Martin Henry Porter is proud of the fact that he shares his birthday with Canada – a country that enjoys freedoms and privileges because of brave men like him..Porter’s slowing down a bit. He can’t do what he was able to just three years ago..That’s when he piloted a Cessna to celebrate his 100th birthday on a 45-minute flight from Brantford Ont. to neighbouring Simcoe. .Monday, while Canada celebrates her 154 birthday, Porter celebrated turning 103 years old by eating lobster and enjoying a motorcycle parade past his St. Joseph’s Lifecare Centre where he lives in Brantford. .The local veteran’s bikers cruised by twice to salute and honour the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) veteran..“Everything,” was Porter’s reply to Western Standard when asked what he loves about Canada..“It’s my home. I fought to make it a better place to live,” said Porter..Unlike an increasing number of ultra-sensitive spoiled brats who create imaginary offences, or people who ceaselessly criticize Canada conveniently forgetting the oppressions of where they came from, Porter can’t think of a thing about this great country that offends him. .“Pretty good,” he simply said, when asked how he feels about being alive in Canada today..Great heroes like Porter cherish Canada because they understand the devastation of the alternatives..He doesn’t get caught up in the popular trend of lashing out at those who dare to disagree by accusing them of being racists and Nazis..Unlike the cowards who sneak around in the night defacing statues with paint and setting churches on fire, Porter stepped up to fight real Nazis..He held them at bay and helped crush the evil. Without warriors like him Canada would have been a very different country..Born in Nova Scotia in 1918, Porter was on a farm near Pictou when he saw airplanes flying over from the Prince Edward Island Navigation School. .According to his memoirs, he left the “farm, the dog, the horses and the cows and hitchhiked to Moncton, New Brunswick” to join the Air Force in August 1942 and trained on a de Havilland Tiger Moth. There were too many pilots, so he had to serve as a bomb aimer..He arrived in Liverpool, England to the sound of “ssshhhh, kaboom” – Hitler’s V-bombs bombs landing nearby..When the war ended in 1945, he watched the planes came back from their war missions “theirs wings torn apart and engines missing and holes in them, and a lot of them didn’t get back of course.”.No, loyally serving his country “wasn’t difficult.” It had to be done..That bravery and devotion is something those who trash Canada, even want to destroy her, don’t seem to understand..Porter’s advice to Canadian youth?.“Put your time in. Join some force,” he says,.In his Canada Day message, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that for some, it is “not a day of celebration.”.He was referring to the more than 1,100 unmarked graves discovered on three residential school sites in Canada. .“We as Canadians must be honest with ourselves about our past,” Trudeau said..He’s right. But Canada’s past isn’t all dark. We can’t forget the sacrifices and the scars of so many who have given this country so much..Canada, as a whole, shouldn’t be punished for the heartbreaking, unfathomable atrocities inflicted upon innocent Indigenous children and the families they were torn away from. .The guilty must all be exposed. Those who are still alive should be severely punished. Those who are no longer alive should have their memories blackened. .That includes those who remained silent and the politicians, including prime ministers, in office at the time..Burning churches bring no justice to those innocent wee souls and their grieving families..Opposition leader Erin O’Toole got it right..“Canada’s history is far from perfect. Learning more about aspects of our past can and will be painful, but destruction and violence cannot be what we turn to. The future of our country will be defined by how we build Canada up, not tear it down.”.We cannot, must not, erase the good in Canadians, in men and women like Porter, while trying to find a way to atone for the evil..Be like Porter – viciously crush and expose the evildoers and celebrate, embrace, and acknowledge the good..Slobodian is a Wester Standard columnist based in Manitoba
Martin Henry Porter is proud of the fact that he shares his birthday with Canada – a country that enjoys freedoms and privileges because of brave men like him..Porter’s slowing down a bit. He can’t do what he was able to just three years ago..That’s when he piloted a Cessna to celebrate his 100th birthday on a 45-minute flight from Brantford Ont. to neighbouring Simcoe. .Monday, while Canada celebrates her 154 birthday, Porter celebrated turning 103 years old by eating lobster and enjoying a motorcycle parade past his St. Joseph’s Lifecare Centre where he lives in Brantford. .The local veteran’s bikers cruised by twice to salute and honour the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) veteran..“Everything,” was Porter’s reply to Western Standard when asked what he loves about Canada..“It’s my home. I fought to make it a better place to live,” said Porter..Unlike an increasing number of ultra-sensitive spoiled brats who create imaginary offences, or people who ceaselessly criticize Canada conveniently forgetting the oppressions of where they came from, Porter can’t think of a thing about this great country that offends him. .“Pretty good,” he simply said, when asked how he feels about being alive in Canada today..Great heroes like Porter cherish Canada because they understand the devastation of the alternatives..He doesn’t get caught up in the popular trend of lashing out at those who dare to disagree by accusing them of being racists and Nazis..Unlike the cowards who sneak around in the night defacing statues with paint and setting churches on fire, Porter stepped up to fight real Nazis..He held them at bay and helped crush the evil. Without warriors like him Canada would have been a very different country..Born in Nova Scotia in 1918, Porter was on a farm near Pictou when he saw airplanes flying over from the Prince Edward Island Navigation School. .According to his memoirs, he left the “farm, the dog, the horses and the cows and hitchhiked to Moncton, New Brunswick” to join the Air Force in August 1942 and trained on a de Havilland Tiger Moth. There were too many pilots, so he had to serve as a bomb aimer..He arrived in Liverpool, England to the sound of “ssshhhh, kaboom” – Hitler’s V-bombs bombs landing nearby..When the war ended in 1945, he watched the planes came back from their war missions “theirs wings torn apart and engines missing and holes in them, and a lot of them didn’t get back of course.”.No, loyally serving his country “wasn’t difficult.” It had to be done..That bravery and devotion is something those who trash Canada, even want to destroy her, don’t seem to understand..Porter’s advice to Canadian youth?.“Put your time in. Join some force,” he says,.In his Canada Day message, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that for some, it is “not a day of celebration.”.He was referring to the more than 1,100 unmarked graves discovered on three residential school sites in Canada. .“We as Canadians must be honest with ourselves about our past,” Trudeau said..He’s right. But Canada’s past isn’t all dark. We can’t forget the sacrifices and the scars of so many who have given this country so much..Canada, as a whole, shouldn’t be punished for the heartbreaking, unfathomable atrocities inflicted upon innocent Indigenous children and the families they were torn away from. .The guilty must all be exposed. Those who are still alive should be severely punished. Those who are no longer alive should have their memories blackened. .That includes those who remained silent and the politicians, including prime ministers, in office at the time..Burning churches bring no justice to those innocent wee souls and their grieving families..Opposition leader Erin O’Toole got it right..“Canada’s history is far from perfect. Learning more about aspects of our past can and will be painful, but destruction and violence cannot be what we turn to. The future of our country will be defined by how we build Canada up, not tear it down.”.We cannot, must not, erase the good in Canadians, in men and women like Porter, while trying to find a way to atone for the evil..Be like Porter – viciously crush and expose the evildoers and celebrate, embrace, and acknowledge the good..Slobodian is a Wester Standard columnist based in Manitoba
