Remembrance Day November 10, 2004
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A Case for Remembrance Day
by Suzanne Berton
Youve heard all this before. Why should any Canadian these days make a case for Remembrance Day? Some of you might be thinking its high time someone puts this day to rest once and for all - why should any Canadian care. World War II has been over for more than 50 years and a lot of heroes, the ones who fought in the First and Second Word War, are long gone. This is the past and thats where it should belong, in the past.
Let me say this, I am not here today trying to put an end to Remembrance Day; I am here to say lets keep it going. We must not only do this for our fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, we also should do this for our young men and women serving in the military today. We need to remind our children that our freedom came at a hefty price, the lives and sacrifices of men across the country.
Despite my big talk about why we should remember these men on Remembrance Day, for me the Second World War seems foreign. I wasnt born until after it was over, so why should remembering this day matter to me?
My father fought in the Second World War as a young man before he got married. He believed in what he was doing. My father didnt talk too much about his experiences in the war. My family knows that he was a gunner operator in a tank, but thats about all we know.
Personally, I wouldnt say my father was an important person as far as Canadian War Veterans go; he was just an ordinary man with a humble beginning, but a man like most back then, an everyday person who had dreams of a bright future and safer tomorrow. They were called upon to serve their country at a time when all they should have been thinking about were getting married, having families and finding work. However, many of these Canadian men made the ultimate sacrifice.
In my life, I have often thought about this my father could have been one of the many men who died during the Second World War. If he had died, I wouldnt be here today trying to convince you to stop and ponder Remembrance Day. None of us, his nine children, many grandchildren, and great grandchildren would be around today to honour him on Remembrance Day. We would not have had children ourselves or grandchildren, a great tragedy in my view.
For a moment, just think of all those Canadian men who could have survived the war and built upon their own lives as my father and mother had or as your own parents. What about all those men who did die? They gave up more than their lives. They gave up wives, children, grandchildren. They gave up contributing to this country as Canadians. That is a great sacrifice
My dad made it through the Second World War and I am grateful. What about all those other Canadian men who did return home? We all need to say thanks to these men who have given of themselves in a way most of us will never experience. We will never know unless they tell us what they lived through in the experiences and tragedies of war. When I was young, my father told me, What you see on TV about war doesnt even come close to what went on over there. He never offered more than this as an explanation.
Think of an alarm clock. Most of us set the time to get up in the morning. Otherwise, wed all sleep in and forget to do what we had planned to do that day.
The same holds true with Remembrance Day.
If I want to think about the great sacrifices of men of the First and Second World War, and of course of young men today who gave their lives for Canada, we need an alarm clock of sorts to make us think about these things. This is what Remembrance Day is for, a reminder to stop doing the things that we so freely do today in our great country of Canada, and pay homage to the men who fought the wars to protect our freedom. We are here today living a good life because of these great Canadian men and we need to thank them.
Our Canada is great today because of these men.
(See wood relief carving of my father at http://www.artabus.com/berton/?pic=39)
My Flag, My Anthem
by the late Eugene Berton WWII Veteran
When you stand in front of your flag and listen to your anthem, what goes on before your mind's eye? Possibly not much, because there is no immediate attachment. You do not sense any pride, or I should say deep pride. Would you stand there with a tear in your eye and swelling of your chest? Not likely.
There have been no events to make it so. On Remembrance Day as you stand in front of a cenotaph, what is seen in those memorials that should make you hold your breath? Not much.
Let's say though that if you had been in another country, far away from home, and again if your life was in danger at the time and you heard your anthem, would it be different in your thoughts? I believe lots.
You would see in your mind's eye the ocean you crossed by ship or by air. You would see Canada as you remember from the maps. You would see your province, you would see your city or town or village. You would see your schools, the corner store, the old man or woman on their porch giving a little wave. You would see your parents, brothers and sisters or the entire family and maybe a girl or boy whom you really liked. You would go back to the earliest age that you could remember.
