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THE HERALD OUTLOOK Saturday November 1990 Page AUTO TRUCKS PERFORMANCE -TIKI- 8775119 Entrance Georgetown ladies Mens Hakstyhig 8533461 21 Mill W Acton Book Hook STATIONERY New Books Off See Our Changes I MMIIIiStI ACTON Editorial Remembrance Day- a time not to forget To you from falling hands we throw the torch be yours to hold it high These words from the poem In Flanders Field the lament to war and its insatiable demand for human sacrifice penned by soldierpoet Col John of Guelph in April 1915 have over the years taken on a somewhat ironic twist The honor roles of the dead from two World Wars and the Korean conflict give mute testimony to the will ingness of Canadian soldiers to make the ultimate sacrifice when called upon for a just cause Yet aside from a few hours spent every November on Remembrance Day in acknowledging and honoring the everlasting debt to Canadian war dead veterans and perhaps more important dependents of veterans have received short shrift from Canadian society Col John reportedly wrote In Flanders Field in what quiet moments he could steal while ten ding to the wounded at a dressing station near the village of Ypres The compassion he felt for his com patriots is selfevident in his poem Ironically he died in January 1918 five days after contracting pneumonia in the year the Great War end ed never aware of the depth of emotion his poem would create In all probability the emotional and positive reaction to his poem would have meant little to him The compassion it has and still does arouse however would no doubt meet with his approval And now another war looms in the Persian Gulf A war which if it does occur will once more undoubtedly require members of the Canadian armed forces to once again make the ultimate sacrifice because of our federal governments committments to various pacts and alliances Countries and in the same sense societies have a strange ambivalent attitude towards soldiers A relationship that blossoms in time of need but is scorned or discarded in times of peace and plenty A countrys soldiers are representatives of the nation they serve They are every man every woman every child they represent the hopes and similarly the fears of a nation The responsibility is heavy There is no glory in war only for the storytellers A soldier does his duty does his job when he kills or wounds is killed or wounded Cinematic excesses are the bane of the true soldier of the country The real soldier of the country is your father perhaps your mothers your brothers your sister your nextdoor neighbour Once the country society has been saved their usefulness is over The country wants to forget the savagery and the deprivations of war the bloodletting and sometime at- trocities committed The soldier then takes the brunt of the blame and becomes a scapegoat one to pity even to avoid The wounded physically and mentally are relegated to veterans hospitals if they are lucky The aging veterans who make a habit of dropping into Legion branches to share comradeship and reminiscences with their few remaining peers are frowned upon For shame Canada for shame our socalled free society that owes so much to these men and women who for the most part sacrificed their youth for the youth of the future Remembrance Day the hour of the month of the year marking the cessation of World War I hostilities is a special day And should be treated as such However having noted this the sacrifices made by members of the Canadian armed forces veteran and serving should be appreciated and respected year round Certainly Take time to remember on Remembrance Day But also take time throughout the rest of the year to appreciate the debt that is owed A Canadian Remembrance is one of these grey and cold November days A gust of wind swirls up the leaves on the edge of the pavement and there is the smell of snow in the brisk air A young brownie stands alone with her thoughts She is dressed en in brown except for a brightly coloured scarf with beautiful orange maple leaves The young brownie watches as the Remembrance parade passes by Somehow this is a very dif parade from others she has observed There are no balloons no smiling clowns no decorated floats with whimsical characters The flags are first and are held proudly as they are carried from the church The November wind catches the colours and red Canadian maple leaf unfurls against the grey sky Behind the colours come the pipers and the aging veterans wearing their medals of silver and bronze They are proud men and women in their berets and blazers and blood red poppies adome their chests Their lined faces seem to tell stories of heroism and pain of memories etched in sorrow and battlefields filled with mud They are no longer the naive young men marching en thusiastically off to war Now their steps are slower and their numbers much fewer The veterans move on and the young browme feels drawn to follow the parade as it proceeds to the cenotaph the heart of her town and she listens to the names of the young Canadian men and women who lost their lives in two World Wars and in Korea She hears the lonely call of the bugle and bows her head in silence She watches as the brittle wreaths are laid at the foot of the memorial and she now to understand the meaning of Remembrance She realizes that it is the same everywhere in Canada from quiet Maritime cemeteries to western British Columbia the K wing at the Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto or by the lonely monuments that stand tall in the Canadian praines The young brownie has grown older now and she has many more Remembrance parades As goes she notices thai the ranks of those vho survived the horrors of in Flanders the pebbled beaches of Dieppe and that hill in Korea have become thinnen Sometime in the next century she thinks there will be no veterans left She wonders if Remembrance Day will also be forgotten I no longer wear my brown uniform with its brightly col oured scarf but I feel it would be a mistake to forget the lessons of the past for they have value in the future The horrendous acts of war cannot be forgotten We now live with the threat of global destruction which would have been unimaginable to the soldiers who fought at Vimy Ridge If there is another World War I wonder who will be left to march in their Remembrance parades Johnson Ontario MARINE SERVICE CENTRE LTD MNsaxso Main St N ACTON War Amps programs This fall The War Amps of Canada is mailing personalized address labels as a special thank you to its supporters But the labels represent more than just a simple thankyou the useful stickers symbolize a unique bond between one of Canadas most live chanties and its supporters A philosophy of amputees help ing amputees has been the hallmark of The War Amps of Canada since when the organization was founded When amputee exservicemen return ing from action in the First World War set up The War Amps under the name The Amputations Association of The Great War they envisioned a fraternal socie ty that would provide direction for their members and meet their special needs Counselling self- help and practical assistance along with an appreciation of the history of this country are com mon threads that have been re tained more than years later in the presentday organization that grew from their efforts War Amputees from across the country have helped shape the Association over the years The experience and expertise they gained in coping with the realities of being amputees are now benefitting the younger genera tton through The War Amps Child Amputee CHAMP Program Other Association programs and services such as MATCHING MOTHERS sheltered workshops and adult prosthetics have allowed the Association to assist many civilian amputees child or adult and even nonamputees The Association takes pride in the programs it has developed over the years made possible through the warm support of Canadians all across the country If youd like to start receiving personalized address labels of your own please call our toll free numbers for area codes 519 613 and call 18002688821 all other regions call 18002688917 Herald supplement compiled and edited by Colin Gibson 71 Mounlainview N Georgetown Ontario Unit L7G4J6 REGION OF HALTON CHAIRMAN PETER POMEROY 8788113 GEORGETOWN RentAll Equipment 8770157 COMPLIMENTS OF OFFICE FOR ALL YOUR OFFICE STATIONERY NEEDS Guelph St Georgetown 4191 BTT01B1