Honour Canada’s military heroes
Canadian military boots will stir dust today in Afghanistan and other trouble spots, flying the Maple Leaf, keeping the peace, battling terror and honouring fallen comrades. On this Remembrance Day, in the Year of the Veteran, more than 2,000 women and men of the Canadian Forces are doing duty overseas, serving their country from afar.
Spare them a thought, and a prayer. Canada flourishes on their watch, as it has flourished because of the sacrifice of countless other warriors and peacekeepers whose courage and blood stood on guard for us. Today we honour those like Martin Venman, aToronto naval veteran who saw action in World War II. And we honour Cpl. Aesop Zourdoumis, another Torontonian and a combat engineer who is one of 1,500 troops in Kabul today, on his second tour there. We remember the more than 116,000 who gave their lives in war and peacekeeping for this country, and their grieving families. And we honour those who returned home, some of them scarred in body and soul.
Despite the distance in generations and miles, the ties that connect Canada’s defenders, past and present, remain unbroken. Remembrance Day affords us a moment to pause, and to cherish them. On this 60th anniversary of the end of World War II let us celebrate the more than 250,000 living veterans of both world wars and the Korean conflict, men and women who along with their families carried the greatest burdens during some of the world’s darkest days. Thousands of Canadians have also served as United Nations peacekeepers since 1947, taking part in more than 70 international missions.
Today, 2,100 Canadian troops serve in Afghanistan, in Haiti, in BosniaHerzegovina, in the Middle East’s Golan Heights and Sinai Desert, in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region, in Congo. As winter settles over Kashmir, 200 members of the Disaster Assistance Relief Team are working to provide clean water and medical aid to people stricken by the October 8 earthquake. At the Kashechewan reserve on James Bay, the military is providing clean water to a community in need. And in the skies over North America and along our coasts, the Canadian Forces are working with our American friends and neighbours to safeguard the approaches to the continent. So on this day, wear a poppy with pride and gratitude. Salute a veteran. Keep two minutes of silence. Attend a commemoration ceremony. Remember all who laid down their lives for Canada. Celebrate those who serve today. Honour them. And never forget.