Does Canada Remember?

November 11th marks Remembrance Day in Canada. Many of us will solemnly pay respect to the men and women who served our country and fought to preserve the values we so deeply believe. 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the legions poppy campaign and the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Hong Kong. We almost forget the second world war was fought on multiple fronts. It wasn’t just Germany but also Japan in the Pacific theatre who would wage war against the Allies. The battle would see the British colony fall to the Japanese. The lives of 290 Canadian soldiers would be lost on the battlefield and 264 would perish in Japanese POW camps over the next four years. Another 493 brave Canadian soldiers would bare the physical scars of battle forever and countless would suffer from the mental scars left behind from the gruesome realities of war.

It is with grave concern that I ask the question. Are we doing enough to remember those who fought for us? Are we teaching future generations enough to make them understand what their not to distant relatives did to ensure their freedom? Does Canada remember?

I was listening to a popular Toronto radio a while back. The host ran a segment that is meant to be funny to the listener usually at the expense of an unwitting caller. In this instance, the caller was asked if he knew what Vimy Ridge was. The caller seemingly stumped was silent for a few moments but after prodding from the host said, “I believe that is a line of winter boarding wear.”

The host responded with “Really, an outdoor clothing line, Hmmm.”

The caller still not certain he was right replied, “Yep, I believe so.”

…and with bewilderment and a chortle the host ended the call with a final, “Yes, Vimy, the ridge that really shreds.”

In hindsight, it was not that funny. More and more I hear these stories where young Canadians don’t know their own history. They seem quite oblivious to the past, they don’t know why we remember and in some cases just don’t care.

I remember a time when our government barely acknowledged our veterans yet somehow my generation understood the importance of Remembrance Day and the sacrifices our soldiers made. Our schools had veterans attend assemblies and classes. We could interact with real war heroes. It made them relatable. Today’s youth do not have the same opportunities to meet veterans. The veterans of the great wars are no longer with us to tell their stories. Yes, there are military veterans out there but they just don’t make up significant numbers as the veterans of the great wars did to impact our children’s lives. War to our youth is distance, cold, calculated air strikes in the night or god forbid a round or two of Call of Duty on their X-Box or Playstation console.

We as a society need to ensure the stories get told in our schools and in our public places. We need to find a way to make the acts of these heroic women and men relatable to the generations of young Canadians to come. For it is those generations that our veterans fought to protect, to ensure they continued to enjoy the freedom and prosperity to which we have become accustomed.

This Remembrance Day more than ever we need to ensure our children truly understand why we wear the poppy, why we gather and bow our heads in silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, why we enjoy the freedoms we have in this great democratic country we call Canada. If we don’t start now our ancestors and their sacrifice will be forgotten and our way of life threatened by the past we can’t remember.

Lest we forget…

Links:
Government of Canada
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/defence/caf/militaryhistory/remembrance/remembrance-day.html
Veterans Affairs Canada
English: http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng
French: http://www.veterans.gc.ca/fra
Canadian War Museum
http://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/after-the-war/remembrance/remembrance-day/
Royal Canadian Legion
http://www.legion.ca/remembrance/remembrance-day
Canada and The Battle of Hong Kong
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-hong-kong