Have you forgotten yet? …
For the world’s events have rumbled on since those gagged days,
Like traffic checked while at the crossing of city-ways …
Siegfried Sassoon wrote his poem Aftermath in 1919, just one year after the end of the First World War, once called the war to end all wars.
Ninety-four years have now elapsed since the Great War armistice, 94 years since the last of 67,000 Canadian lives were lost.
It is a long time for world events to rumble on, a long time for the haunted gap in people’s minds to be filled with other thoughts. It is a long time for men to take their peaceful share of time, with joy to spare.
So do we still remember? Sassoon’s words are as timely now as they were in 1919.
Look down, and swear by the slain of the war that you’ll never forget.
It is 67 years since the end of the Second World War, 67 years since the last of 45,000 Canadian lives were lost.
It is a long time since those gagged days of the failed Dieppe Raid, the huge sacrifice in the Battle of the Atlantic, the invasion of Sicily and the liberation of Paris.
Do we still remember, if not through personal testimony, than through books and movies?
Look down, and swear by the slain of the war that you’ll never forget.
And what about the Korean War, which ended 59 years ago and took 515 Canadian lives? And what about the Gulf War, the intervention in Libya, and the war in Afghanistan where 158 Canadians have died?
Time may not have erased them from our thinking, but they have become relegated in the national consciousness, superceded by other events. As ever, world events have rumbled on and fatigue set in to dim awareness.
So this is why Remembrance Day is so important; it recalls the spirit of Sassoon’s words and focuses attention on conflicts that have bled Canada down the ages.
It is an occasion to pay homage to the 100,000-plus Canadians who have perished on foreign soil, to show respect to veterans among us, and remind us of the price of war and freedom that is paid long after the guns are silenced.
Hopefully, it will also stir the curiosity of young people who perhaps feel unconnected to events of yesteryear, with time spreading a crust over even the most horrific episodes.
Stories about servicemen and women making the ultimate sacrifice lose some potency when told through books or black and white film, which is why everyone should commend Barrhead Public Library for bringing veterans and members of the Royal Canadian Legion together with young schoolchildren to talk about Remembrance Day and why people wear poppies.
All of us – young and old – have a duty to remember forever our national debt of honour and to abide by Sassoon’s words.
Look up, and swear by the green of the spring that you’ll never forget.
