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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 7, 20 19 | 20 Michael Chong Member of Parliament Wellington - Halton Hills michael.chong@parl.gc.ca 866 - 878 - 5556 This November 11th take time to remember the sacrifice of those who died in defence of Canada. CANADA REMEMBERS 2019CANADA REMEMBERS 2019 NOTNOTNOTNOTNOTNOTNOTNOTWe Shall Forget Being in Flanders Fields ForgetForgetForget It's Wednesday morning, as peaceful as the day is long. � e growl of a tractor plowing nearby � elds lays down a bass accompaniment to the 'moo- ing' of a pair of Jersey cows who stroll over to greet us, to the winds whispering in the trees rising up from the bank of the adjacent canal, to the chorus of bird calls. � e larks, still bravely singing, � y Not far from this spot in the Flanders coun- tryside, sometime during the night of May 3, 1915, Canadian soldier Alexis Helmer was blown to pieces. We are the dead. � e morning sun gilds those trees over- looking the canal, it shimmers on the water's wind-ri� ed surface. Just beyond the tiny meadow where the cows graze, a gentle grass- covered hill is surmounted by an obelisk- shaped monument that frowns down upon a cemetery populated by more than a thousand graves. Row on row No one knows the exact location of Helmer's grave. But one thing is certain. He was remem- bered. Here, at Essex Farm, was born the poem, "In Flanders Fields". When you enter from the road, the cemetery - identi� ed by a tall white cross imprinted with a bronze sword - is on the right. Make a le� a� er roughly 50 metres and you will encounter concrete bunkers covered with earth, gouged from the bank of the canal. � e concrete you see today came later. On May 3, 1915 the make- shi� "hospital" was mere earth and sandbags. Here a Canadian surgeon named John Mc- Crae performed � rst aid, applied dressings, de- cided that there was no hope for some coming into his care. On the morning a� er Helmer died, McCrae took pen to paper on this very spot, exhausted a� er nearly two weeks of constant German shelling, shattered by the death of his friend. � e morning sun gilds those trees over- looking the canal, it shimmers on the water's wind-ri� ed surface. Just beyond the tiny meadow where the cows graze, a gentle grass- covered hill is surmounted by an obelisk- shaped monument that frowns down upon a By Mark Stevens Photos by Sharon Matthews-Stevens