In Harm's Way

Having a family member serving in the Canadian Armed Forces, makes Remembrance Day all the more important. My grand nephew has barely begun his training as an aircraft technician so he isn't likely to be sent anywhere dangerous in the near future. While I sincerely wish that he has a completely boring and uneventful military career, the reality is that all soldiers may be placed in harm's way at some point. For this simple reason, we must always remember and respect those who have chosen to enter military service.

Remembrance Day

I wonder how many people actually pause and reflect on the significance of Remembrance Day. I'm sure most do not. The sacrifice of all soldiers, from the major conflicts of the twentieth century to the more recent loses in Afghanistan, must be remembered, not to glorify war but to encourage us to avoid it. It is a sad reality that we are no closer to this goal than we were a hundred years ago, and every soldier lost today serves to remind us of our failure.

In Remembrance

One place I would like to visit is the Canadian Vimy Memorial in France. Now it will be just a little bit harder to get there. The site is some distance from the nearest train station but an old man would wait at the station everyday, ready to take any visitors to the site in his personal car. Today I saw a report from the CBC that Georges Devloo has died.

He was not paid to drive people to the Memorial site nor did he ask anything from the visitors. He was simply a man who remember what it cost to get we are today and was giving a little bit back. This is type of selfless dedication is very rare in younger generations. I wonder if anyone else will step forward to take Mr. Devloo's place.