Dear Editor,
Remembrance Day is fresh in our mind. Many people wear the poppy which is a reminder to us all of the ultimate price that was paid by many. Last week the idea was brought forward of a white poppy to “Remember for Peace.” I find this idea very disrespectful. We should be remembering the wars for what they were. “Lest We Forget” is a saying that is meant to strike a chord with us, reminding us that many sacrificed their very lives for the freedom we enjoy.
Having had the privilege of visiting Flanders Fields in Belgium as well as Omaha Beach and Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, I think it is really too bad that there is a group who wants to move away from the traditional remembrance poppy. Each time something as significant as this is changed it loses some of its meaning. We will move away from the true meaning of Remembrance Day and “Lest We Forget” will be a memorable sentence that is lost. This is a complete lack of respect for what was sacrificed and the blood that was shed for our freedom.
The Toronto Sun website on November 5th quoted University of Ottawa’s Celyn Dufay saying the white poppy pins would be distributed to those who “don’t want to celebrate war.” I would strongly suggest that Dufay visit a place like Pointe du Hoc in Normandy or the Tyne Cot cemetery in Belgium. These places are the farthest possible things from a “Celebration of War.” There are 11,956 Commonwealth servicemen buried in the Tyne Cot Cemetery, with another 34,857 names written on its wall in commemoration of men whose graves are unknown. It is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the world. At Pointe du Hoc, the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled steep cliffs directly into enemy territory, claiming the lives of 105 of the 225 brave men in the assault. These men knew the odds they were facing and pushed ahead toward victory even though they lost almost half of their men. Dufay and others really need to visit historic sites, or at least research events of the war. Only then can one really have a small understanding of what was actually sacrificed. Only then will one realize what damage they are causing by trying to recognize a white poppy, which will never compare to the real poppy of Flanders Fields.
Rob Wierenga, Neerlandia
