Lest we forget.
Those three simple words are all it takes for people across this country to realize another Remembrance Day is upon us.
It is those words that evoke such a strong response in many people, for many reasons.
Remembrance Day is the one day a year set aside to remember those who have given their lives fighting in wars in foreign lands to protect the freedoms we as Canadians take for granted.
But should it be the only day?
The men and women who went overseas in the First World War didn’t go over to fight 9-5 and have weekends off. They were in the trenches day in and day out for weeks at a time.
Every day they were bombarded with the sights and sounds of war, not to mention at risk of dying by one of several, equally horrendous means.
And the soldiers in the Second World War. Although it was not as dirty a war as the First World War, commanders having learned their lessons about trench warfare, those soldiers were still constantly at risk of dying.
These brave men and women risked their lives for years. Many thousands more died only seconds into their first battles.
And for what?
For more than many people think.
Without the sacrifices these men and women made, the Canada we know today wouldn’t exist. We owe our very society to those men and women.
Yet, many people now don’t truly appreciate that.
Once a year, they attend public events at cenotaphs across the nation to watch withered old men and women in uniform place a wreath on a stone monument.
These people watch in respectful silence, wearing poppies on their breast.
But do they really know why?
Or are they taking it more as a chance to get out of work or school, even for a few minutes?
Do they think about the sacrifices made by people they have never met that allow them to live the lives they do? And if so, do they think about those sacrifices only on Nov. 11, or are they always on their mind?
Remembrance Day is an important day. We must never forget the sacrifices that were made on our behalf, but one day is not enough.
Passive recognition is not enough.
Although our veterans didn’t go over to fight for any personal glory, they still deserve to be thanked for all they did.
So, on this Remembrance Day, go to a wreath-laying ceremony. Find a veteran. Shake his or her hand. And say thank you.
And on any other day of the year, visit the Royal Canadian Legion. Find a veteran. Shake his or her hand.
And say thank you.
