“People who join in the military are serving something greater than themselves.”, said Petruk.
Remembrance Day
Plot eight, row E, grave seven: the plot in a French cemetery that was the former resting place of an unknown soldier who died during the First World War.
Like many Canadians who served, died and fought in WW1 in France, we will never know this soldier’s identity — whether he left behind a widow, a child, a mother, a father. Hopes and dreams. A profession. We don’t even know his name.
Remembrance Day in Canada looked a little different this year. We took a look at the specifics of the holiday’s digital migration.
At the height of the “War on Terror” in 2003, the Fuclrum’s editorial board wrote a touching editorial on the need to cherish Canadian veterans from past and present wars.
The U of O laid down an Indigenous wreath for the first time during their Remembrance Day ceremony at Tabaret Hall, which also featured a speech from an alumnus who is a search and rescue helicopter pilot for the Canadian Armed Forces.
“Recruits are often told ‘welcome to the family’ when they join. This is my first Remembrance Day as a member of the CAF, and so this year, I also feel like Remembrance Day is about appreciating that family,” said Robert Parsons, a reservist in the Canadian Armed Forces and a U of O student.
“The First World War veterans are all gone, the Second World War veterans are in their 90s, so there is a changing face of who the veterans are and who is celebrating Remembrance Day.”
No: a day off isn’t the same as real action There’s been a lot of talk around the upcoming 150th anniversary of Confederation in two years. However, this year marks several dates of global significances—the 100th anniversary of numerous First World War battles, such as the battle of Ypres. Each Nov. 11, we remember these …
In an effort to reinforce our patriotism, and temporarily make our way back onto Canadian soil, a friend and I decided to purchase tickets from Paris to Arras, a city just eight kilometres east of the memorial. We arrived at Arras station at around 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8 and waited for a taxi to arrive to take us to the memorial. Alas, hours later and after many calls, no taxi came.
For a lot of veterans, their greatest challenge isn’t what they face on the battlefield. Instead, they are mostly pre-occupied with the constantly changing geo-political world and what they deal with on the home front.
But Nov. 11 isn’t, and never has been, about celebrating or glorifying war. The day is for remembering Canadian soldiers who sacrificed their lives and died in battle; many of whom were no older than most of our student population.
It’s time we demand businesses hold back on the holidays until after Nov. 11 and give Remembrance Day the observance it deserves.
University of Ottawa students can be seen wearing white poppies pinned to their lapels this Remembrance Day in an effort to promote peace, not war.
