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Remembrance growing in Canada |
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Tuesday, 13 November 2007 |
Every year, at Remembrance Day services across the land, there are fewer and fewer veterans in attendance.
As their numbers dwindle, and many World War II veterans approach their high-80s in terms of age, it is a trend that will continue each and every year.
With that, it has been refreshing the last few years to see the Taber Community Centre packed to capacity for the annual service of remembrance.
This year's service, on Sunday, was once again very well attended, as it was standing room only for those who got into the auditorium a little late.
The service lasted a little longer than usual this time around, and was complete with a documentary on the making of a song, A Pittance of Time, a video which was shown last year at various local schools.
Taber's Remembrance Day, however, kicked off at 9 a.m. at the cemetery, as the local cadet squadron honoured this area's fallen veterans by placing Canadian flags at their gravesites.
The new tradition, to anyone who has witnessed it, is certainly an emotional moment, for the cadets themselves and the family members of the veterans who attend.
Aside from these remembrance events, our local schools also took time on Friday to mark the occasion. Today, as children grow more and more aware of the involvement of Canadian military in places like Afghanistan, the message of Remembrance Day is hitting a little bit closer to home.
At one of those school. St. Patrick's school, the school family even has a pair of its members currently in training with the military, who could be deployed overseas in the future.
Even without these examples of local ties to the Canadian military, it seems Canadians in general are becoming a little bit more patriotic.
We are becoming a little more cognizant of what our military members went through back in World War I and World War II, and the current sacrifices they are making.
Afghanistan, for example, is an unforgiving climate. It is a country in serious trouble at the moment, one described as one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
It is our soldiers who are in the middle of the conflict in that country. It is our soldiers who are battling temperatures none of us could ever fathom. It is our soldiers who wake up every day, not knowing if the sun rise they see that morning will be their last.
In the end, it is nice to see Taberites, both young and old, still appreciate the sacrifices made, and those still being made, by those who are giving up their freedom for the sake of ours. |
