Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. As we seem to do every year, we will be going together with friends to an outdoor Remembrance Day Ceremony and then spending what sounds like it’s going to be a quite snowy day together afterward. We will do what we usually do – bundle up, pack lunch and drinks, warm blankets to sit in and bring extra poppies because, in my entire life, I’ve not managed to keep a poppy on my coat the entire day, let alone the days ahead that I see others wearing them. I know, there’s a trick to keeping it fastened and every year I resolve to learn it for the next year but here I am again, seemingly fastening it the same way the kids do, and knowing I’ll likely still need to bring back-up poppies.
When the kids were younger, we’d usually find some Remembrance Day picture books at the library and make our way through them the week or two before November 11. Several years, we went to hear a veteran speak. Most years, they were Second World War veterans and one year, it was a veteran who had served in Afghanistan and several other peace-keeping missions. It was always impactful and they were so pleased to share their information with the kids.
In the last couple of years, we’ve gone to that service as well as attending the Remembrance Day service at our church and I haven’t thought too much further about it in the days following.
Today was different though. A few pieces at our service today drew my mind back a bit more and I shifted gears from what I’d already written about this week and decided to post this instead.
In our service this morning, we had several Second World War veterans, along with scouts, take part in the service. There was also a fascinating and touching interview with a woman in the congregation whose grandparents had taken in Jewish people in Holland during the Second World War as part of the Dutch Resistance. She had slowly pieced together the story over the years and when visiting Jerusalem a few years ago, was able to see the names of her grandparents honoured.
We had a congregant of our church, a 95 year old Second World War veteran, who served during the Liberation of the Netherlands. He has been honoured during his trips to the Netherlands, complete with a wonderful acknowledgment from the Dutch Prime Minister.
Younger veterans and fallen soldiers who had served in Afghanistan were paid tribute as well. It was so moving to watch a video featuring the Canadian Highway of Heroes, the stretch between CFB Trenton, Ontario and Toronto, Ontario, which saw enormous support from First Responders and citizens in general toward those soldiers and their loved ones, along the road and many bridges along the 170 km stretch of highway. We found a similar video of the Highway of Heroes and the many, many people paying their respect which is posted in the You Might Be Interested? section.
I know those bridges well. It’s the stretch of highway I grew up a kilometre north of and now, in a different community, we still live only a few kilometres north. It was amazing to see my childhood hometown, our current hometown and so many familiar places shown with support on bridge after bridge. I remember that period of time, more than 10 years ago now, and the support from each community along the highway route when the motorcade accompanying the hearse carrying the fallen soldier would be coming through. M and I made our way there a couple of times and it was a feeling of incredible sadness, mixed with community strength.
Below are some beautiful, meaningful Canadian Remembrance Day picture books, including two that tell the origins of Winnie the Pooh and one that features the poem, In Flanders Field.
Remembrance Day is technically only one day but it’s never too late to share with kids the stories and importance of it. The libraries will pull them down from the featured displays on the next few days but these books might be worth finding on the shelves:)
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