Remembrance Day

[disney funseeker]

CdnDisneyNut, I have watched this video over and over again and can't watch it without tearing up.

Our family sat over the screen viewing it together and my dh really liked it. He called his dad a few minutes ago. Not sure if it was because of the video.

SnowWhite, do you know what division and regiment your grandfather was in?
FIL doesn't know where all his medals and service records are. He was in the Infantry, 5th division, Lanark and Renfrew regiment that was disbanded. They were in Italy. I'm trying to get FIL to write to the National Archives to request his records.

 

[SnowWhite]

I do not know what regiment but I will certainly find out. He showed me an old newspaper picture of him coming home with his troops to Ottawa (he was living there at the time). He did serve in Italy I know for sure as he was injured there by a grenade and still has a very large scar where the shrapnel (not sure of the spelling) was taken out of his leg. He retired from the armed forces after the war and went back to The Bank of Nova Scotia where he retired from at age 55.

Rob (Snowwhite's DH)

 

[Mickey Fanatic]

CdnDisneyNut thank you for sharing that touching video. I am glad to hear that it is shown in schools. With all of veterans getting older it is important that we make children aware of the meaning of Remembrance Day. If that means that Nov 11 isn't a holiday that is what we should do. There are people that would ignore the day if they were at home.

Lest We Forget

 

[CharlesTD]

Lest we forget.....


One question. When did they stop having this day a holiday? I remember when I was a kid it was a bank/school holiday.

I think that since more and more Veteran's are getting older it is more important than ever to remember.

''We had teh day off from work but my kids had a big Rememberance day assembly at school with chior etc so tehy don't give them the day off but they have many activities in recognition of the day along with a film and some guest speakers at the assembly IIRC.

 

[maryliz]

I agree that if it were a stat holiday, the kids wouldn't get anything out of it. I always loved Remembrance Day assemblies. I talked about it last Sunday while I was teaching Sunday school, and my DS5 also heard about it in his daycare as well as at school. So yesterday in church when the minister asked the children if they knew why people wore poppies, DS5 piped up and gave a wonderful answer to the entire congregation. I guess those ears of his really do work sometimes He made me very proud.

I did leave work to go to the cenotaph here in downtown London. It was very crowded so we couldn't see much but it was very moving when the planes flew overhead. I cried while I sang "abide with me".

I hate it when people don't observe the 2 minutes of silence when they've been asked to do so. A couple of years ago, I could hear someone in my office typing away on their computer during this time.

Thank you for this thread.

MaryLiz

 

[striker3636]

Remembrance Day is very meaningful to our family. My Grandfather was shot down (he was a rear gunner) and managed to survive. He never spoke a word of the war once he came home. My dh's Grandfather was captured at Dieppe and was a POW until liberation. He loves to tell us about his military life, and I frantically try to write the stories down to later scrapbook. My dh, while not a true military veteran, served with the UN in Bosnia after the war in a "safe zone". He captured the ongoing conflict, bombing and gunfire he was in the middle of for 6 months. I am eternally grateful that he came home to me. My fil served with the military for 25 years and did not have to endure the horror of war.

When I was in banking, I made a point of going to the Cenotaph ceremonies while some of my colleagues were frantically Christmas shopping on our day off (no disrepect intended - just a matter of priorities). Now, my dh plays bagpipes in a military band and he is in many parades and veteran events (we live near Cambridge, Ont, a city that is amazing in honouring veterans many times during the year, not just Nov). We raise our children to honour and respect the sacrifices of all the people who have served with the military and the UN. I am impressed with the attention paid to this at my kids school. This thread is very touching - I'm glad to know there are still many people out there who feel this way and make it a part of their lives.