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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, November 10, 2011 · 22 November 11th Remembe e i r d l o s S r u O ring British Columbia, joined the Navy. John Foote, a 35 year old Presbyterian minister, joined the chaplain corps. All were typical Canadians and all distinguished themselves and won the Victoria Cross. Even as they experienced the brutality of the war, some men took time to question the forces which had brought the hostility between countries to its present state, and to ponder on the ability to return to normal. Donald Pearce wrote these words from a front line dugout: When will it all end? The idiocy and the tension, the dying of young men, the destruction of homes, of cities, starvation, exhaustion, disease, children parentless and lost, cages full of shivering, starving prisoners, long lines of civilians plodding through mud, the endless pounding of the battle-line. (Donald Pearce, Journal of a War: North-West Europe, 19441945. Toronto, Macmillan, 1965.) For those who witnessed first hand the barbaric realities of combat, the desire for reason and for peace was dominant. Yet only a few years later, in 1950, Canadians were again called to uphold the cause of peace and freedom. The men and women who served under the United Nations flag in Korea included new recruits as well as veterans from the previous war. Along with various army units, the navy and the airforce provided vital support and endured months of hardship in the hope of maintaining world peace. For all of these conflicts fought in far-off lands, there is much to remember. Foremost are the people, the men and women who served wherever they were needed. They faced difficult situations bravely and brought honour to themselves, to their loved ones and to their country They were ordinary Canadians who made extraordinary sacrifices. - Articles provided courtesy of Veteran Affairs Canada. Ordinary citizens making extraordinary sacrifices When war came, Canadians volunteered readily to serve their country as champions of liberty. They came from farms, from small towns and large cities across the country, riding high on the initial wave of indignation, excitement, and patriotism. They joined Canada's war effort prepared to defend, to care for the wounded, to prepare materials of war, and to provide economic and moral support. War has always meant death, destruction, absence from loved ones, but in the initial surge of patriotic fervour these played a secondary role. For the men and women who rallied to support their nation's cause, the threats of war seemed far away and unreal. In the fall of 1914 as the First Contingent of Canadians left the shelter of the St. Lawrence for the open Atlantic, some of the realities came into focus. Nursing Sister Constance Bruce wrote: Those who came forward had not stopped to count the cost, for the excitement was thrilling, the lottery alluring, and the cause glorious; but now that the confusion was passed, and the fulfilment of vows alone remained to be faced, things took on a more sombre aspect .... (Constance Bruce, Humour in Tragedy: Hospital Life Behind 3 Fronts by a Canadian Nursing Sister. London, Skeffington, n.d.) How could they know that four long years of death and destruction were ahead? Again in 1939 when the mobilization orders came for the Second World War, Canadians flocked to enlist. The included veterans of earlier wars, boys still in high school, and thousands of unemployed. The recruits came from many regions and from varied backgrounds. Aubrey Cosens, 18 years of age, a railway section hand at Porquis Junction, Ontario was rejected by the RCAF but did get into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Robert Gray, on graduation from the University of Halton Region pays tribute to those men and women who put their lives in jeopardy in order to protect the peace and freedom we cherish. Carr Regional Chair !F>I LO j 1LII COBB %)1, ) + j 116 j www.halton.ca Lest we forget We wil ill wear we ear a you ur sm smil mile il le a an nd sh shar are ar e ou our lo ove ve Wi W it th h yo ou ur b bo oy oys ys s who hom y hom yo ou u' 'd be be so pr prou ou ud do of f Gu G uid idin ing th them em thr hro ou ug gh ho ou ut th thei eir li lif fe e Pull Pu Pull llin ing to tog ge et th he er r to d do o wha hat t' 's r ri igh ght You p Yo pu ut y yo our ur faith ait ai th h in a wo worl rld of of peo eop pl le Neve Ne N eve ve er r se sec co o ond nd gue nd uess ss sin ing th in hei ei ir ri in nt te en ent nt tio ions ns To yo To ou u... we we sal al lut ut u te e, , re es spe pec ct t an nd d hon ono or r A so son n, , broth ro r oth ther he er r, u un nc ncl cl le an le and fa and fath the er r Tha Th an nk yo ou f fo or yo your your ur sa ac cr ri ifi fice ce ce Le est st We F Fo org rge et t We W e love ove y ov yo ou a an nd mi miss ss you ou eve very y day ay All of Al of yo ou ur lo ur lov lovi vi ing ng famil am mi il ly While serving his country in Afghanistan, Warrant Officer Dennis Raymond Brown was killed at age 38 by a roadside bomb on March 3, 2009