In grade school in the days leading up to Remembrance Day, I remember taking home a small envelope, no bigger than the poppy tucked inside.
Parents replaced the poppy with a small donation for our veterans. They would send us back to school with a coin or a bill, something that said I remember.
The poppies then were much like today except the centre was made of felt. I remember assembling the poppy in class, threading the green centre and bright red flower onto a bent pin.
November 11
Every November 11th Remembrance Day, the students and teachers stood in silence at the appointed hour. I remember crying for men and women I didn’t know, but who looked very much like my grandparents.
As a young woman, I remember shopping in a large department store on November 11. At eleven o’clock, the overhead speakers went silent, and all around me people stopped and bowed their heads.
On this November 11th, I will again remember our veterans’ and their family’s sacrifices when I observe a moment of silence at eleven a.m.
Lest We Forget
Helping us all remember are two inspirational Canadians whose work shines a spotlight on our nation’s veterans.
In 2016, Elinor Florence published the stories of twenty-eight World War Two veterans. Many of the men and women she interviewed for My Favourite Veterans had never before told their story. In 2017 a veteran’s memorial banner project she spearheaded came to fruition. For the next few years in streets and towns in the Columbia Valley, banners honouring individual veterans will be unfurled and on display for October and November.
In 2018, filmmaker Eric Brunt, inspired by his grandfather, began a cross-Canada trip to capture the stories of World War Two veterans before they and their stories are lost to us. Brunt’s collection of stories is a documentary in the making called Last Ones Standing. You can read about his efforts in two CBC reports, one in 2018 and another earlier this month.
Yes, a wonderful post, Jo-Anne. So important to remember and recognize the men and women who’ve sacrificed for us all.
Well rendered, Jo-Anne.
Here is one of my memories.
On November 11th, 1964, I was just released from my brief peace time military service and, while awaiting to catch a train at the the Ottawa train station, I spent the morning in the Legion which was in the basement of the military offices where I had received my final documentation. I recall it as a smoky, beer-boozy cellar with a gamut of ex-soldiers, a number minus limbs, a pervasive sense swirling in the smoky din, not only of camaraderie but of sorrow.
Camaraderie and sorrow. I can picture that. Thanks for your service, Bill.
What a lovely post in Remembrance Jo-Anne… Thank You
This is a lovely post, Jo-Anne. Thank you, Sussan
Thank you so much for this poignant post, and for mentioning my efforts to preserve the wartime memories of our treasured veterans.
It’s my pleasure, Elinor.