THE VICTORY OUR VETERANS GAVE US - AND THE COMMUNITY WE ARE TODAY
SOLEMN REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY BATHED IN BRIGHTNESS WITH A POSITIVE OUTLOOK FOR PEACE
SOMEWHERE A FEW NEIGHBORHOOD YARDS AWAY, AN AGITATED DOG BARKS AT A SQUIRREL, LEAPING ACROSS THE OVERHEAD BOUGHS, OF A VENERABLE, BUT LEANING PINE. IF YOU HAD LISTENED CAREFULLY, YOU MIGHT ALSO HAVE HEARD A COUPLE OF CHILDREN, AT PLAY, LAUGHING ABOUT NOTHING IN PARTICULAR. THERE IS A PLANE RUMBLING OVERHEAD, THE SOUND OF VEHICULAR TRAFFIC NEARBY, AND THE CEASELESS, BUT JOYFUL CHIRPING OF BIRDS IN THE BARE BRANCHES OF AN OLD NEIGHBORHOOD TREE……STILL STANDING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS; LEFT UPRIGHT FOR NOW, BY ALL THE STORMS THAT HAVE PASSED OVER A CENTURY. A FLAG STIRS QUITE GENTLY IN THE LIGHT MORNING BREEZE, AND WE CAN DETECT THE FAINT AND DISTANT CADENCE OF FOOTSTEPS…..MANY OF THEM IN PARADE, ALONG THE ROAD, IN A SOLEMN, STALWART MARCH TOWARD A PLACE OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE. OCCASIONALLY THE SUN POURS LIGHT ON THIS COMMUNITY GATHERING, AND THERE IS A MIXTURE OF CITIZENS, SOME HOLDING COLORFUL WREATHS, WITH TRADITIONAL POPPIES PINNED OVER THEIR HEARTS…… THOSE WHO GATHER HERE, EACH YEAR, AT THE 11TH HOUR ON THE 11TH DAY, OF THE 11TH MONTH. REMEMBRANCE DAY. AND THE COMFORTABLE SETTING TODAY, IS OUR LIVELY LITTLE TOWN. GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO. AS IT HAS BEEN SINCE THE LATE 1850'S, WHEN IT WAS KNOWN, AS ONE OF THE TOUGHEST HAMLETS IN THIS PART OF THE FRONTIER.
WHEN THE VETERANS AND LEGION SUPPORTERS PARADE BY, ON THE WAY TO THE NOVEMBER 11TH WREATH LAYING, IN OUR HOMETOWN, WE OF COURSE, LOOK UPON THE EVENT WITH SOLEMN REVERENCE AND RESPECT, FOR ALL THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES, IN THE DEFENSE OF HOME, COUNTRY; FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY. WE WONDER WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR THOSE SURVIVING VETERANS, TO HAVE WITNESSED THE CARNAGE OF WAR, AND HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT IT TODAY IN RETROSPECTS, MARCHING PROUDLY ALONG THE STREETS OF THEIR HOME TOWN.
THINKING BACK TO THE DAYS BEFORE AND AFTER THEIR ENLISTMENT, AND HAVING HAD TO, WITH HEAVY HEARTS, PARADE AWAY FROM THIS FAMILIAR SANCTUARY OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS? WHAT IS IT LIKE FOR THEM TODAY, TO RECEIVE ENCOURAGING WAVES OF THANKS, AND GOOD WISHES, FROM THOSE CITIZENS WHO WEREN'T EVEN BORN AT THE TIME, THE SECOND WORLD WAR ERUPTED IN EUROPE? HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE YOUNGSTERS, MET ALONG THE WAY, SALUTE AND WAVE, AS IF THE VETERANS ARE THEIR MODERN DAY HEROES? MAYBE THEY DON'T KNOW HOW PROFOUNDLY THE CITIZENS OF THIS COMMUNITY FEEL. AND WHILE THESE GESTURES ARE WELCOME, AND ACKNOWLEDGED, THEY SEEM AT THE SAME TIME, SURPRISING AND UNEXPECTED. POSSIBLY THEY FELT THIS WAY WHEN THEY LEFT THEIR RESPECTIVE HOME TOWNS, TO JOIN THE WAR EFFORT, AND LOOKED UPON THOSE CITIZENS ON THE RAILWAY PLATFORM AS THE "CURIOUS," AND NOT SINCERE WELL WISHERS. MAYBE THEY DIDN'T APPRECIATE THEN, JUST HOW IMPORTANT THEIR EFFORTS WERE, TO THE WAY THESE HOME TOWNS WOULD EXIST IN THE FUTURE……WHEN THEY ARRIVED BACK HOME. NO ONE WANTED TO THINK THAT WE MIGHT LOSE THE WAR……BUT IT WAS AN UNPLEASANT POTENTIAL REGARDLESS.
