THOMSON: As Remembrance Day approaches, a plea for today's veterans

Remembrance Day is less than 24 hours away and this year, acts of remembrance are more important than ever. Canada and the world are in a dangerous state of flux and November 11 can help steel our resolve. It’s better to say, ‘Lest we Forget’ than ‘Alas, we forgot’.Thankfully, the majority of Canadians seem to feel the same way. A recent Ipsos poll published on November 8 and conducted on behalf of Historica Canada, found that “four in ten Canadians (37%) say they will attend an official Remembrance Day service on November 11 this year.” That’s up from three in ten or approximately 29%, who said they would attend in 2017.While it’s still less than half of Canadians, it is an encouraging trend.Building further on that positive news, the poll also found 87% of Canadians believe we should be doing more to educate our youth about our military history. A resounding 88% believe details about our nation's roles in global conflicts should be taught in school.This resurgence in willingness to instill patriotism and a knowledge of our military and its exploits couldn’t come at a better time.After all, there are wars raging in Europe and the Middle East, there are violent mobs attacking Jewish businesses and calling for genocide and academic institutions are indoctrinating students with hateful rhetoric and beliefs.Regarding of the latter, it seems surreal (in a horrifically dystopian way) that the world has gone from singing a chorus of ‘Never Again,’ a phrase associated with remembering the Holocaust, to chanting “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. It’s appalling.It’s as if we’ve gone back in time to 1930s Germany. Or, if you’re a sci-fi fan, found ourselves in the midst of the Star Trek episode where Captain Kirk and Spock visit a planet patterned on Nazi Germany. It defies logic, yet here we are.In regard to that episode, it does exist. It aired in February 1968 and was titled, ‘Patterns of Force.’ Given what’s been happening in the world nowadays, it’s worth watching because there are two key messages in it.One is how easily the media can be misused or manipulated and the other is the amazing resilience and persistence of our humanity in the face of evil. Both are worth heeding. That said, back to the present.The 2021 Census put the number of remaining World War 2 and Korea veterans at less than 25,500. When you consider more than a million Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in World War 2, we’re down to a very small fraction remaining.It’s inevitable that fewer and fewer Canadians will have a connection to the suffering and sacrifices of those who fought and died in the service of Canada. As this ratio increases, so too does the risk that Remembrance Day becomes less meaningful.Those formidable old men and women adorned with their rows of medals, and their eyes misty with reminiscence, are our tangible evidence to the horrors of war. We could relate to them, they were our parents, grandparents and neighbours.But as they disappear, it’s important that we reinvest ourselves in Remembrance. If not, it’s just a matter of time before people start holding signs in front of cenotaphs that read ‘show me the proof.’Unfortunately, subsequent cohorts of Canadian veterans, such as those who deployed to Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan are considerably smaller in number than their predecessors. They are far less visible and have much less impact on the public conscience around the importance of Remembrance Day.Interestingly, this is also somewhat reflected in the survey’s findings.While eight in 10 (82%) Canadians consider Remembrance Day to still be as relevant as ever, half (52%) think modern veterans are not seen the same way as Second World War veterans.Truth be told, a lot of modern veterans feel the same way. Many consider their service, and ordeals, to pale in comparison to what the veterans of both World Wars and Korea faced. I wrote a blog about it once explaining that modern veterans feel as if they “live in the shadows of giants.”It’s a silly sentiment, of course, but most soldiers are sentimental fools — and I mean that in a good way.Modern veterans and what they did for Canada in the Great War on Terror (GWOT), or in the Baltics or on peacekeeping missions in Africa, are just as worthy of remembrance as their predecessors efforts in the World Wars and Korea. Their struggles were no less dangerous or daunting, just different.If the torch, thrown to us from failing hands, isn’t to falter, we need to change the way we see modern veterans. It’s the only way they can change the way they see themselves. I think we’re close to realizing that, as more people, as well as modern veterans, observe that our last remaining World War and Korean veterans are passing away.So as we approach the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, remember the fallen. Remember their sacrifices and the lessons that came from the carnage of war during the 20th century. We do not want to repeat them.But most importantly, remember that peace, more often than not, comes from the sword, and be thankful there are men and women willing to wield it on your behalf.Lest we forget.

THOMSON: As Remembrance Day approaches, a plea for today's veterans

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