Pre -Rememberance Day Presentation

 

 

AT THE 11^TH HOUR OF THE 11^TH DAY OF THE 11^TH MONTH 99 YEARS AGO TOMORROW THE GUNS OF WORLD WAR 1 FELL SILENT AFTER 4 YEARS OF DREADFUL CONFLICT. THE FURY OF BATTLE WAS REPLACED BY THE SILENCE OF PEACE. THE WAR TO END ALL WARS WAS OVER.

 

CANADIANS HAD ANSWERED THE CALL TO WAR AND 620,000 ENLISTED, OR ABOUT 1 OUT OF EVERY 6 MALES IN THE POPULATION. OF THOSE 424,000 WENT OVERSEAS AND OF THOSE 52,000 DIED IN BATTLE, ROUGHLY 1 OUT OF EVERY 8 THAT WENT OVERSEAS. THERE WERE 172,000 WOUNDED OR ABOUT 2 OUT OF EVERY 5 THAT WENT OVERSEAS. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE KILLED AND WOUNDED A LITTLE OVER   HALF OF THOSE WHO WENT OVERSEAS BECAME CASUALTIES, THAT IS THEY WERE EITHER KILLED OR WOUNDED. WORLD WAR 1 WAS TRULY A BLOODY SLAUGHTER!

 

AS A NATION WE VOWED NEVER TO FORGET THE SACRIFICES THAT OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS HAD MADE ON THE BATTLEFIELDS FOR OUR FREEDOM. WE BUILT MONUMENTS AND PLACED THEM IN THE CENTRE OF OUR TOWNS AND CITIES. WE COLLECTED THE NAMES OF THOSE FROM OUR COMMUNITIES WHO PERISHED AND CHISELED THEM ON THOSE MONUMENTS. WE BOUND BOOKS OF REMEMBRANCE AND INSCRIBED THE NAMES OF OUR FALLEN AND LAID THEM UP IN OUR CHURCHES AND HOUSES OF GOVERNMENT.  WE BUILT HOSPITALS TO CARE FOR THOSE WHO RETURNED ALIVE BUT WERE TOO BROKEN IN BODY OR SPIRIT TO CARE FOR THEMSELVES. WE FORMED COMMISSIONS TO MAINTAIN THE GRAVES OF OUR DEAD WHERE THEY LAY IN FOREIGN LANDS. WE DETERMINED TO BE FOREVER MINDFUL OF THE TERRIBLE COST OF WAR, AND NEVER TO LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN. WE DECREED THAT THE 11^TH HOUR OF THE 11^TH DAY OF THE 11^TH MONTH OF EACH YEAR WOULD BE A TIME WHEN WE WOULD PAUSE TO REFLECT ON THE COST OF WAR AND REMEMBER THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR OUR FREEDOM. WE VOWED TO NEVER LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN.

 

ALAS, WE ALL KNOW THAT WAR DID HAPPEN AGAIN 21 YEARS LATER WHEN WORLD WAR 2 BROKE OUT. OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN AGAIN ANSWERED THE CALL. THIS TIME THE KILLING WENT ON FOR NEARLY SIX YEARS. OVER 1 MILLION WERE IN UNIFORM AND OF THOSE 45,000 WERE KILLED AND 55,000 WERE WOUNDED. IF YOU COMPARE CASUALTIES, IN WORLD WAR 2 ONE OUT OF ELEVEN OF THOSE SERVING WERE EITHER KILLED OR WOUNDED, WHEREAS IN WORLD WAR I, ONE OUT OF 3 SERVING WERE EITHER KILLED OR WOUNDED.

 

WHEN IT WAS OVER WE CHISELED MORE NAMES INTO OUR MONUMENTS, ADDED MORE PAGES TO OUR BOOKS OF REMEMBRANCE AND BUILT MORE HOSPITALS AND NURSING HOMES TO CARE FOR OUR BROKEN VETERANS.

 

TO MAKE SURE IT NEVER HAPPENED AGAIN WE HELD WAR TRIALS AND METED OUT PUNISHMENT TO THOSE WE CONSIDERED GUILTY OF STARTING THAT WAR IN THE HOPES THAT THAT WOULD DISSUADE OTHERS IN THE FUTURE.

