Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day

I am going to stray a little off topic with this post, but it is something that is near and dear to my heart, and maybe to some of you as well. Remembrance Day is upon is again and once again we will all think about the sacrifices that Canadians have made in the defence of this great Nation of ours. I thought this would be a great time, for those that want to, to voice what makes this day important to them.

For me, this day is important for a couple of reasons, the first being my own family history. My family has served in armed forces around the world for more than 100 years. I come from a very long line of fighting men and women. In my family there were Dutch Royal Marines, Tank drivers, Airborne Troopers, Medics and Combat Engineers. They have served in every conflict in the last century from the Dutch East Indies as colonial troops to the 101st Airborne in Iraq. They fought in some of the toughest fights that anyone could ever be in, from the fall of Saigon in Vietnam, to fighting in the jungles of Borneo as the Armies of Imperial Japan Invaded. In 1962 they were at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin as the world held its breath, as it sat at the brink of World War Three. My family has defended the rule of law and democracy with the belief that fear and oppression have no place in the hearts of free men. They would rather lift a weapon and die than live under the blackened boot of oppression and hatred.

The second reason that this day is important to me is that I was born in a country that felt the sting of cruelty levelled at them by the Nazi regime. I grew up hearing the story of how it was Canadian soldiers that saved the country of my birth. I marvelled at the respect my parents showed Canadian Vets. I saw these men as heroes and gods; I wanted to be one of these men one day. These soldiers showed kindness and compassion when dealing with the people of Holland, but an unrelenting ferocity when dealing with the enemy.

So for me Remembrance Day is the day that I think about a dept that is owed by me to the men and women that came from across the ocean. It is about tradition and honour, loyalty and respect. They sacrificed so that my family might live and carry on and in so doing the memory of those that died will live on in me and those that come after. A soldier only wants two things should he fall in battle, and those things are for his actions not to be a waste, and to be remembered in death. They protected me with their life, so now; I will protect them in their death