HONOURING CANADA’S VETERANS
THOUSANDS ON HAND TO PAY RESPECTS
Ray Gilbert wept as he and thousands of other Calgarians stood silent for two minutes to mark Remembrance Day under a bright, blue sky at the Military Museums’ outdoor service on Monday.
The Second World War veteran, who endured a German prisoner of war camp for 2 1/2 years after the Dieppe raid, was emotional as he reflected on the service of fallen soldiers.
“When we came to that part where we have to remember everyone, it was really hard,” 91-year-old Gilbert said following the ceremony. “Tears were just flowing. I had a terrible time with it.”
Many of the soldiers Gilbert served alongside did not make it home, and many more have since died. Four of the Gilbert’s five brothers also served in the Second World War and while all five men returned home, Gilbert is the only one alive today.
The great-grandfather was honoured to see so many Calgarians bundle up and attend the annual Military Museums ceremony, which paid tribute to veterans both young and old.
Tom Doucette, executive director of the Military Museums, said Monday’s turnout, which he estimated at 15,000, was the biggest he’s seen in his eight years with the museum.
“It’s so great that the city comes together at this time to honour our veterans,” Doucette said.
The hour-long ceremony contained prayers, poems and hymns and was attended by dignitaries including Lt.-Gov. Donald Ethell, MLA Rick Fraser and MP Jason Kenney. A wreath laying saw groups including politicians, families of fallen comrades and two Silver Cross mothers place wreaths at the cenotaph, one of many of the ceremony’s reminders that Remembrance Day is about more than those who served in conflicts long passed.
“Since the war in Afghanistan there’s also young Canadian families who are grieving the recent lost of a loved one. There are far too many young soldiers in our communities who are living with the physical and mental scars of war,” Ethell told the crowd.
Following the emotional ceremony, Kenney attributed the massive turnout and the renewed interest in Canada’s military sacrifices to both recent work in Afghanistan and the fact Canada has a dwindling number of Second World War veterans.
“We’re not forgetting, we’re remembering and it’s a beautiful thing,” Kenney said.
Second World War veteran Ed Page, 93, served overseas for more than five years and said it was humbling to see so many people come out to remember the sacrifices of veterans on Monday. “It’s great. It’s amazing,” he said. Meanwhile, across town more than 2,000 people crammed into Calgary’s southern Alberta Jubilee auditorium for the Remembrance Day service Monday morning.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi told the audience one day’s remembrance each year was “in many ways a cheap act.”
“That simple thank you is never, can never, be enough,” he said.
“Let’s recommit ourselves, not to a moment of remembrance at eleven o’clock on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, let’s commit ourselves to lives of constant remembrance.”
Guest speaker Lt.-Col. Richard Cruickshank said he was humbled to be asked to address the crowd.
“What have I done that’s so special that I would be asked to talk today?”
Cruickshank, who has served in Germany, Cyprus, Bosnia and Afghanistan, reminded the crowd their first duty was to remember “the great many service members who left our shores to fight the enemy [who] did not return. They are buried at sea, in foreign lands, and many have no known graves.”
Most servicemen and women, veterans and the fallen, were “ordinary [people] who served their country,” he said.
“Remembrance Day is about remembering the sacrifices of those who put on a uniform and did what the government of the day asked them to do.”
The invitation to speak, Cruickshank believed, came because he, too, was one of those people.
“In my mind I am but a simple soldier. I did my duty.
“I signed on the dotted line and served my country.”
Veterans of the Second World War were honoured on stage at the auditorium — several laid wreathes at a makeshift memorial — but at one point during the ceremony it was clear they were far from alone in their distinction.
As the Last Post reverberated around the theatre, arms throughout the crowd shot up in salute. Many, but not all, wore a military uniform. There were a great many more veterans present.
The arms remained rigid throughout the bugle call but some hands wavered, betraying their age.
“Our veterans are getting older and are fewer in number each year,” Cruickshank said.
“As time marches on this is true for Second World War and Korean War veterans. These men and women we hold dear to our hearts as we can only imagine what they have gone through.”