Re: Remembrance Day

by **Edgefore** Thu 08 Nov 2018, 8:59 pm

Toronto war veteran calls on Ottawa to do more for soldiers with PTSD

“Simple things set you off,” veteran Josh Makuch says, like walking around a crowded St. Lawrence market.

By Bambang Sadewo . Thursday, November 8, 2018

War veteran Josh Makuch experienced first hand the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – a mental health problem caused by exposure to traumatic events.

Having served as a rifle platoon commander fighting the Taliban counterinsurgency in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from early April to November 2009, Makuch struggled to adjust to life in the city upon his return from combat.

“Simple things set you off … like walking around in the St. Lawrence market on a Saturday. (It) was something I could not do for three months after I got back because all I’m doing is watching people’s hands,” the Beach resident said.

He dealt with his bout of PTSD “relatively well,” thanks to support from his close circle, but there are many who have to endure the trauma longer – possibly for life.

This is where he believes the military should do more beyond offering a few days of “decompression” outside Canada prior to returning home to “blow off steam” and attend mental health seminars, as opposed to providing any meaningful follow-through.

“I have friends who committed suicide, I have friends who didn’t get that phone call from the (military) institution to check in on them,” the former infantry officer said.

The onus shouldn’t be on the veterans to seek out help or on people around them – who are not professionals – to be observing the veterans and reporting their findings to someone, he said.

“That just shows that it’s a failure of the system,” Makuch said.

Mike Turner, veterans’ service officer with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 11 at Dawes Road and Danforth Avenue, said they are seeing “a lot of post-traumatic stress symptoms” among Afghanistan veterans.

The legion – as a whole – is doing its part by setting up the Operational Section Injury (OSI) section.

“It is a group of deputies that support veterans … where all the deputies themselves are veterans,” Turner said. “So it’s one-on-one peer support, it’s mental health first aid, helping the veterans as they transition into civilian life, as well as finding resources and assisting them through either their PTSD or any physical concerns.”

At a branch level, the legion offers emergency support for veterans in need.

“We refer them to support structures that are available out there and offer financial assistance,” he said.

Makuch left the armed forces in 2012 and worked as a business consultant after receiving his MBA degree from Ryerson University. Recently, he came third in the municipal election race in Ward 19 Beaches – East York.

Reflecting back on his time in the war, Remembrance Day has taken a new meaning for him in the last few years because he has “something very tangible to tie it back to.”

He remembers one of his platoon members who died in a bomb blast.

“That’s the person I think about on Remembrance Day. I still think about his parents who still live in New Brunswick,” Makuch said.

Bambang Sadewo is a reporter with toronto.com and Metroland Media Toronto. Email: bsadewo@toronto.com

The Star

by **Riverway** Thu 08 Nov 2018, 9:17 pm

Observing Remembrance Day all year round

For military veteran Joe Short, Remembrance Day happens 365 days a year

Jaime Polmateer . Nov 8, 2018

For military veteran Joe Short, Remembrance Day happens 365 days a year.

Short, who served for 37 years in Canada’s Armed Forces, said the day isn’t just for those who sacrificed their lives for their country, but also the families who made sacrifices for the war effort back home.

“Families had to give up a lot of things to support the war effort; I remember as a youngin, they came in and all our plows were taken because they needed them to make armor,” said Short.

“Our cream was separated, sent in, we got a certain percentage back and we were on ration control books—our parents sacrificed a lot to support the war effort, to support the guys who were out there defending the world against things that shouldn’t happen. Greed mostly.”

Short joined the military in January, 1956 when he entered the reserve force to take infantry training before going into Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry the following November.

He served everywhere from Norway to Alaska and Egypt to Cypress, then transferred all over the Canadian provinces.

Short added the infantry training was no Sunday walk in the park.

“They were treating us the same as they treated people training for the Second World War,” he said.

“They give you a taste of what it really was like, then from there I served in many different areas like Nome, Alaska and into Norway.”

He also used to belong to an elite air force group, known for its nomadic lifestyle, staying in a different place every night.

Short said he spent four years with the group, and its primary job was to resupply friendly forces in the areas it travelled to.

“I enjoyed my lifestyle in the military, sometimes it was hell and you have to be a certain type of person to stay in the military and take what they throw at you, but it made me a better person,” he said.

