Remembrance

This is my annual Remembrance Day missive, my third since I began the missive in 2020.

Remembrance Day and, with it, Remembrance Week, is an important and tough time for those who have served. Each of us has different reasons for its importance. We each have our protocols and rituals for what we think and do to reflect. It is a time to ponder those who served and paid the ultimate price, and to consider the nature of service before self.

Some will argue it is about focusing on those who left loved ones behind and never came home, believing in a cause greater than themselves. This is absolutely true but, for me, it goes beyond that. I learnt, in my 34 years in uniform, that there was another facet to remembrance: the impact on those who came home changed. During the Afghan war, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder became a real issue, and we weren’t ready for it. Sure, we saw PTSD before in peacekeeping operations and operations in general, but it was a hushed reality. It has been with us forever, hiding under different cloaks and names, and seen very differently than it is now.

But, it became bigger because some returned to their families, loved ones, and friends broken in both body and mind. The unseen PTSD came to the forefront. For the ones who had to be concerned for a loved one succumbing to their physical wounds, they had to deal with them succumbing to an unseen wound.

For me, this was the impetus to get involved in Wounded Warriors Canada, which was first established to provide support to those suffering from the unseen wounds of PTSD. So, in the early days, it was about the veteran. But then, the realization surfaced that the impact was not just upon them, but also their families. Within that are the seeds of generational impact. In the past, that impact for those returning from the Boer War, World War I , World War II, or Korea was, in a lot of cases, kept within the Legion Halls. The Legion Halls of today are a shadow of their former selves and hold nowhere near the same importance of post-1945.?

Therefore, for us, the aim of Wounded Warriors Canada expanded beyond the veteran to the family, then to proper clinical care for veterans and their families, and has now grown to first responders and their families who daily face the same challenges of PTSD.

My point here is to suggest that the need is there to support all those who believe in the greater good and who are there for all of us. They race towards the threat where others step away, and we need to care for them.

Our world has become less safe. I hope I am wrong and we will not need the likes of the greatest generation, but I can't be naive. We will always need those willing to run toward the challenges for the greater good. We need to be able to recognize them and support them and, at least, pause for the two minutes of silence in our busy lives and think about them all.

I often get asked what one should do at this time of year. My suggestion is to just take some time to reflect, whatever that looks like to you. Recognize that the true heroes will shy away from the limelight. Wear a poppy. It is one symbol of the whole year that connects us. It reminds us of the horrors of conflict but comforts those who serve that their sacrifices for us will not be forgotten.

Finally, the way to make this work is to educate the youth. They will have to carry the torch when we are gone. Don’t leave it to teachers who have the constraints of lesson plans, but make it real to the youth and our future.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.