HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1998-11-04, Page 9THE HURON EXPOSITOR, NOVEMBER 4, 1911-E
Remembrance Day
Hundreds
of thousands
should not
have died
BY CLARE WESTCOTT
Bravery and stupidity often
go hand in hand, and military
history unhappily is rich in
examples. See -saw hill taking
battles between Generals in
the first war almost became a
sport and were rationalized as
the cost of war....by Generals
who lived to so rationalize by
watching the killing of tens
of thousands through
binoculars.
And there were witless sons
of highborn men who bought
their commissions in spite of
serious character flaws. Lord
Cardigan was handsome,
arrogant, a brigadier General
and unfortunately also stupid.
No one saw it as an omen
when he was given command
of the light brigade on April
Fool's Day in 1854...when
Seaforth was little more than
a few houses and a signpost
on the Huron Road.
Apparently he was great with
his boots off for it was said
whole villages were
populated by him with the
children his wife denied him.
Torrents of tears and grief
from wives. mothers and
sisters was made less sad by
knowing their husbands, sons
and brothers fought and died
bravely for king and
country....to keep the world
free from tyranny. And many
did. But countless thousands
died to prove or disprove the
battle theories of incompetent
generals.
We all watched the drama
of China and Hong Kong, the
world's biggest landlord,
evicting the world's biggest
tenant. from the world's
richest island...and about the
same time we read and
watched conflicting and
disturbing news about the
Somalia inquiry and how
Canada's politicians,
bureaucrats and military
'brass have been managing
our armed forces.
So what's new`'
Absolutely , nothing.
Governments have been
hiding the truth from people
for over a hundred years.
Whether it was the Crimean
Massacre at Balaclava or the
senseless slaughter in the
mud of France, those who
died still cry out to to be
remembered...and avenged. If
only by making public the
circumstances of why they
are dead. Drawing a curtain
around shameful decisions
deludes the public and
dishonours those who gave
their lives.
On Christmas Day in 1941
Hong Kong fell to Japanese
troops. What followed in the
next three and a half years
was in a way a sequel to the
incompetent shame of the
bloodletting at Ypres and the
Somme...and it in turn was a
kind of sequel to the
infamous military blunders in
1854 of Lord Cardigan's light
brigade.
None of these events should
have happened as they did.
Hundreds of thousands of
young men should not have
died. Why do these things
happen'' Can we not learn
from our mistakes`' Or is it
that we cannot because the
truth about bureaucratic
bungling and flawed
leadership is hidden from us.
Even the now historically
lovable Franklin Roosevelt
slammed down the "National
Security" curtain when the
commanders at Pearl
Harbour tried to show
Washington was not without
blame for the unpreparedness
at Pearl Harbour on
December 7th. The public
and the press called it a,
"cover-up."
President Kennedy's
advisors said the Bay of Pigs
invasion would be "A. piece
of cake" - of course the
advisors didn't have to storm
the peach. As tough a fight
as it was...it was equally
tough for the public to
penetrate the cover-up that
followed.
And a decade or so later a
major "cover-up" was
orchestrated by President
Nixon and his sycophantic
henchmen with all the skill.
and cunning of the keystone
cops. By this time we had
TV so we could see and hear
the lying...and the later
confessions in the comfort of
the living room.
Not` telling the whole truth
is a thriving cottage industry
that flourishes in the capital
city of most countries around
Take Time to
remember the
men & women who
gave you liberty
ANNA'S DRESS SHOPPE
Seaforth
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May we
never
forget...
In times of peace,
remember those
who fought to
achieve it.
MOM'S
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100 Main St. S. (Rear) Seaforth
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Legon President Linda Gridzak lays a wreath at a
ceremomy held at the Legion Sunday afternoon.
CAMPBELL PHOTO
the world.
The days of veterans, many
of them war heroes, sitting as
lawmakers in Ottawa is gone.
Qualified men by the dozen
from all services and all
parties provided both
government benches and the
opposition a window of
wartime experience through
which the elected members,
and thus the voter, could
watch and scrutinize the
defense establishment and
the forces on almost a daily
basis.
Time has replaced the
warrior members of
parliament of the 40s, 50s
and 60s. No longer are there
veterans like Andy Robinson
who sat in the House of
Commons from 1945 to 1962
ifor Bruce. Lt. Andy
�°op served four years
overseas in the First World
War and four more years in
the second. Or the likes of
experienced military men
like Chubby Powers, Paul
Martineau and the Pierre
Sevigny.
Soldiers like Col. George
Draw, Flight Lt. Henry Jones,
Lt. John Diefenbaker, Flying
Officer Lester Pearson,
Major George Hees. General
George Pearkes, Naval Lieut.
Alfred Hales and Toronto
Sun columnist, trooper
Douglas Fisher encouraged
excellence by their very
presence in Parliament. One
of the greatest was
Legionnaire and C.C.F. M.P.
Bert Herridge, the laird of the
Kootenays, who left a leg at
the Somme in 1918 - and
who was often at odds with
his own party over military
policy.
The experience of D -Day
hero and military cross
winner John McCrae or
Marcel Lambert, who waded
ashore at Dieppe to spend
Continued on Page 10
Today's Freedom
was won
yesterday
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Let us remember
the many
veterans who fought
for our freedom.
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Remembering
those who
fought for us
MAIN STREET SEAFORTH
527-0278
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