LILLEY: Remembering our veterans shouldn't be reserved for one day a year
· Toronto Sun
See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source
On Friday night, I choked up listening to the stories of veterans talking about the impact of their service on their lives and those of their families. I wasn’t at a Legion or a retirement home hearing from someone who fought at Juno Beach.
Visit saltysenoritaaz.com for more information.
The occasion was the Toronto edition of the True Patriot Love Gala at the Royal York hotel.
The event was one of three such galas in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa that raised more than $2.3 million to bridge the gap between what military veterans and their families get from government and what they need. It was an expression of support from the community, of people saying we see you, we hear you, we support you.
The foundation behind the gala was established in 2009. We were in the midst of the Afghan war, creating a new generation of veterans unlike any since the Korean conflict of the 1950s.
Those behind the initiative, mostly from Toronto’s Bay Street business community, wanted to find a way to connect civilian and military communities. Having been long exposed to both, I can tell you that, at times, you need a translator for both sides to communicate.
It needs to be done, though, because remembering those who serve or served our country in uniform isn’t something that should just happen on Nov. 11.
Showing up on Remembrance Day — and I hope you go to a local ceremony — is important, but not nearly enough. We need to be remembering and supporting our veterans throughout the year.
Remembrance requires more
That’s easy for me to say. I come from a military family of sorts.
My grandfathers, great-uncles and family friends all served. They inspired me to join the reserves, even for a short time. My stepbrother recently retired from a career in the Canadian Armed Forces in Petawawa, Ont., and a high school friend did the same.
Most Canadians will live their lives without encountering a soldier, a sailor or an aviator.
That’s too bad because the sacrifices they make, even in a time of supposed peace, allow us to live our lives free from the thought of war. That’s not something that people in other parts of the world can say.
Canada is blessed by geography. We have oceans on three sides and regardless of what you might think of their current president, we have the most benevolent neighbour to the south.
Ask the people of Ukraine, Israel, Sudan or Congo if they would trade places with us and I’m sure their answer would be yes.
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Keeping the peace isn’t free
At the same time, we have soldiers stationed in places like Latvia to keep the peace. Operation Reassurance isn’t a peacekeeping mission in the old United Nations blue-beret sense. It is a show of force to dissuade Russia from invading a NATO ally.
We have more than 3,000 service members in Latvia helping train local forces and deter Russian aggression aimed at reclaiming former Soviet territory, which Moscow is attempting in Ukraine.
There are thousands more on missions spread around the world, moving in and out of operations designed to keep the peace, offer humanitarian aid and more.
These are the members of the Canadian Armed Forces serving their country in a too-often thankless job . That’s why it is important to give thanks, to remember on more than one day a year.
The cost of service
On Oct. 17, a fire swept through a training ground at CFB Wainwright in Alberta , killing four people and seriously injuring at least 39 others. The fact that we lost Sgt. Morgan Wong, Pte. Shaun Farrell, Pte. Aidan Goulding and Pte. Hayden Lykkemark is no less tragic than losing them in war.
They were training to serve our country, to lay down their lives to protect us.
At the gala on Friday night, they had a table with an empty chair, a wine glass turned upside down on the table, a piece of lemon to represent the bitterness of loss, salt for the tears of those left behind and a single red rose for the love of country.
As we mark Remembrance Day, think about those who did not return, but also those who returned and will never be the same. Most of all, commit to remembering more than once a year.