Rememberance Day 2016

A Century Ago...

Hard to believe its been over one hundred years since Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae wrote "In Flanders Fields" (3 May 1915).  And how it still seems to resonate with people on Remembrance Day.

Please take a few minutes to remember all the men and women who have died while serving their country and all who came home in body if not spirit. Not all wounds are visible. Thank you for everything. We will never forget.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae

Remembrance Day 2014

Spent a great deal of time today thinking. Thinking about the men and women serving our country, both past and present. My great uncle who fought in "The Great War" before we had the misfortune to start numbering them. To my wife, a twenty year vet with three tours to Afghanistan, and my son who has been a service member for about a year and a half, as well as the many friends of our family both retired and still active. Thank you.

A sad thought also. One hundred years ago today, November 11, 1914, many of the family's of the young men who went overseas to fight were expecting their fathers, sons and brothers home soon. At the outbreak of the war just 3 and a half months earlier, the thought was this would be over in a couple of months and the men would be home in time for Christmas. The true horror of what was to come had not really hit home yet.

One of the more thought provoking things this year was this artistic display outside the Tower of London. A ceramic poppy for every British and Commonwealth soldier killed during World War I.

"Never Forget"

Two Weeks To Go!

Two weeks tonight is Halloween!
 Probably the most beloved and favorite holiday of all of my kids. And they are all well past the trick-or-treat age.

This time of year always makes me think of bad weather (I vividly remember taking my kids out in a foot of snow one year), and my wife being away. She is retired from the Military now, but while she was in, it seemed that every year there would be an exercise scheduled for the end of October and she would be in the field.

R.I.P. Richard Attenborough

Seem to be writing a lot of these lately. A sure sign of getting older I guess.

Lord Richard Attenborough passed away Sunday afternoon, London time, at the age of 90. Best know to most people as John Hammond in "Jurassic Park". He was in many other movies ("The Great Escape", and the re-make of "Miracle on 34th Street") and an accomplished Director ("Gandhi"). He was a very talented gentleman. He will be missed.

Richard Attenborough with Steve McQueen in "The Great Escape"

On the set of "Jurassic Park" with Director Steven Spielberg

In Honour of the Anniversary of WWI

Funny....and accurate. Enjoy!

A Century Ago Today

One hundred years ago today the Great War (before we knew better than to start numbering them) began.  Twenty-eighth day of July, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia after they only met 8 of the 10 demands of the "July Ultimatum". The first act of aggression that would plunge much of the world into one of the deadliest conflicts in history.

British MkI Tank

German Tri-plane

The powers involved, both Allied and Central, were approaching the war from their old tactical methodology. The huge advances in technology, such as the machine gun, the aircraft and later the tank and the U-boat submarine as well as advances in artillery turned the war into trench warfare. A long slow slug-fest that would drag on for four years and cost the lives of over nine million combatants and many more injured. It also saw the creation and use of chemical weapons. The affects of them were so horrible the use of them has be banned by almost every nation on earth since the end of the war.

Union Jack of the British Empire

The Red Ensign of The Dominion of Canada

From the Canadian perspective, we had really just been a British colony up till that point. "The Great War" gave us a chance to shine, an opportunity "to show our quality". It was during this conflict that Canada really came into its own and became a country unto itself and not just an extension of the British Empire. We sent almost half a million personnel to Europe, in defence of Britain and France. For a country of just over 7 million at the time that was around 14% of our population.

Canadian Fighter Ace, Billy Bishop

I used to know a gentleman who fought in this war (as well as the Boar War). His name was Bill Clayton, and was a close friend of my family. Truth is he was originally a friend of my Great Grandparents, and as he had no family here in Canada, he was adopted into our family, and was always a staple at Sunday dinners and all family events. I spent quite a few evenings in my teens talking about his experiences during the war for history papers. And my Great Uncle, Charles Morrison, also fought in the war as a signal-man. One of the most dangerous jobs, you would crawl into no-mans-land and listen for enemy preparations and signal back to your trenches about imminent attacks. Yet made it through the war only being wounded once and died a few years later in a accident on the family farm. When your time is up, it's up.

All the vets of this war have passed into memory. Yet we still remember the end of the war every year on Remembrance Day. The Great War ended on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, in the year of our lord one thousand nine hundred eighteen. It has defined so much of our history and who we are over the last century. The end of an era and the start of the modern age.

70th Anniversary D-Day

The 6th of June, 1944. Operation Overlord begins, a day late due to bad weather. The writing is on the wall for the Axis powers in control of Europe.

Such very much hinged on this one massive operation. The very success of  the war against Hitler, Germany, and the reign of Fascism in Europe rested on the young men of the United States, Great Britain and Canada as well as other allied nations. Amazing that even though all the official, carefully laid plans of the Generals had turned to chaos within minutes of the landing, that the Allied Forces prevailed that day. Once the beachheads were secured the liberation of Europe could begin, and the end of the Nazi nightmare was one big step nearer its inevitable end.

Canadian Troops landing on Juno Beach 6 June 1944

70 years have passed, and the number of WWII vets that are still around grows smaller every year. Just another reason to always remember the sacrifice given by those young men who never came home and those who did.

Rememberance Day 2013

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh month. Take a moment of silence to remember how our freedom was paid for. To all our veterans, young and old, and the members of the Canadian Armed Forces still serving, as well as all their family's...thank you.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

The Last Post

Remembering D-Day

Today it is the 67th anniversary of D-day. Every year fewer and fewer of these veterans are left, so try and take a moment to remember all of those who died in the name of freedom.

Never Forget

This past weekend was the 65th Anniversary of D-day. I spent a good deal of my weekend watching many movies, and documentaries on the D-day landing and World War II. Seeing some of the interviews with the Veteran's of the war got me thinking. I know it has been said before, but they really were a special breed. Maybe it was growing up and living through the Great Depression that gave them the fortitude and mind-set that you just had to "suck it up" and do what needed to be done...maybe it was the evil that the world was facing and the desire to help in some way.

Whatever it was, they all stepped up when the world needed them. Many gave their lives all for something they believed in. They fought on and did what was asked of them over and over till those that made it through returned home. And what is most refreshing, did so with great humility. There is a line in the mini-series "Band Of Brothers" right at the end. They are showing interviews with some of the Vets and one recalls a letter from a friend. A little girl asked her Grandfather, "Were you a hero in the war grandpa?", and he says "No...but I served in a Company of Heroes."

Sadly, fewer and fewer of these brave men are left as the years go by. In this modern world so many seem to be self-obsessed, I truly wonder if we would have what it takes to do what they did. I know many in the military that do, but would we as a country be able to muster the numbers for a massive undertaking such as was launched on June 6th, 1944. Someday there will be none of these brave souls left, then remembering will be up to us. We must always strive to remember them and the sacrifices so many made for our freedom.