harper that I could see. One photo in tweets. Live coverage probably couldn’t completely ignore PM Harper.

  34. Anyone else notice an increased police presence at their ceremonies? Small town Thunder Bay had at least a half dozen cops in ninja pajamas and plainclothes along with an OPP dog. They were definitely checking out the crowds quite thoroughly. Pretty sad when we have to guard such a ceremony.

  35. While working as a school librarian, I overheard one of Ontario’s unionised and overly compensated teachers characterise Canada’s involvement in the First World War as “being buddies with Britain”. No doubt, this was meant to endear the students to him as the “cool guy”. I set to work gathering every reliable digital and hard copy resource on the First World War to dispel that trivialisation not only of our obligation during WWI but our independent decision to enter WWII.
    There was more of a moral imperative to enter the Second World War than the First World War and people still haven’t gotten the lasting effects of Canada’s Forgotten War- the Korean War (something I got the quite the perspective on while teaching in South Korea).
    Not that I would discuss this with an Ontario teacher.

  36. To Don Morris: I think you’re parroting the MSM talking points. I look after the affairs of my elderly parents, my Dad a 92 yr. old serviceman. My experience with Veteran’s Affairs has been outstanding – unlike most federal departments, they’re pleasant, helpful and return calls when they say they will.
    They’ve also been generous in the assistance accorded to my parents and open to increases as their need has risen.
    And Texas Canuck, you’re quite right about the extra security right across the country. I was at the ceremony in Nanaimo today and was surprised to see a guy who looked like he was a Blackwater guy, except he had POLICE across his bib, while carrying what looked like an automatic weapon. Sunglasses, a couple of days stubble and a leather gloved hand with his finger near but off the trigger. Real badass looking bloke, standing on a rooftop above the crowd.
    Some choose to believe otherwise, but the enemy lives amongst us.

  37. I think anyone who serves in the military past and present should never be short changed when it comes to getting them the the best of treatment for their individual needs. There is far too much red tape to wade through to even get help with something like snow clearing or grass cutting etc for older vets who need help to remain in their own homes.
    Talking the talk is not the same as walking the walk and governments past and present seem too heavy on the talk part.
    All that aside, the Conservative government is many strides ahead of the political pack regarding the military across the board.

  38. It’s sad, but nothing’s sadder than an evil Islamic terrorist shooting an unarmed soldier standing guard over the tomb of the unknown soldier or running over a soldier going about his life in a street in his community.
    The enemy is among us, being radicalized here and acting on their “teachings”. We know where it’s coming from, we don’t know where or when they will show up.

  39. Ken,
    It is so easy to deal with history outside of the context of the time events actually happened. Many have argued that the world prior to WW I was experiencing the greatest economic burst ever experienced by man. Technology was growing at a tremendous pace. The politics of that era, especially the influence of many monarchs, failed humanity.
    The bloodiest war the Americans have ever experienced was the American Civil War. Hundreds of thousands died. American reluctance to join WW I was a direct result of the Civil War. McKinley was a Civil War vet. Most countries of that era sent their military to the USA during the Civil War to observe. Trench warfare was well known prior to WW I.

  40. “It is so easy to deal with history outside of the context of the time events actually happened.”
    Exactly.

  41. “My experience with Veteran’s Affairs has been outstanding -”
    So has mine. They have helped me with my hearing issues and will continue to do so as long as I need it.

  42. “nothing’s sadder than an evil Islamic terrorist shooting an unarmed soldier”
    The very fact that the soldier had a weapon but no ammunition is beyond ludicrous.
    When my wife lamented about the soldier being killed, I pointed out that his weapon was unloaded and he had no ammo. He would have been better off with a big, pointed stick. She couldn’t believe that I spoke the truth and it took a few tries to convince her that I wasn’t kidding.
    Whoever came up with and approved the policy that left this soldier defenceless should be scotch hobbled and become star attractions at a public flogging just prior to being hanged.

  43. We just don’t think anyone could be so evil, so low on the humanity scale to shoot a soldier in he back while he was guarding ceremonially the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. His partner couldn’t have prevented the Islamic rotter from doing what he planned, shoot one then run onto the Hill to catch them off guard and shoot more people. We have to deal with scabs and scum of the earth by loading the weapons, in the present climate we need all our soldiers to be armed at all times.
    There’s also another factor, followers of so-called “extremist” Islam, that would probably include Sharia law,they are happy to die for their cause. We can all recall Mama Khadr saying on CBC a few years ago she would be happy to have her sons become martyrs for the “cause”.

