For more than 100 years now, Nov. 11 has been a day that demands solemn remembrance, and this year, there is much to remember.
On Monday, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation held an Indigenous Veterans Day ceremony to honour their members who served overseas in the Second World War, and those who have served since. Their small community gave dearly when Canada was called to war, yet that same country wouldn’t allow Indigenous veterans to vote for another 15 years after the war ended. We remember them.
We also bring you the story this week of Jared Reynolds, a veteran of the War in Afghanistan. More than 40,000 Canadian troops served there and 158 did not return home. We remember not only them but the Afghan civilian interpreters who now find themselves trapped back under Taliban rule.
This year also marks the 100th anniversary of the poppy as Canada’s official symbol of remembrance. Very few of our Second World War veterans are still with us, but our Royal Canadian Legion branches continue to serve veterans of more modern wars. We want you to dig deep and fill their poppy boxes.
And we are grateful for the efforts of Canada’s Last Post Fund, whose volunteers scour cemeteries looking for unmarked graves of soldiers and get them proper headstones. You’d be surprised how many there are.
We understand many of you will want to attend a cenotaph on Thursday to reflect in person but, because of the risk of COVID-19 to our remaining Second World War vets, organizers of the ceremony at Victoria Park have asked us all watch the ceremony online. Staying home to defend those who once defended us is a very small ask.
You can find the North Shore Veterans’ Council Remembrance Day ceremony livestream here.
