Nov. 11 is fast approaching. It is a date that has significant meaning and history behind it. This is the day that hostilities stopped between warring nations in 1918 at 11 a.m., effectively ending the First World War.
Despite what many history books say, Canada played a major part in not only this war but the Second World War and many other conflicts since then. Along with the glory comes the sad reality that war causes casualties with many men and women never returning home buried in a faraway land they gave the ultimate sacrifice for something they believed in.
We honour those who did not return and pay our respects to them. We thought we would not have to do this anymore after the Second World War ended but war still happens, peacekeeping still happens and like it or not we have new generations of fallen to remember but we also honour the living. They went sometimes not knowing why they were going but they were sent and sometimes even volunteered to go.
For my generation, we grew up with the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War and Vietnam and honoured those that went and those that didn't come home. For today's generation, those wars do not have the same meaning for them as it did for us and for them the Gulf War, Rwanda, Bosnia and Afghanistan have more meaning for their generations but the tone remains the same.
We honour the fallen and we remember their sacrifices and we must never ever forget those that paid the ultimate price. The poppy we wear is a symbol and it is a reminder to us as to why we stand and honour those who never made it home and why we cannot forget.
Lest we forget.
Dean Soiland
Prince George