  44. Yep foreign observers/military attaches were a common thing in late 19th century wars.
    However, while these agents took the lessons of the War(trench warfare and the use of railways) of Northern Aggression seriously, they were not paying attention when Russia and Turkey clashed at Plevna in Romania….
    I agree with Fuller that it was as much the magazine rifle, as the the machine gun, which produced the trench warfare stalemate of WW1. The dug in British riflemen at Mons set the pattern.
    Basically, the Industrial Revolution finally caught up to war.

  45. I guess the 20 years my WW1 Veteran Grandfather spent fighting for the rights of Veterans was all in my imagination.Between the two Wars, the governments of Canada did their level best to deny help to Veterans. Yes,they established very good VA hospitals, but thousands of Veterans were denied or deprived of their rights by the bureaucracy.
    The Royal Canadian Legion wasn’t formed on a whim, but was the response of desperate Veterans to a government that treated them with indifference.
    As with any government department,many clients ARE served well, but there are many who, due to particular circumstances, slip through the cracks, or are the victims of a vindictive bureaucrat. Shell shock/combat fatigue/PTSD is one big area of concern, never treated with enough seriousness by VA.
    Anecdotally, the Canadian health care system is also nearly perfect, until you dig into the details,then you find the “rest of the story”, to use a well known phrase.
    The only “shame” I feel is for the many allegedly conservative posters who jump on bandwagons they haven’t thoroughly researched.
    The day veterans,all of them,are treated as well as the politicians, is the day I’ll acknowledge VA is finally doing the job they should be doing.
    And Ken,I’m very pleased that VA did right by you. They didn’t do the same for my Uncle,among many, who was a career pilot, bombers in WW2,to transports post war.
    VA said the condition that killed him at an early age had nothing to do with his service,even though civilian specialists said it most certainly was.
    As I have had to declare so many times on conservative websites whose members can’t abide criticism of their preferred government; I am 100 % on the side of the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces,but I have seen too many instances up close and personal where those soldiers have been abandoned by the government after the cheering and welcome home is over.
    And I don’t get my information from left-wing websites.

  46. Sorry CT, but your understanding of what happened in World War I is deficient. Germany was hardly “underfoot” and there was no need or reason to keep it there even if it were. Germany was rapidly becoming the dominant power in Europe. Only the Russians had any immediate reason to care; only the British had long-term concerns, and those could have been taken care of without war. France was rapidly integrating its economy with Germany and the future seemed to hold something like the European Union but thirty or forty years earlier; the likeliest outcome was Britain throwing in with France and Germany and engaging in conflict or at least competition with Russia.
    Germany’s war guilt lay in believing that the Russians were capable of attacking them on short notice. The Russians did in fact attack them on short notice, although that merely caused disaster for the Russians, so the Germans weren’t that egregiously wrong. The big problem was that the Germans did not understand how the changes in technology and technique had made defensive war much more effective than offensive war. And nobody else understood that, either. There hadn’t been enough wars to learn from.
    When push actually came to shove, the British went to war because the Germans had invaded Belgium, and the British considered an independent Belgium to be an essential British interest. They considered it unacceptable to let either France or Germany control the North Sea coast, for reasons that became obvious in the Second war when the Germans actually got control of that coast and thus made their air and naval forces vastly more dangerous.
    Germany invaded Belgium because they didn’t think they could invade France successfully by direct attack. And they had to invade France because they were at war with Russia. They couldn’t expect a quick victory against a power as big as Russia, and they knew that whatever agreement they made with France, once they were fully committed against Russia they would be unable to resist a French attack and the French would as a consequence attack them, so as to recover the territory they’d lost in 1870. The only way to handle Russia was by knocking out France first, or so they imagined.
    And Germany was at war with Russia because Germany was expanding its economic interests in the Ottoman Empire, which was benefiting the people of the Middle East generally and the interest of the British Empire in particular, but posed a threat to Russia, whose economy had come to depend on free passage out of the Black Sea. The Russians felt they had do what ever they could to stop any German advance or increase in power in the Balkans, and an Austrian victory over Serbia would inevitably produce just that.
    No “old boys’ pissing match” about it. The old boys wanted peace. They didn’t see any way of keeping the peace without putting their people at unacceptable risk. It’s easy for us to say now that they should have run that risk, but you’d scream at anybody who ran such a risk with your life today.

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