“It made me a good leader. It made me understand people more. It made me treat people the way I’d like to be treated. This was part of my education in the military and I’m proud to have served.”

Aside from his close relationship with the military, Short said the reason he observes Remembrance Day 365 days a year came from an experience he had while visiting Holland with his family.

They came across a woman who had every type of poppy one could think of growing in her yard, and when she caught them admiring her garden, she asked if she could be of help to them.

“We said we were Canadians and all of a sudden we all got hugs; I told her I was impressed with her poppies and she said, ‘I have these poppies 365 days a year—I don’t have it just one day a year,’” explained Short.

“I took that on and said that’s it for me too—honouring our fallen, that they gave their lives to protect ours so we can do and say what we want, we have that freedom now.”

Clearwater Times

by **Navigator** Fri 09 Nov 2018, 8:41 am

On Remembrance Day, remember the families

ADAM CHAPNICK
CONTRIBUTED TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL
PUBLISHED NOV 09, 2018

Adam Chapnick is the deputy director of education at the Canadian Forces College.

This November marks my 13th Remembrance Day as a professor of defence studies at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto.

It also marks a significant evolution in the way that I understand what it means to remember.

As a civilian who joined the college without any previous military background, I have learned a lot about military culture over the last 13 years, and particularly about the overwhelming idealism that is necessary to assume a job that requires you to put yourself in a position of unlimited liability on a daily basis. I now understand viscerally why Canadians who see members of their armed forces on the street, or at Tim Hortons, are prone to thank them for their service (or buy them a coffee).

Even if we don’t always agree with our government’s decisions when it comes to defence and foreign policy, most of us are proud of the individuals who make up our military, and awed by the sacrifices they make in support of their country. We care just as deeply for our veterans, too many of whom still struggle upon their release.

But I’ve also learned that when we say, “thank you for your service” to a veteran, an officer or a non-commissioned member, we aren’t quite getting it right. Because when members of the Canadian Armed Forces deploy, they aren’t the only ones putting service before self. Their families are, too.

I guess I had always understood this distinction in theory, but it was only this past year that I came to fully grasp its implications. Last spring, I asked my students about the sacrifices that their families had made to support their careers. They responded, unanimously, that their parents, spouses, partners and children had it much harder than they did, especially whenever they were abroad.

One officer was deployed to Afghanistan just after her son turned five. When the little boy’s teacher asked him what it was like not to have his mother around for an extended period, he answered, “It was hard. All that time, I didn’t know if she was going to come home.”

Living with such fear can be unbearable, especially for a young child, yet it’s a normal part of life for military families (not to mention for their close friends).

Another highly decorated officer recalled his nine-year-old daughter’s experience while he was in Kandahar. “She was just old enough to fully get what was happening every time a fallen soldier was repatriated,” he said. “That stressful experience left deep emotional scars. She should be the one wearing a medal.”

These stories don’t always end well. Families break up. Children act out in school. Lives are constantly uprooted. Parents are scared to check their phones or watch the news. Partners and spouses cover for loved ones who miss one milestone after the next. Those who stay behind experience pain that is just as real as that which is felt by those serving far away.

Remembrance Day asks us to recall the sacrifices that military members have made for our country during the World Wars and other violent conflicts. We wear poppies to honour those who gave up their lives or came back no longer the same. At 11 o’clock, we stop what we are doing and observe a moment of silence to be thankful for the freedoms they defended, and continue to defend.

Rarely, however, it seems to me, do we take the time to think about the difficulties that military families face daily?

This Remembrance Day, if you happen to see a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, rather than just thanking them for their service, please offer your best wishes to their families as well.

The most important lesson that I have taken away from my time at the Canadian Forces College is that no one goes to war alone.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-on-remembrance-day-remember-the-families/

by **Navigator** Fri 09 Nov 2018, 8:51 am

Montreal bus driver heads to Belgium to represent famed Black Watch at WW I ceremony

Jonathan Montpetit, Simon Nakonechny · CBC News · Posted: Nov 09, 2018

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-bus-driver-heads-to-belgium-to-represent-famed-black-watch-at-ww-i-ceremony-1.4896117

by **Navigator** Fri 09 Nov 2018, 8:57 am

No regrets: Muskeg Lake chief, an Afghan War veteran, wants to impart values he learned in military

THIA JAMES, SASKATOON STARPHOENIX November 9, 2018

https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/remembrance-day

by **RunningLight** Fri 09 Nov 2018, 2:46 pm

More, younger Canadians interested in Remembrance Day events: survey

The Canadian Press
Published Friday, November 9, 2018

https://windsor.ctvnews.ca/more-younger-canadians-interested-in-remembrance-day-events-survey-1.4170482

by **RunningLight** Fri 09 Nov 2018, 3:26 pm

Remembrance Day: 5 things to think about

What you need to know about Remembrance Day 2018.

