Past president, jennifer cronin's speech
remembrance day ceremony 2018
Good Morning,
100 years ago today, at this very moment, a ceasefire was declared and WW1 came to an end. A bloody battle had raged for over 4 years, and finally, in this moment, all the chaos stopped. Over 66,000 Canadians had lost their lives, another 172,000 had been wounded.
100 years ago, at this very moment a sound was heard, and if you listen, very carefully, right now, be very still and listen, and you will hear that very same sound. The sound of the guns have stopped, the sound of silence has spread over the battlefields and, there is silence, and the only sound you hear is the sound of peace.
What an unreal moment in time that must have been, to hear the silence, and to slowly feel the fear that had gripped you, slip away, and then to feel the jubilation, realizing what this truly meant, the end of the war - the day was near when you would again see your family, and there must have been some disbelief. Was it really over? Was this beast called war that had consumed every waking moment and most of the ones of your restless sleep really over?
Every year we move further away from that day in history, the day when our freedom was secured, and the world as we know it today began to take shape. As we move further from that day, the memories become dimmer, the lessons learned, harder to remember.
As those soldiers shivered in the trenches, dragged their fallen through the mud, and silently wept as they thought of their families back home, they must have asked themselves what it was all for.
100 years later, we may have moved further away from that war, and the memories have become dimmer, and the whys of it seem so distant, but the reasons so many gave so much becomes clearer. Their sacrifices have given us the right to choose, the right to speak our mind, the right to come together and the right to remember. The sacrifices made by those so long ago have given us our freedom.
When our freedom was again challenged in 1939, our fathers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters again rose up and fought for what had been gained years before.
And again, in Korea, in Afghanistan, throughout the world, soldiers and peacekeepers alike keep serving our country so that the sacrifices that came before them are not in vain.
We often speak of our veterans and we take time to remember them every year on November 11th. But, just who is it we think of when we remember the veterans?
Without doubt we think of those that stand here with us today in their uniforms, who now with stooped shoulders and a slower gait stand proud as they remember their fallen comrades and their friends that have gone before them.
We think of our veterans with reverence and pride, and even though our remaining WW2 veterans are in their 90s, do we remember that even as their service ended, they were young men and women, often in their 20s and 30s and that they were veterans then as well?
Do we remember that when they enlisted and took on our enemy that they were often just teenagers, many no older than the youth who are here with us today? They did not go to war as the aged veterans we often think of. They went to war as children and returned with stories so horrific they could not share them as to do so would require reliving them, and the pain may be unbearable. They returned with wisdom beyond their years, robbed of the years they served and robbed of their youth.
Most of our veterans have now passed on. They have done what they were able to do to make this world a better place for all of us. They served, they fought, they sacrificed and they died. Now they have entrusted us to carry on their mission. They can do no more.
But we can! We can take the opportunity, every opportunity to be kinder, more considerate, more caring, for only by caring and loving each other will we be able to achieve peace.
Honour what they fought so hard for, honour what they lost their lives for, and honour the gifts that they have given us, for every day we are the benefactors of their selflessness.
Today we have many graves at our cemetery where our soldiers and veterans lie alone, graves left unattended, where no one stops by to visit. I ask you to find it in your heart to go and pay your respect, to adopt a veteran, visit their graveside, learn what you can about them, share their story, and remember.
And finally, as you leave here today, please touch the cenotaph, lay your poppy upon it, and remember the meaning of this day.
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old
Age shall not worry them nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them.
100 years ago today, at this very moment, a ceasefire was declared and WW1 came to an end. A bloody battle had raged for over 4 years, and finally, in this moment, all the chaos stopped. Over 66,000 Canadians had lost their lives, another 172,000 had been wounded.
100 years ago, at this very moment a sound was heard, and if you listen, very carefully, right now, be very still and listen, and you will hear that very same sound. The sound of the guns have stopped, the sound of silence has spread over the battlefields and, there is silence, and the only sound you hear is the sound of peace.
What an unreal moment in time that must have been, to hear the silence, and to slowly feel the fear that had gripped you, slip away, and then to feel the jubilation, realizing what this truly meant, the end of the war - the day was near when you would again see your family, and there must have been some disbelief. Was it really over? Was this beast called war that had consumed every waking moment and most of the ones of your restless sleep really over?
Every year we move further away from that day in history, the day when our freedom was secured, and the world as we know it today began to take shape. As we move further from that day, the memories become dimmer, the lessons learned, harder to remember.
As those soldiers shivered in the trenches, dragged their fallen through the mud, and silently wept as they thought of their families back home, they must have asked themselves what it was all for.
100 years later, we may have moved further away from that war, and the memories have become dimmer, and the whys of it seem so distant, but the reasons so many gave so much becomes clearer. Their sacrifices have given us the right to choose, the right to speak our mind, the right to come together and the right to remember. The sacrifices made by those so long ago have given us our freedom.
When our freedom was again challenged in 1939, our fathers, grandfathers, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters again rose up and fought for what had been gained years before.
And again, in Korea, in Afghanistan, throughout the world, soldiers and peacekeepers alike keep serving our country so that the sacrifices that came before them are not in vain.
We often speak of our veterans and we take time to remember them every year on November 11th. But, just who is it we think of when we remember the veterans?
Without doubt we think of those that stand here with us today in their uniforms, who now with stooped shoulders and a slower gait stand proud as they remember their fallen comrades and their friends that have gone before them.
We think of our veterans with reverence and pride, and even though our remaining WW2 veterans are in their 90s, do we remember that even as their service ended, they were young men and women, often in their 20s and 30s and that they were veterans then as well?
Do we remember that when they enlisted and took on our enemy that they were often just teenagers, many no older than the youth who are here with us today? They did not go to war as the aged veterans we often think of. They went to war as children and returned with stories so horrific they could not share them as to do so would require reliving them, and the pain may be unbearable. They returned with wisdom beyond their years, robbed of the years they served and robbed of their youth.
Most of our veterans have now passed on. They have done what they were able to do to make this world a better place for all of us. They served, they fought, they sacrificed and they died. Now they have entrusted us to carry on their mission. They can do no more.
But we can! We can take the opportunity, every opportunity to be kinder, more considerate, more caring, for only by caring and loving each other will we be able to achieve peace.
Honour what they fought so hard for, honour what they lost their lives for, and honour the gifts that they have given us, for every day we are the benefactors of their selflessness.
Today we have many graves at our cemetery where our soldiers and veterans lie alone, graves left unattended, where no one stops by to visit. I ask you to find it in your heart to go and pay your respect, to adopt a veteran, visit their graveside, learn what you can about them, share their story, and remember.
And finally, as you leave here today, please touch the cenotaph, lay your poppy upon it, and remember the meaning of this day.
They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old
Age shall not worry them nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning we will remember them.