The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

2 The Canadian Statesman. Bowmanvillc, November 4,1987 Section Two NOVEMBER 11, 1987 Behind the Scenes on Remembrance Day A civic service of Remembrance Remembrance will take place at the Bowman- ville Cenotaph Saturday, November 7, commencing commencing at 10:45 a.m. This ceremony will be followed on later dates by services of Remembrance Remembrance at the Newtonville, Orono, and Newcastle cenotaphs. On Sunday, November 8, there will be a Remembrance Remembrance Service at the Orono Cenotaph, commencing commencing at two p.m. Newtonville and Newcastle Newcastle Village will both observe Remembrance Day Services at their respective respective cenotaphs on Wednesday, November 11. Services commence at 10:45 a.m. All veterans, service clubs, and other organizations organizations as well as the general public are invited invited to attend. A national Remembrance Service is conducted by the Royal Canadian Legion with the help of the federal and municipal governments, governments, many organizations, and a host of volunteers. It is nationally televised by the CBC which also produces produces a national radio broadcast. A Dominion Command Committee organizes the ceremony with the participation participation of the Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs Canada, Public Works Canada, the Ottawa Police Department, the R.C.M.P., St. John Ambulance, Ambulance, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, the Dominion Caril- lonneur, the Central Choir of the Ottawa Board of Education Education and representatives of radio and television. A Silver Cross Mother, representing Canadian Motherhood, and the senior winners of the Legion's Literary and Poster Contests, Contests, are brought to Ottawa as guests of the Legion to participate in the National Ceremony. POPPY CAMPAIGN The Royal Canadian Legion conducts a poppy campaign to collect funds each year prior to Remem brance Day. All proceeds are placed in trust accounts and after expenses (including (including the cost of poppies and wreaths) are paid, the funds are used to assist needy Canadian ex-service personnel personnel and their dependents, dependents, ex-service personnel of Commonwealth countries countries and of allied countries resident in Canada. Some authorized uses of these funds are: - Community medical equipmentand medical research. research. - Day care centres, meals on wheels, transportation and related services for ex- service personnel, their dependents dependents and the aged. Although the Poppy Campaign Campaign is national in scope, each Legion branch is responsible responsible for running its own campaign and collecting collecting and disbursing funds in its area. Money is not deposited deposited in a central fund. In 1985/86 $3,455,329 was spent for the benefit of ex- service personnel and their dependents. POPPIES AND WREATHS In 1986, 13 million poppies poppies and 68,500 wreaths and crosses were distributed in Canada. For every donation received, a poppy, wreath or other acknowledgement is given. These items are financed financed out of the receipts, of the Poppy Campaign. All poppies and wreaths are made in sheltered workshops workshops or in homes by ex-servicemen ex-servicemen and women or their dependents. Thus the Poppy Campaign helps to support ex-service personnel personnel and their dependents in all phases of its operation. FACTS ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION Number of Branches: Canada 1,750; U.S.A 41; West Germany 2. Number of Legion members members and fraternal affiliates: affiliates: 600,000. Number of Ladies' Auxiliary Auxiliary members: 90,000. If You Can't Remember, Think Many people, including including myself, have never been at war. So we cannot cannot remember it as such. But, we can imagine what it was like. Let's imagine imagine what it was like back then... You are at war. You are marching: a brave soldier dressed in your smart-looking uniform. War all around you. You wonder if you will be alive or dead when this dreadful nightmare is over. You watch as prisoners are carried away, bodies begin to litter litter the ground, the ground turns red with blood and people are being carried to medical vans. As you watch, you won der if you really want to risk your life. Is it a worthy cause? (You are only paid a dollar and ten cents a day.) You think about your wife and children at home. What will become of them? You think about their future and what will happen to your country if you don't continue continue to fight... The war is over. You are lucky enough to still be alive. So many are lost and families will never know what happened to them. Others are alive, but have lost an arm, a leg, etc. or have very serious wounds. Even people who came back without any physical damage are also affected. They have nightmares about the wars. Many times they wake up in a cold sweat. On Remembrance Day, when veterans stand brave and true in their uniforms, I imagine they are really remembering their lost friends. They wonder, too, if when all the war veterans pass away, if "we" will still remember. remember. When you wear a poppy, please wear it because because you want to, not because everyone else does. Wear it as a sign that you remember. Wear it as a symbol of peacé. --Lorilee Sharpe Corner Brook, Nfld. (Award winning junior essay) The Royal Canadian Legion To Those Who Died I have gazed out at the pleasant countryside of France from the summit of Vimy Ridge. It looks peaceful now, seventy years removed from the war that devastated this area of Europe for four years. Grass covers ground that was churned to mud from constant bombardment. The green shell-holes hold no hint of violence. There is no Whistling overhead, no explosions. The soft bluff is only broken by the towering twin pylons of the Memorial. Memorial. It is an impressive construction commemorating commemorating the war dead of the Great War. Visitors experience and awed silence as they gaze upon the figures boldly carved in stone. They are moved; a spirit of Remembrance hangs over the strategic ridge where the combined efforts efforts of brave Canadians overthrew German control control so many years ago. The fallen servicemen • of Canada -- each