Lori Culbert . Published Nov 09, 2018

Worn by everyone from young children to aging veterans, the poppy has been a symbol of respect and gratitude for the last century. But when you see all the poppies on lapels today, you may also want to consider: Who sells the poppies and why, who benefits from the proceeds, and what more can be done in Canada to support veterans and their families.

1. Poppy sales and programs they support

Thick rows of poppies grew over soldiers’ graves in Flanders, France, and were the inspiration for the now famous poem that Canadian medic Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae wrote on a scrap of paper in 1915 during the First World War. Today, most schoolchildren can recite the first two lines of McCrae’s poem: In Flanders fields the poppies blow, Between the crosses, row on row. The poem was also the inspiration for wearing poppies on lapels every November as a sign of remembrance.

Thousands of volunteers with the Royal Canadian Legion sell these poppies across Canada each year. In the 2016 Poppy Campaign, more than 21.5 million poppies were distributed, and $16.7 million in donations were used to support veterans and their families between October 2016 to October 2017.

The poppy sale proceeds provide financial assistance to veterans in need in many ways, including:

. Grants for food, living expenses, medication, emergency shelter.
. Housing and care facilities.
. Programs that help veterans transition from military to civilian life.
. Accessibility modifications to help veterans with disabilities.
. Educational bursaries for children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of veterans.
. Community drop-in centres, meals-on-wheels, and seniors services in areas with many veterans.
. Administering Remembrance Day activities.

2. Veterans by the numbers

There are 649,300 veterans in Canada:

48,300 served in the Second World War or Korean War.
601,000 are Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veterans, from regular and primary reserves.
B.C. has the third-highest number of veterans with 91,700, behind Quebec (120,600) and Ontario (235,700).
10 per cent of veterans are women.

Average age

93 — Second World War
86 — Korean War
60 — Regular CAF
55 — Primary Reserves
Changing demographics

Veterans Affairs Canada provides services to about 18 per cent of Canadian vets for issues such as disability pensions or rehabilitation services. Since 2010, it has assisted more modern-day CAF veterans than traditional war service veterans.
In 2017/18, services were provided to 20,139 war vets and 96,644 CAF vets.
By 2022/23, that difference is expected to increase as war vets continue to age, when Ottawa anticipates serving only 5,500 of them, but 119,700 modern-day CAF vets.
Afghanistan

More than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces personnel were sent to Afghanistan, the largest deployment since the Second World War. The mission ended in 2014.

There are 16,500 Afghanistan veterans, and 10,550 of those receive disability benefits.
Mental health conditions were the most common reason for disability benefits, followed closely by PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

3. Royal Canadian Legions: then and now

Legions organize poppy sales and support for veterans, but as the veteran population declines so, too, do legion memberships. Across Canada, the number of members peaked in 1984 with 602,500 but dropped to 550,000 by 1996, according to a Vancouver Sun story written at the time. Today, legions count just 270,000 members across Canada, but are trying to get that number back up to 300,000, said David Whittier, executive director of the B.C. Yukon Command.

The trend has been similar in the B.C.-Yukon region:

2010 — 66,000 members and 152 branches
2016 — 57,000 members and 149 branches
2018 — 45,000 members and 147 branches
There are about 5,000 new members registered a year in B.C. and Yukon, Whittier said, but that’s not enough to offset the number who leave each year. The biggest growth has been in affiliate members — those joining the legion without a military background — who now represent more than 30 per cent of the local membership. The other members include veterans and active CAF (24 per cent) and their relatives (44 per cent).

To retain existing members and attract more, the B.C.-Yukon branches have explored changes to some locations to make them more popular with younger generations, such as a coffee shop model with lattés and free Wi-Fi.

