407 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND HowWe Remember Our future is our past. The future is shaped by the events of the past. Freedoms fought and won. So long ago, acts of bravery and sacrifice helped shape a more just and peaceful world. On November 11th we pause to remember those who are responsible for our freedom. All those who died with their dignity fighting for a better world. At schools across Canada, children assemble to remember. The solemn occasion is marked with wreaths, drawings, and poems. As I look around the school gymnasium, my eyes focus on the wall where black and white photographs of soldiers from World War I are displayed. My eyes rest on you, young soldier. Your name does not appear. But you stare back at me. You look into my soul, and you stir in my heart the longing to know you. Who were you, young soldier? What is your story? What can you teach me about my freedom? How did your blood spill so that I could live in a land of peace and security? I try to imagine your life as a young Canadian soldier entering the Great War. The "War to End All Wars". You were called up to fight for your country. To put your life on the line for my freedom. You were at the beginning of your life, about to embark into manhood. What dreams did you have? What were you meant to do, if not for the invasion of war? A young adult's life interrupted by a war far too complex for you to understand. All too suddenly you were ripped from your home, taken from your family. Despite your heartache and fear, however, you proudly marched on to fight for your country. This young country we call Canada. My throat chokes as I try to imagine how you, young soldier, must have felt as you said goodbye to all that was safe. You would no longer see your mother's face, no longer hear your father's laugh, no longer sit down to a meal beside your brothers and sisters. The smells and sounds of home faded, as you embarked on a journey that would change you forever. The smell of fresh laundered sheets on the bed. The sound of the church bells on a Sunday morning. All a distant memory of a home your heart would eternally ache for. You went to a land unknown. Your innocence would be lost there. Your eyes could never shut out the horrors of war. Death became both the smell and sound that would cloud your senses. Death always waiting, without warning, a silent shadow, creeping alongside you, dear soldier. Your eyes, what they witnessed. Unimaginable tragedy. A thousand tears you must have wept. But the tears could not wash away the carnage of war. Perhaps you felt as if you were in a dream. Maybe you felt like the horrors that played out before you were just effects of the light, like in a movie. My heart feels such pride for your sacrifice, young soldier. The roar of cannons, the cries of men were the constant sounds on the battlefield. Yet you carried on. You persevered despite the tragedy and horrors that surrounded you. Perhaps you were both broken and brave all at the same, young soldier. It is difficult to understand the complicated emotions that a soldier experiences. What motivated you to fight among the terrors of war? Was it the need to protect your loved ones back home? Was it the constant adrenaline pumping through your veins? Perhaps it was for the future. For me. For Canada today. Your life for our future. Your lost life was the ultimate price for the Canada we live in today. An enviable nation of freedom and peace. Your sacrifice can never be repaid. Your sense of duty and patriotism are immeasurable. For your homeland, for our homeland, you fought, young soldier. In return, how do we remember you? We do not give much for what you have given us. What can we offer you? How can we ever repay you? There is nothing on this earth that can ever thank you enough for your service in the chaos of war. I am forever in debt to your service. May your memory not be lost to the dusty pages of history. May you continue to be remembered, not just in the worn-out pages of history books in the classrooms and libraries, but in our hearts. For a moment of silence each year on the 11th of November, may you rest in peace knowing that our gratitude to you is eternal. May your sacrifice burn bright in our hearts and in our minds. May we never forget why you lived and why you died, young soldier.
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