Warbird Information Exchange

My Remembrance Day.

Let me start with thanking all those who gave their lives for us, and to all those who had luck on their side and survived the conflicts that they willingly took part in.

I just watch the Remembrance Day Ceremonies in Ottawa, Canada and it was a very fine event attended by what they estimated to be around 30,000 people. As I watched I could feel the emotions in the air from the veterans that shed a tear, and I could see it in the eyes of the families of the recently fallen soldiers in Afghanistan, who are still battling with the fact that their loved ones are no longer being with them.

Now that there isn't a single WWI veteran left in Canada and only a handful left in the world, I pondered what these ceremonies will be like when there isn't a single living veteran from the two great wars, WWI and WWII. How will we really be sparked to remember on November 11th? The telecast mentioned that in 1995 when they had the big celebration in Normandy, there were over 400,000 WWII veterans left in Canada, and this year I think they said it is now down to around 120,000 (correct me if my numbers are a bit off), but at this rate they will all soon be just a memory.

I considered as I watched, whether the format of these ceremonies should change to be more educational than ceremonial. How many kids know more than "A bunch of people went to war and died a long time ago, and that's why we're free?" What the young men and women did in the first world war and the second world war is of immense importance, and I know nobody wants this to be forgotten.

I think that our ceremonies could use a shift from (but not forget) the ceremonial side of things, and move more towards telling the stories and recounting the battles and significant part that each soldier, each sailor, and each pilot had in preserving our freedom. Sure, there are many television shows around this time of year that serve this purpose, but I think for all the young people in the audiences of the outdoor ceremonies, a more educational reminder could help them truly understand and appreciate what war really was and what it still is. I think it would also help them understand why they are standing outside on a cold November day instead of still lying in bed, tweeting, or updating their facebook page. I think it would help the youth of our country truly believe that there is no other place they'd rather be on November 11th than at their nearest cenotaph.

Peace,

David M


P.S. You've probably noticed by now that I've been using "Peace" as my signing off on my posts. I don't do it because I am like a homie saying "Peace out." I say it because it is what I believe in. The more the concept of peace is thought of and considered the more of a chance I believe it has of becoming a reality. It is also a reminder of what we've all been fighting for. Peace comes from understanding and acceptance of everyone. Beyond remembering our fallen soldiers today, I think it should also be a day to consider a world in Peace and what we can do, individually, to make it a reality.

Very well said David with true heartfelt sentiment as well. You have a point about future Rememberance services and it will be interesting to see what happens in future years. I do hope that the History of WW1 and WW2 and Korea are brought back into the schools more and stories told so that future generations can appreciate what their grandfathers and great Grandfathers did so that we may live in Peace and freedom today

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Cheers,
Peter

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Davey, and here i thought the Peace was because you lived on the west coast with a few hipies! But seriously...

We discussed this at large during coffee today at work, and one fellow brought up the comment that he had heard they talked about it as a national holiday of remembrance possibly. He doesn't agree as he feels the general consensus would likely just view it as a day off and use it as such. I partly agree, beacause so many don't have a close connection to those that served and may not have the same emotions that many of us do.

We are fortunate in Hamilton to have a wonderful Remembrance Day service at CWH and had almost 2000 in attendance watching a Lancaster bomber do a solemn flyby.
The museums having these types of service promote the history of why we do Remembrance day and preserve the memories of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

WWI and WWII are the big reminders of this, but Canada also had at least 500 soldiers in the line of duty during Korea perish and those along with Afghanistan (152 to date) and the peace keepers in Bosnia and where ever else they have served are what we need to educate as well as the great wars to keep this momentum going.

I had two uncles serve in WWII who landed on D-Day and came home. My youngest son has a great interest at 9 years old in the service and what happend (and thanks to Xbox, can actively tell me what happend at Normandy) during the war.

I often share my passion of warbirds and their preservation for history to whoever will listen.
What we do is a passion, we feel it in our hearts to preserve these for as long as we can to educate others.

It is up to everyone of us to do their part to keep the memories alive for all those that have served!

Lest We Forget.....

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Mike

Ah yes, There we were, left engine on fire, right engine feathered...ahh yes,...there we were, ..Screwed! No Kissing!

The Spitfire and Mustang from Vintage Wings of Canada did a flyby at the cenotaph in Ottawa which was shown on the CBC broadcast. Unfortunately the other two networks cut away before the march past which is in my opinion the best part of the ceremony. I always tear up when the crowd begin clapping as the vetrans march past. Global had Stocky Edwards, Canada's highest scoring surviving ace from WWII, giving his thoughts and comments during the ceremony. It would have been nice to see the P40 in his colours in the flypast as well. Also noticed Allan Griffen a Battle of Britian vetran laid a wreath along with the Scouts Canada contingent. Here was a young man a Scout one day and soon after flying Hurricanes in combat. Also the Halifax crewman describing his exit from the aircraft and loosing his leg to the prop, hard to imagine the horrors he watched as his buddies dove out before him.

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“Try to fly in the middle of the air. The edges are filled with mountains and oceans and rocks and it’s much harder to fly there.”

I didn't get to have anything to do with old airplanes or stuff today. Just another day at the office.

I did however wear a poppy. These are rarely seen on 11/11 in New York or other places in the U.S. It is not the commonly accepted symbol of what they call Veterans Day here. The more commonly accepted symbol seems to be the American flag, which of course is the commonly accepted symbol for everything.

Anyway, being rare, the poppy draws some comment here, especially when affixed to the lapel by a Canadian flag pin as mine was. I happened to ride into NYC on a train with two friends, one from France, the other from Alsace, whose heritage and loyalties are about equally French and German. They, of course, were familiar with the poppy but surprised to see a Canadian wearing it. One of these friends was unaware that Canada played any significant role in World War One or Two. So an educational conversation took place.

I do enjoy the Euro-Canadian Armistice/Remembrance Day perspective better than the U.S. Veterans Day angle and so it was nice to have that type of conversation today.

August

I attended one of the smaller ceremonies, Manotick, so that my mother could be close enough to see from her wheelchair.

The flypast of the Spit and the Mustang was great and was very well recieved by those attending, judging by the sounds from the crowd. I think that they were doing a loop that included at least 4 cenotaphs in the area, including the national memorial. One of the many things that justifies the free labour that we put in getting these birds flyable and keeping them that way.

I don't know how much educating can be done around the ceremonies themselves, but it's certainly the goal of those of us with the passion for the history and the machines to pass on the stories at every oportunity.