“We really want to reach out to veterans of all ages and eras, and we really want to reach out to their families and the community,” Whittier said.

A slide show prepared for the legion’s 2017 convention, entitled New Era, New Legion, discusses new potential revenue streams such as bakeries, lunch-box delivery services, and community shuttle services. It said one branch makes $20,000 annually by holding farmer’s markets.

Suggestions also include trying to recruit new members through commercials, and transit advertising, and through new creative evening activities such as open-mike, trivia contests and dance lessons.

Whittier’s message is that people should consider joining the legion for all the good community work it does, such as those programs supported by poppy sales. “The legion does a lot of really tangible, useful things,” he said.

4. The War Amps turn 100

The War Amps, which began helping military amputees, now raises money to help a variety of people who have lost a limb, including children. Some of its history:

1918: On Sept. 23, 1918, the Amputation Club of British Columbia held its first meeting for war amputees, the start of many similar groups that would form across Canada and eventually amalgamate into a national organization.

1932: The War Amps and four other veteran groups lobbied the federal government for improved rights for war veterans, especially those with disabilities.

1946: The Key Tag Service began. It raises money and also provides jobs for amputees, who make the identification tags that Canadians attached to valued items. To date, 1.5 million sets of lost keys have been returned to their owners.

1962: The War Amps started to help all Canadian amputees, not only war veterans.

1975: The CHAMP program was started to offer support services to child amputees and their families, including financial assistance, regional seminars and connections with peers.

2016: In this year alone, there were 1,072 amputees enrolled with the War Amps, and it granted 3,355 requests for financial help to buy prosthetics.

2018: On its 100th birthday, the War Amps says it is serving an increasing number of amputees. “There is still much to do to ensure amputees have the artificial limbs they need to lead independent and active lives,” its website says.

5. How and where to celebrate Remembrance Day

The B.C.-Yukon Legion website lists the details of 150 Remembrance Day ceremonies happening across the province on Nov. 11.

There are seven events in Vancouver. One of the most popular is the ceremony and parade that begins at 9:45 a.m. at the Victory Square Cenotaph downtown, which has major historical significance. The tiny park was filled with recruiting tents for the First World War, and later soldiers returned there to re-enact the conditions in the trenches and to fire rockets into the air in an effort to raise money for charity. In 1922, the park was named Victory Square and the cenotaph was built two years later.

lculbert@postmedia.com

twitter.com/loriculbert

The Province

by **Replica** Fri 09 Nov 2018, 7:54 pm

It's a moving tribute to war veterans

Expositor staff . Published Nov 09, 2018

The Brantford fire department is helping honour those who served in the First World War and celebrating the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the war.

Photographs of 22 local veterans – 11 of whom died and another 11 who survived the Great War – have been placed on a fire truck.

The truck also features images of the Vimy Memorial, the Brantford armouries and soldiers going over the top of a trench into battle.

“We’re proud to join fellow Canadians in paying tribute to our veterans,” Chief Shane Caskanette said.

“We remember, with deep respect and immense gratitude, those who have served our nation and how meaningful their sacrifices are to our community and our way of life.”

The special design was put together by the City of Brantford in partnership with the Great War Centenary Association in preparation for this year’s Remembrance Day. The design was created by Streetseen Media with help from Shawn Cavin, of the fire department’s fleet and facility section and installed by Bart Moskala over two days.

The image also includes the 32nd Battery, the Canadian Expeditionary Force 125th Battalion and Brantford Munitions Women Workers.

“The graphic is designed to honour the service and sacrifices made by everyone serving in our military with a focus on Brantford, Brant County and Six Nations of the Grand River,” Caskanette said.

“The history of the fire department and the military is very much entwined.

“A number of our members are veterans who served Canada in the military and we’re proud to honour them and all veterans this Remembrance Day.”

The fire truck will be on display:

On Saturday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Brant County War Memorial from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the cadet vigil;

And on Sunday from 4:45 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.at the war memorial during the piper’s lament, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Grace Anglican Church, 10:30 a.m. to noon during the Remembrance Day service at the war memorial, and at war memorial from 4:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. during the ringing of the Bells of Peace.

The fire truck can also be viewed at Fire Station No. 1 at 60 Clarence St.

Local service clubs can request the truck for special events.