All this would flash in your mind's eye in a matter of seconds. This is what one misses and thinks about at such times when danger is prevalent, such as soldiers at war, people in danger of losing their lives or possibly close to dying.
To this day, as I stand in front of my flag and hear my anthem, I get a tear in my eye. Also on Remembrance Day, I see all those young people who stood like me, and even the real tough ones, with that little glitter, a little sniffle.
That is why there was a certain bonding between these people even though you hardly knew them and that they came from different parts of the country. You stood together.
After you came back to all the things I mentioned, some of the ones we were standing with did not come back. There lies the sadness. There lies the reason for being here today. There lies my reason for talking with you. Cherish this moment in your thoughts the next time you hear your national anthem.
Up the Glens
Sand, dust and gravel was often our handle As we marched to war back when, But we'd seldom yield on the battlefield. And soon we became "The Glens". We had a cry, 'twas a battle cry, And we shouted o'er and o'er. "Up the Glens", echoed through the fens, We'd charge 'midst the cannon's roar. Many ne'er returned and we others learned To live with the scars of war. The wounds within, the demons grim, Reliving the blood and gore.
Sixty years have passed, the blood stained grass Grows green where 'The Glens" once trod, In a foreign land where we made a stand For liberty and God. Sixty years have passed, but 'tis not the last They will hear of our deeds back when. And the battle cry will never die In our memories; "Up the Glens". Written as a tribute to the Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Regiment of World War 2, and in memory of all the good Canadian lads who never returned - Wes Bomhower, Calabogie.
Lest we forgetby Jean Lewis Lest we forget the ones who left Their country to defend Lest we forget the way they died To meet a bitter end. So young, so innocent, so brave, They loved as you and I. But now they rest a well fought peace With neer a sweet goodbye. Their mothers tears have told the tale Of many a lonely day. She has no son to take her hand, To guide her on her way. We will remember those who died In wars both great and small. And thank the mothers for their sons Lest we forget them all.
Italian Campaign Remembrance 60th YearBy Don Antoine
Veteran Affairs Canada announced that 1500 veterans would return to Italy to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Italian Campaign.
Forty-five veterans met at Mt. Cassino. Veterans Affairs minister Albina Guarnieri said "Nobody wins in war".
The Battle of Monte Cassino was a costly series of battles fought by the Allies with the intention of breaking through the German lines, seizing Rome and linking up with Allied forces in the Anzio pocket.
The Americans fought at Mt. Cassino during the winter of 1943-44. The high piles of barbed wire were still there when the 1st Infantry Division, the 5th Armour Division and the Canadian Corp, came over from Ortona to take over their positions.
During the six months of winter, the enemy had built two major defense lines, the Gothic Line and the Hitler Line. Hitler said to hold at all cost. They used massive concrete pill boxes, and turrets from burnt out tanks from the Russian front and placed them into concrete encasements. Early in May 1944, the two Canadian Divisions and the 1st Corp started attacking at Cassino, went through the Gothic Line, and on to the Hitler Line, which they broke through on June 4th, 1944.
The Westminster regiment pushed through four miles north, 20 miles south of Rome, their Major won the Victoria Cross.. They would be the last fighting force near Rome.
Special Forces - This group was made up of American and Canadian soldiers in Italy, who were trained as commandos & paratroopers.
They landed at Anzio in the Fall of 1943 and held the bridge head during the winter of 1943/44. They attacked the western end
of the Hitler Line and broke through to join the Canadians in May of 1944.
After taking the Hitler Line the Canadians went back to the Adriadic Coast. The Special Forces were the first troops to enter Rome. There was no fighting in Rome.
The Polish troops attached to the 1st Canadian Corps took the Monastery at Cassino
As a Veteran, I would not need government dignitaries to give speeches. Looking at 1he name on a grave marker, memories would flash back as to how and when the soldier had died. Under this stone lies a Comrade. There is a strong spirit between comrades which goes throughout the Canadian Army.