DAILY ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES DURING THOSE WAR YEARS, WERE FILLED WITH AN UNCERTAIN AMOUNT OF FEAR AND LOATHING, YET OVERFLOWING WITH PRIDE, THAT OUR COMMUNITIES WERE BEING WELL REPRESENTED IN A CONFLICT HALFWAY AROUND THE GLOBE. OUR HOMEGROWN CITIZENS WERE DEFENDING OUR HONOR, AND FREEDOM, PLACING THEIR LIVES IN DANGER…..FOR THE SAKE OF A PRESERVED DEMOCRACY. SOME MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE. MANY WERE SERIOUSLY WOUNDED, AND SUFFERED WITH INJURIES FOR THE BALANCE OF THEIR LIVES. MANY OTHERS SUFFERED IN SILENCE FROM THE RIGORS OF WHAT THEY PERFORMED, AND WHAT THEY EXPERIENCED. IT'S ALSO TRUE, MANY RETURNING SOLDIERS DIDN'T APPRECIATE HOW MUCH THE CITIZENS OF THEIR HOME TOWNS AND REGION, CARED FOR AND RESPECTED THEM, FOR WHAT THEY HAD ENGRAVED ON THE WORLD CONSCIENCE, DEMONSTRATED BY THEIR IMMENSE BRAVERY. WHILE GENERATIONS HAVE BEEN REVERENT OF THEIR VALIANT EFFORTS, IT WOULD PAIN US GREATLY, IF THEY THOUGHT OF THE CITIZENRY, THEN AND NOW, AS EITHER INDIFFERENT AND NEGLECTFUL. WE MAY BE FAULTED FOR OUR OFTEN MODEST DEMONSTRATION OF RESPECT. BUT IT IS WIDESPREAD AND SINCERE, JUST AS IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN.
TODAY, IN NOVEMBER 2012, WITH A CLEAR AND SUNNY ATMOSPHERE, BEAMING OVER OUR CHARMING LITTLE BALLIWICK, TUCKED INTO THE HEARTLAND OF BEAUTIFUL MUSKOKA, ONTARIO, CANADA, THOSE WHO WATCHED THE GATHERING, AND PARTICIPATED IN THE CEREMONY OF REMEMBRANCE TODAY, BROUGHT FORTH THOSE OLD BUT STILL SHARP FEELINGS OF RESPECT, PASSED UP THROUGH THE GENERATIONS; GARNERED BY THE GREAT GRANDPARENTS, AND PARENTS, WHO MAY HAVE BEEN THERE, STANDING IN UNIFORM, ON THAT RAILWAY PLATFORM; OR MUSTERED ALONG THAT INTIAL PARADE ROUTE DURING AND AFTER THE WAR. OTHERS WHO WATCHED THEIR FELLOW CITIZENS, NEIGHBORS AND RELATIVES, HEAD OFF TO FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY; SHAKING HANDS AND THEN WAVING AS THE STEAMING LOCOMOTIVE, PULLED ITS TRAIN-LOAD OF HUMANITY, FAR DOWN THE TRACKS, INTO A TINY BLACK SILHOUETTE IN TIME……AND THOSE AGAIN, IN SAD RETROSPECTIVE, WHO KNEW WHEN THAT SAME TRAIN ARRIVED HOME AGAIN, THIS TIME WITH COFFINS ABOARD. LATER IN THE CONFLICT, IT BECAME A TRAGIC FAMILIARITY. AND THOSE WHO SAW THE TEARFUL PARENTS OF THE DECEASED, PARADE WITH SORROW TO THE CEMETERIES TO BURY THEIR OWN……BUT WHO LATER, DESPITE THEIR LOSS, AND SUFFERING, WOULD FIND STRENGTH, JOINING THE THRONGS OF LOCALS, WHO SHOWED UP WITH GOOD CHEER, TO WELCOME RETURNING SOLDIERS……CELEBRATING THE VICTORY AT HAND.
IT ALL COMES TOGETHER, THIS CURIOUS CONFLUENCE OF OLD AND NEW EMOTION, ON DAYS LIKE THIS, WHEN THE COMMUNITY GATHERS THOUGHTFULLY, TO PAY RESPECT, TO THE HERITAGE OF SERVICE AND FAITHFULNESS TO HOME AND COUNTRY. IT IS WITHOUT NEED FOR EXPLANATION, THE ESSENCE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BELONG TO A HOMETOWN. IT IS VISIBLE ON THE FACES OF SENIOR CITIZENS, BABY BOOMERS, THIRTY-SOMETHINGS, YOUNG ADULTS AND YOUNGSTERS, POLITICIANS AND SPECIAL GUESTS, WATCHING THE CEREMONY AT THE CENOTAPH……IN THE PEACE AFFORDED US, THE RESULT OF THE ACHIEVEMENT BY VETERANS, OVER TWO WORLD WARS.