The tribute was made possible through the sponsorship of several organizations, including the Brantford Professional Fire Fighters Association, Carrier Centers Emergency Vehicles, Task Force Tips Firefighting Equipment, Safetek Fire Trucks, Wurth and Streetseen Media.

The Expositor

by **Replica** Fri 09 Nov 2018, 8:08 pm

Sault soldier to represent Canada, local regiment in European Remembrance Day ceremonies

Belgians showing appreciation for Canada’s role in First World War

Darren Taylor . Nov 9, 2018

The Sault’s Kale Broadhagen, who serves in the 49th Field Artillery Regiment with the rank of bombardier, was chosen to be the local military representative among a contingent of Canadian Armed Forces troops currently in Europe to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

Sunday, Nov. 11, will be Remembrance Day, with a special focus on Nov. 11, 1918, the day on which an armistice marked the end of hostilities in one of the most horrific wars in history.

Canadian military representatives and political leaders were invited by Europeans to visit the continent this November in appreciation of Canada’s role in the war.

“There is one soldier from various units across Canada, representing every province and territory. There are over 200 Canadian troops here. I’m definitely proud my unit sent me over,” Broadhagen said, speaking to SooToday from Belgium in a telephone interview Friday.

Broadhagen and his comrades will take part in a series of Canadian military parades to be held in and around the Belgian city of Mons, liberated from German occupation by Canadian forces in the First World War.

“Most of the parades are specifically geared toward the last 100 days of the war, in which Canada played an integral part. At the time, a lot of the troops from England and France were spent, and Canada still had four good divisions (for the final push against the enemy). Those last 100 days are very important in Canadian history,” Broadhagen said.

Broadhagen arrived in Europe Nov. 1.

“There’s a really cool outpouring of respect from the people here.

“When we pulled into Mons, we saw the town square called La Grand-Place, and there were Canadian flags there; Canadian flags were hanging from the balconies,” Broadhagen said.

Broadhagen said the military’s first of five parades was scheduled for Friday, with a meet-and-greet with the town’s civilian population to follow.

“They’ve brewed a special beer for Canadians, and we’re going to have some wine and cheese as well. Things like that are planned until the big parade in La Grand-Place in Mons on Nov. 11. It’ll be huge. The majority of the town will be there. It’ll be pretty big.”

There will be two more parades Saturday, and another two on Sunday.

The parades will be held at several locations, including the Mons cemetery.

The Canadian troops will also attend an official unveiling of a memorial for George Price, the last Canadian soldier to die in the First World War, south of Mons, only minutes before the Armistice ending the war was signed at 11 a.m., Nov. 11, 1918.

Governor General Julie Payette will attend the unveiling ceremony and inspect the troops, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend Remembrance Day ceremonies in Paris after visiting Vimy Ridge. Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan will attend Remembrance Day ceremonies on Trudeau’s behalf at the National War Memorial in Ottawa.

Broadhagen has visited the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France during his current trip overseas.

“The Vimy Memorial is beautiful. It’s massive. It’s really impressive,” Broadhagen said.

“A lot of the area where the old trenches were are roped off to the public, but we were allowed to go in with a Canadian historian. We actually walked the trenches up the line, the same route different Canadian platoons and divisions were in the war.

“From a military standpoint, I looked at it and thought, ‘What an absolute slaughterhouse.’ There’s no way I could’ve assaulted this considering the way the Germans were positioned at Vimy and how they had their defences set up. It’s amazing Canadians took Vimy Ridge,” Broadhagen said.

The Canadian Armed Forces Facebook page, Broadhagen said, will stream Remembrance Day ceremonies for people to view Sunday.

SOOTODAY

by **Replica** Fri 09 Nov 2018, 8:14 pm

Remembrance Day from a veteran’s perspective

By: Gabrielle Piché . Friday, Nov. 9, 2018

In Canada, Remembrance Day means different things for different people. For some, it evokes memories of family members in the Canadian Forces. For others, Nov. 11 is a statutory holiday used for sleeping in and relaxing.

Dwight Smith, a Canadian Forces veteran, says he notices that people generally don’t pay much attention to Remembrance Day – but he still does.

“We’ve been at peace for so long, and our army is so small, it doesn’t affect as many people as it used to,” Smith says.