 

SEVEN YEARS LATER WE WERE AT WAR AGAIN IN KOREA. APPROXIMATELY 27000 CANADIANS SERVED IN KOREA AND 516 DIED AND 1055 WERE WOUNDED. CASUALTIES IN KOREA WERE 1 OUT OF 16 WHO SERVED THERE. MORE NAMES HAD TO BE CHISELED INTO OUR MONUMENTS, MORE PAGES ADDED TO OUR BOOKS OF REMEMBRANCE AND MORE BROKEN VETERANS HAD TO BE CARED FOR.

 

THAT WAS FOLLOWED BY THE COLD WAR AND WE BEGAN TO BELIEVE THAT IF WE BUILT BIG ENOUGH BOMBS SO THAT WE COULD WIPE EACH OTHER FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH ALL SIDES WOULD BE DETERRED FROM STARTING MORE WARS. WE WOULD NOT HAVE TO CHISEL MORE NAMES ONTO OUR MONUMENTS OR ADD MORE PAGES TO OUR BOOKS OF REMEMBRANCE.

 

BUT WE FOUND THAT MUTUAL ASSURED DESTRUCTION ONLY WORKS BETWEEN NATIONS.

 

OSAMA BIN LADEN CHANGED ALL OUR CONCEPTS OF WAR AND SHOWED THAT NON-STATE GROUPS COULD BECOME DEADLY ENEMIES. WE ONCE MORE CALLED ON OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN TO GO OFF TO A FOREIGN WAR, THIS TIME IN AFGHANISTAN.  OVER 40,000 CANADIAN FORCES MEMBERS SERVED IN AFGHANISTAN DURING OUR ENGAGEMENT FROM 2001 TO 2014. 159 DIED AND 1859 WERE WOUNDED. THIS WAS A CAUSUALTY RATE OF 1 IN 20 OF THOSE WHO SERVED THERE. AGAIN, MANY GAVE THEIR LIVES IN AFGHANISTAN AND OTHERS RETURNED BROKEN IN BODY AND SPIRIT.

 

AS WELL AS IN OUR WARS, CANADIANS HAVE SERVED IN PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS SINCE 1956 - 61 YEARS OF IT. OVER 120,000 CANADIAN TROOPS HAVE SERVED IN 82 MISSIONS AROUND THE WORLD, EITHER WITH THE UNITED NATIONS, NATO OR MULTILATERAL COALITIONS.  CANADIAN PEACEKEEPERS HAVE SUFFERED 114 FATALITIES.

 

WE HAVE COME TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE MUST ALWAYS BE PREPARED TO DEFEND OUR FREEDOM AND WAY OF LIFE FROM THOSE WHO WOULD OPPRESS US. WILL THERE BE MORE WARS FOR CANADA?  I DON'T KNOW BUT I STRONGLY SUSPECT THERE WILL BE.  IT WILL BE OUR YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO WILL BE FIGHTING THESE WARS. SOME WILL MAKE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE AND MORE WILL RETURN WOUNDED IN BODY OR IN MIND. I HOPE WE CANADIANS WILL CONTINUE TO HOLD OUR WARRIORS IN HIGH REGARD AND GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR WILLINGNESS TO GO INTO HARM'S WAY TO DEFEND OUR FREEDOMS.

 

ON REMEMBRANCE DAY, TOMORROW, WE REMEMBER THE OVER 117,000 CANADIANS WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES AND THE 275,000 MORE WHO HAVE BEEN WOUNDED IN OUR PAST CONFLICTS, FOUGHT TO PRESERVE THE FREEDOMS WHICH WE ENJOY TODAY.

 

IT IS UNREALISTIC TO BELIEVE THAT WE WILL NEVER HAVE TO CHISEL MORE NAMES ONTO OUR MONUMENTS OR ADD MORE PAGES TO OUR BOOKS OF REMEMBRANCE.  BUT IT IS REALISTIC TO HOPE THAT CANADA WILL ALWAYS HAVE SONS AND DAUGHTERS WILLING TO DEFEND OUR VALUES AND FREEDOMS AND THAT WE CANADIANS WILL ALWAYS CONTINUE TO  REMEMBER AND HONOUR THEIR SACRIFICES EVERY FUTURE NOVEMBER 11^TH.

 

 

 

 

 

                WORLD WAR 1                                  1 OUT OF 3

                WORLD WAR II                                  1 OUT OF 11

                KOREAN WAR                                   1 OUT OF 16

                AFGHANISTAN WAR                        1 OUT OF 20

 

 

          82 MISSIONS        1 OUT OF 1000