IT MAY SEEM TO SOME OBSERVERS, THAT THE CEREMONIES AREN'T AS BIG, AS THEY ONCE WERE, OR THAT THERE ARE FEWER IN THE PARADES, AND EVEN FEWER ALONG THE COURSE OF THE REMEMBRANCE MARCH TO THE CENOTAPH; AND ARGUABLY THIS IS LIKELY A FACT OF MODERN DAY. THERE ARE FEWER SURVIVING VETERANS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, AND OUR NEWER VETERANS, FROM RECENT WORLD CONFLICTS, ARE ALSO OF A LESSER NUMBER. BUT IF YOU WERE TO LOOK CLOSELY, AND SEE THE RESPECT ETCHED ONTO THE FACES OF THE SPECTATORS, AND SUPPORTERS ENCOUNTERED ALONG THE ROUTE, IT IS NOT THE CASE AT ALL, THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS FORGOTTEN ITS LEGACY OF CITIZENSHIP. I FIND QUITE THE OPPOSITE, AND FEEL THAT OUR COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP, AND ORGANIZATIONS, MAINTAIN A FIERCE LOYALTY TO THIS REMEMBRANCE…..NOT JUST ONE DAY EACH YEAR……BUT FOR ALL 365 DAYS. AS WE LOVE LIFE IN OUR HOMETOWN, IT IS IMBEDDED, THAT IT'S WELFARE, AND ITS HISTORY, ARE DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL TO THE SACRIFICES OF ITS CITIZENRY, IN INDUSTRY, RESOURCEFULNESS, AMBITION, RESOLVE, RESPECT, AT HOME AND MOST CERTAINLY, IN WORLD CONFLICT.
THE ROLE OF OUR BRANCH OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION, IN OUR HOME TOWN, HAS NEVER BEEN IN DOUBT OR MINIMIZED, AND THE GOOD WORK THEY DO THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, TO KEEP OUR CITIZENS ENGAGED IN THIS RESPECT AND LOYALTY FOR VETERANS, AND FAMILIES, ENSURES REMEMBRANCE IS A CONSTANT…..NOT JUST A FLEETING, ONE DAY, ONE EVENT RECOGNITION. GRAVENHURST LEGION MEMBERS ARE HUGELY DEDICATED TO KEEPING OUR REMEMBRANCE A DAILY REALITY OF SMALL TOWN LIFE AND TIMES. THEY ARE AN AMAZINGLY VIBRANT COMMUNITY GROUP, AND THEY HAVE MADE OUR COMMUNITY A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE. THEY HAVE, ABOVE ALL ELSE, BECOME A RELEVANT, ACTIVE, VIBRANT PART OF A MODERN COMMUNITY….WITH A BRIGHT FUTURE, BY INSISTING ON BEING RELEVANT…..BY BEING ACTIVE. IT'S A DIFFICULT TASK TO MAINTAIN THEIR POSITION OF RELEVANCE, SO LONG AFTER THE WAR YEARS, BUT THEIR ONGOING AND NEW WORK, TO ASSIST VETERANS TODAY, HAS MADE THEM AN EVER MORE IMPORTANT RESOURCE AND SERVICE IN OUR COUNTRY GENERALLY.
PLEASE REMEMBER THE WORK OF OUR LEGION BRANCHES, AND SUPPORT THEM WHEN YOU CAN…….OR BY ATTENDING ONE OR MORE OF THEIR SPECIAL COMMUNITY EVENTS AND FUNDRAISERS. REMEMBRANCE ISN'T JUST A ONE-DAY-A-YEAR NECESSITY. IT MUST BE A HEARTFELT REALITY. WE WOULD LOSE OUR DYNAMIC AS A COMMUNITY, IF INDIFFERENCE BECAME THE NORM. IT IS A COG IN OUR WHEEL. IT IS OUR BALANCE.
FOLLOWING THE SERVICE AT THE CENOTAPH, THE LAYING OF THE WREATHS, AND PRAYERS……THE HANDSHAKES AND HUGS OF GOOD WISHES, IT WAS ONCE AGAIN TIME TO MOVE ON, IN A TOWN FULL OF VIGOR AND POSSIBILITY. THAT DOG WAS STILL BARKING. THE KIDS WERE STILL YELLING AND LAUGHING IN PLAY. THE BIRDS CHATTERED AWAY, IN THE TREE TOPS, AND THE SOUND OF NEARBY TRAFFIC EVEN MUTED CONVERSATION BETWEEN FRIENDS. A PREVAILING GENTLENESS EASED ONE AND ALL, AND SOON, THE GATHERING HAD DISPERSED TO FINE LUNCHES AND CELEBRATORY TOASTS; THAT WE'VE MADE A PRETTY GOOD LIFE FOR OURSELVES HERE, AT HOME, THANKS TO KINDNESSES ALL ROUND…..AND TODAY, WE SALUTE OUR VETERANS, FOR THE CONTENTMENT OF THIS LASTING PEACE.
I HAVE INCLUDED ANOTHER SELECTION OF STEREO-CARD IMAGES OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR, PROVIDED BY ONE OF OUR COLLECTOR FRIENDS. THEY HAVE BEEN TUCKED IN A CIGAR BOX FOR MANY YEARS, AND IT'S A PLEASURE TO SHOW THEM TO THE READERS OF MY BLOG. SOME ARE PHOTOGRAPHS AND OTHERS ARE ARTIST SKETCHES FROM THE FRONT……IN FRANCE. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ TODAY'S BLOG. IT'S ALWAYS NICE WHEN WE GET TOGETHER. PLEASE VISIT AGAIN SOON.
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