Despite this, he says that when he’s in uniform now, he’s respected more than in the past.
Smith says he remembers being in a parade years ago and being yelled at by university students. They called him and his fellow soldiers baby-killers, and they shouted for the soldiers to lay down their guns.

“It’s like ‘Really? You guys have no idea,’” Smith says.

More recently, Smith recalls stopping at a gas station in uniform, and being saluted by a young man.

“I thought he was making fun of me,” Smith says. “But he says, ‘no, I want to shake your hand, I want to thank you.’”

Smith says that because Canadians have not felt the impact of war at home, it’s easy to skip the Remembrance Day service and go shopping instead.

For Smith, Remembrance Day means attending a service, then going to a Legion to meet with other veterans and share war stories.

“For some people, (war) is a nightmare they don’t want to remember,” Smith says. “I was fortunate.”

Smith was part of United Nations peacekeeping tours in Croatia and Golan Heights. He says going overseas was a culture shock.

While on his tour of duty, Smith had to watch where he walked and drove, because land mines were everywhere.

“You learn, you know,” Smith says.

“There’s a helmet in the ditch, just sitting there. It’s there to entice someone to go look underneath, but you know there’s a mine. It’s sitting right there for souvenir hunters.”

Smith says that, after coming back to Canada from the peacekeeping missions, he saw how much Canadians take for granted.

He adds that he takes things for granted too, like being able to walk around without worry of stepping on a mine.

But Remembrance Day is different. On Nov. 11, Smith puts on his uniform and shares stories of his years in the forces.

Gabrielle Piché is a community correspondent for Headingley and her. Email her at gabriellepiche15@gmail.com

Winnipeg Free Press

by Seawolf Fri 09 Nov 2018, 8:58 pm

Senate remembers Wingham's Cpl. Matthew Dinning Nov 09, 2018

by Matrix Sat 10 Nov 2018, 8:52 am

The last Canadian soldier likely died two minutes before the end of the First World War

BOB WEEKS . PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 9, 2018

On the morning of Nov. 11, 1918, a German sniper in Ville-sur-Haine, Belgium, shot George Lawrence Price of Falmouth, N.S., where Canadian troops were securing bridges on the Canal du Centre. He died at 10:58 a.m. Two minutes later, the Great War came to an end.

It’s believed that Mr. Price was the last Canadian and British Empire soldier to perish in the conflict, joining tens of thousands of others who gave their lives in a war that began in July, 1914, and was expected to be finished by Christmas of that same year.

A century after the armistice was signed, Canada still remembers Mr. Price and all those who served and died with a solemn service on Remembrance Day. It is an occasion that has changed dates and focus over the years, and, sadly, added more conflicts and more dead to the list of those remembered. But since 1919, Canadians have gathered and paused to pay tribute to those who served and especially those who fell.

Armistice Day, as it was first known, was started in 1919 by King George V with events held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace. In Canada, for the first few years, it was held jointly with Thanksgiving and observed primarily by veterans. It was more about celebrating the victory than remembering the sacrifice. But in 1931, the federal government moved it to Nov. 11 and gave it a new name – Remembrance Day. The emphasis was altered to remembering the dead and the human cost of the conflict, something necessary for a young nation still grieving its losses.

“Very clearly there is a desire, maybe a need to mark the war, to mark the sacrifice,” said Tim Cook, the Great War historian at the Canadian War Museum and author of The Secret History of Soldiers: How Canadians Survived the Great War. “The First World War was the hardest thing that Canada had ever done up to that point in its history, ultimately 66,000 dead. It was a shock to the country.”

Cities, towns and villages built cenotaphs and memorials, many of which still stand today across the country and many of which will be the centrepiece for this year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies.

The poppy, the symbol of the day, was first worn in 1921 after being adopted as the official symbol of the Great War Veterans Association, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Legion. In the early years, many disabled veterans created the lapel pins as a way to raise money for the needs of injured soldiers.

Over the years, attendance has ebbed and flowed at Remembrance Day services. It grew in the 1930s but began to fall off following the end of the Second World War. In the 1960s and 1970s, the First World War veterans began to die off and, coupled with a large anti-war movement that swept the country, gatherings became so sparse that the Legion even pondered whether Remembrance Day had run its course.

But, according to Mr. Cook, since the mid-1990s, the day has enjoyed a resurgence, and he attributes that to some Canadian vets being honoured abroad.

