Feature ArticleNovember 7, 2001
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Remember the sacrificeby Don AntoineThe events of September 11 changed the world and our lives. We are in a war against terrorists; we do not see the enemy, know who he is, where he comes from, or when or how he will strike again. Even with the unknown consequences of current events, the fear of things escalating out of control and our children being called to war, we are told to go about our lives as normal. A couple of years ago during our November 11 remembrance service to our fallen comrades, Pastor Ron Clark prayed that our children would be spared the horrors of war that our returned veterans and those who paid the supreme sacrifice endured. During WW I, WW II, and the Korean War, 115,000 young Canadians gave their lives for their country.
When WW I erupted in August 1914, Sir Wilfred Laurier was Prime Minster. Canada lost 60,000 in this war the same number of Americans who entered the war in 1917. Lloyd George, the British prime minister remarked that the Canadians were designated as storm troopers (January 1916), and brought forward to lead many assaults, one after the other. Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele and Aminas in August 1918 shattered Germanys hopes of winning the war.
The Second World War began at dawn on September 1, 1939 as the German Panzer division unleashed the fury of Blitzkrieg (lightning war), walking over Poland's defenses. Poland surrendered.
Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, honouring a pledge to Poland. When Canada entered the war on September 9, 1939, our total armed force was 10,275 all ranks. At war's end, over one million Canadians had served in the Second World War. Thousands gave their lives, thousands were wounded, and countless others shared in the suffering and hardships of war.
Prior to D-Day, so many mostly young had poured from their homes and moved urgently to the last barricades of fortified Western Europe. They were all sorts, sizes and shapes. These men were to be pressed into a solid mold of khaki: the eager, the laggard, the brave, the sensitive, the frightened, the kind, the caring, and the noble. So many paths were to be crossed, so many were to die, so many to live and learn.
The period of September, 1939 to April, 1940 became known as the Sitzkrieg (phony war). Both sides used this time to build up their defenses; the French on the Maginot Line; the German Siegfried Line; and Britain sent troops to the continent and built up their air force, navy and army, as did the British Commonwealth.
In April 1940, the phony war came to an end, when without warning, the German forces took Norway and Denmark, and isolated Sweden. Allied help was too late, but did win two naval battles. The enemy had the deep fjords of Norway to hide their submarines and war ships attacking British shipping lines to Russia part of the MurMansk Convoys. The fury of the Blitzkrieg began again on May 10, 1940, against Holland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and France. It was simple for the German army to skirt the Maginot Line and the trenches of France where almost 60,000 young Canadians gave their lives in the First World War, and reach the Channel.
From this time forward, our Canadian Peacekeepers have been on guard around the world. We must remember the lives given by this force. We have 60,000 permanent service personnel and will take on 7,000 new recruits. Our prime minister has stated that should the Americans pull 20,000 troops out of the Balkans, Canadian forces will replace these troops.