one immortalized in the shape of a tree in the park at Vimy--make felt their presence and hold their ground just like the victorious battalions held theirs in 1917. Many memories of the fighting are kept alive by the park; a part of the underground underground system used by the Canadian soldiers is maintained and tours are available to visit its gloomy depths. A section of the trenches is also maintained. The deep shell-holes between them are bare of grass, but this time the ground is churned by the innocent innocent feet of children. The cemeteries are rarely visited, secluded, but well-kept parts of the park. The headstones are captivating; the names and ages seem to resist time, suspending the soldiers forever in the flower of youth amid the chaos and confusion of the war that tore them apart. The brave soldiers of the Canadian Expeditionary Expeditionary Force sacrificed their lives to achieve greatness and victory. Their efforts are sometimes sometimes scoffed at by some of the members of the youngest generation of Canadians and unknown to others; but in France and Flanders, their valor is both remembered remembered and honoured by almost all. There, the people respect Canada and feel indebted too. This can perhaps be shown in my experience in Ypres, where Canadian Canadian soldiers sacrificed their lives to repulse the German troops, who used gas for the fisrt time. When my family and I found our way to the town's museum, we were met by a friendly doorman. As my father was searching for change to pay for the admission, admission, the man' said, "Are You Canadians?" "Why, yes," we replied, taken aback by his question. question. "Then," he said, "You can go in for free!" There, they remember our war dead best by re 7 specting thé living. Perhaps we should do the same. --Marc Cotie, St. Bruno, Quebec (Award winning intermediate intermediate essay) Royal Canadian Legion's Programs Benefit Many Groups The Royal Canadian Legion spends millions of dollars on various community community activities and thousands of hours of volunteer volunteer time to implement its social service programs. The following outlines some of the groups and programs the Legion is involved involved with: The Salvation Army, Red Shield Drive The Red Cross St. John Ambulance Over 600 Cadet Corps Over 500 Scout Troops, Cub and Girl Guide packs United Way/Red Feather Campaign In addition, the Legion: Contributes to schools and homes for the handicapped handicapped Provides 1,000 students bursaries bursaries and scholarships for continued education which, led by the Legion's Ladies' Auxiliary, exceeds $475,000 annually. Hosts blood donor clinics. Institutes Big Brother Programs. Operates drop-in centres, day care units and kindergartens. kindergartens. Bureau is Still Needed Canada's war veterans are slowly disappearing. The average age of Second Second World War veterans is 66 years, and the lists of deceased veterans that appear in Legion Magazine every month are getting longer. What does that mean for the Royal Canadian Legion Service Bureau, which was founded after the First World War to help veterans get the disability disability pensions provided provided by the Federal Government? Does it mean that the Service Bureau, which is funded in part by donations made during the annual Poppy Campaign, will no longer be needed? The Legion says that's not the case. The number of veterans may be shrinking, but the number number is still more than 650,000 and the bureau will be needed for a long time simply to look after their increasing needs and the needs of their dependents. In addition, the bureau's service officers, officers, who provide all of their services at no charge to the applicant, arc seeing numerous younger clients these days -- including some who arc only in their 20s. They arc Canada's peacetime servicemen. And even though they have not gone to war, they arc still eligible for disability pensions for injuries suffered while on duty. The service officers officers help them find their way through the maze of government legislation and will also represent them before the appropriate government government board or tribunal. And even though it is peacetime, injuries suffered suffered while on military duty can be painful -- in recent years as many as 23 servicemen have been killed in accidents in one year, and many more have been injured. Those accidents mean that the Legion's Service Bureau will be needed long after the war veterans veterans arc gone. In fact, the bureau will be one of the major legacies Canada's veterans will leave for their peacetime counterparts. counterparts. Provides over 3,000 low rental housing units for senior citizens and 60 or more communities. Sponsors a national literary literary competition and poster contest for schools. Contributes to fellowships fellowships in geriatric medicine and a chair of family practice practice at the University of British Columbia. SCHOLARSHIPS AND BURSARIES Dominion Command has allocated $105,000 each year for fellowships to train doctors and nurses in geriatric medicine. In addition to programs carried out by provincial commands and ladies' auxiliaries, auxiliaries, Legion Branches contributed more than $2,000,000 per year. MEDICAL RESEARCH AND SERVICES Mount Pleasant Branch in Vancouver has contributed $725,000 over a three year period to establish a geriatric geriatric unit in family practice at the University of British Columbia. Pacific Command supports supports a Chair of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia valued at $40,000 per year. Ontario Command has provided $175,000 towards a university of Toronto investigative investigative program into urinary urinary incontinence. Alberta and NWT Command Command is supporting a Chair in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Alberta at the cost of $142,500 over a three- year period. Newfoundland and Labrador Labrador Command is supporting supporting a health sciences project project in the purchasing of a multi-diagnosis x-ray machine. Their support to the project is the sum of $400,000 over five years. Sponsored by BOWMAN VILLE BRANCH 178-ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION Supporters of MEALS ON WHEELS - WELLESLEY BURN CENTRE • LEGION SERVICE WORK