“I pin it on 1994 and 1995,” he said, “when the thousands of veterans of the Second World War went back and were greeted as the liberators by the French and the Dutch. Those were incredible scenes of the aged soldiers and airmen and nurses coming back and being greeted.

“Since then, we’ve seen more people come out to Remembrance Day in their communities and at the national level.”

Once again, thousands are expected for the ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, including some of the dwindling number of Second World War veterans, now in their late 80s and 90s. The opportunity to thank them lessens every year with just 60,000 estimated to be still living.

While Remembrance Day pays tribute to those who have served in all Canada’s military operations, including more recent ones such as in Afghanistan, some observers wonder if this year’s centennial of the end of the First World War could see that conflict, which started Remembrance Day, pass into a different category. The last soldier of that war died in 2010 and 100-year observances of the great battles have been held over the past four years, with 25,000 Canadians attending the Vimy Memorial ceremony last year.

“I don’t think anything is going to change in terms of attendance,” said Jeremy Diamond, executive director of the Vimy Foundation, a charity that works to preserve the importance of Canada’s contributions in the First World War.

“I think, if anything, what the centennial did is shine a light on the importance of remembrance during this period and I hope and expect that will maintain itself past November. The poppy is still recognizable, [the poem] In Flanders Fields is still recognizable and I think people have learned more about the First World War in the last four years and will continue to want to learn.”

Back in Ville-sur-Haine, Belgium, they certainly remember. In 1991, a new pedestrian crossing was constructed over Canal du Centre and town officials gave it a name: The George Price Footbridge.

The Globe and Mail

by Caliber Sat 10 Nov 2018, 9:44 am

Letters to the Editor: Nov. 10, 2018

Since its inception, the LPF has arranged for the respectful funeral and burial of more than 153,000 financially challenged veterans, writes Randy Brooks.

READER LETTERS November 10, 2018

Remembrance Day - Page 4 Nostone110518-6

Help veterans with a dignified resting place
As we approach this Remembrance Day, WWI Armistice + 100 years, we reflect upon the fact that the over 650,000 Canadian veterans of WWI are now all gone. According to Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), there remain 48,000 veterans of WWII and the Korean War. These “traditional” veterans are experiencing a very high mortality rate. Fact is, within just a few years all veterans of WWII will have passed into history as well.

Established in 1909, the Last Post Fund (LPF) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to ensure that no veteran is denied a dignified funeral and burial, as well as a military gravestone, due to insufficient funds at time of death.

Since its inception, the LPF has arranged for the respectful funeral and burial of more than 153,000 financially challenged veterans.

According to VAC, the number of modern-day veterans (post Korea 1953) stands at just over 600,000 and this year nearly 225 modern-day veterans will require financial assistance with funeral and burial … and the Last Post Fund will be there to assist in time of need.

The Last Post Fund owns and operates the National Field of Honour and Columbarium located in Pointe Claire, Que. More than 22,000 military funerals and burials have taken place there since this unique cemetery opened in 1930. The National Field of Honour became a National Historic Site in 2009 and is the only Canadian cemetery entirely devoted to veterans and their close ones.

In 1996, the LPF created the Unmarked Grave Program to ensure that all veterans’ graves are ultimately identified with a proper military headstone. Nearly 3,500 unmarked graves have been identified so far and military headstones have been placed in each case.

The Last Post Fund is supported financially by Veterans Affairs Canada and by private donation and bequest.

For more information or to donate to the Last Post Fund see http://www.lastpostfund.ca or call 1-800-465-7113.

Colonel (ret’d) Randy Brooks, Regina.

Brooks is the provincial president of the Last Post Fund.

https://leaderpost.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor-nov-10-2018

by Caliber Sat 10 Nov 2018, 9:48 am

N.B. centenarians to join Harbour Station Remembrance Day ceremony

Nathalie Sturgeon · CBC News · Posted: Nov 10, 2018

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/100-years-later-veterans-1.4900100

by Armoured Sat 10 Nov 2018, 10:22 am

Canadian Jon Snyder helped save 50 Afghan recruits from the Taliban. Three days later, he died

November 10, 2018

https://globalnews.ca/news/4622996/remembrance-day-jonathan-snyder-killed-afghanistan/

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