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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1984-11-07, Page 8PAGE—GODERICH SIPNAL-STAR, W4DNVSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1984 1/0 :,enpe4)," WHAT THE POPPY MEANS TO ME An Essay by BONNIE TURNER Seaforth, Ontario. It was the twelfth of November: the day after Remembrance Day. The autumn morning was cold and dreary, and my mind was as cloudy as the drab sky above. Angry at the world and the people in it, I walked swiftly, lost in my own thoughts. Almost mechanically, I drew my coat around myself and sat down on the seasoned park bench beside the cenotaph commemorating the men killed in thcWorld Wars and the Korean War. There I stayed, seeing no, one who passed by and caring about nothing but my own problems. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a stooped figure, slowly making his way in the brisk wind. With his head down, and gnarled hands clutching his overcoat, the old gentleman walked as though every step were an effort. Unaware of my presence, the man stopped nearby. He drew hiMself up with dignity. His eyes held a look of pride. Following his gaze, saw that the old gentleman's eyes were upon the cenotaph, which was newly laden in t wreaths. Probably he was a veteran of one of the world wars. I smiled and looked back to him. His eyes were, no longer on the monu- ment. He was staring into the grass near the bench where I sat. Tears welled up in his eyes. Sadly he shook his head and started off down the street. I was puzzled. What object could make a man as I had just seen, so distressed? My eyes sear- ched the ground for what was lying there, and there it was - a poppy. It was not even real. Just a simple plastic poppy was on the ground. I frowned. How could such a forlorn, little flower make a Man so heavy-hearted? What did it matter? Remembrance Day was already over. •THEY DID NOT DIE IN VAIN It is Remembrance time again and we will again pay tribute, with appropriate ceremony, at the cenotaphs and memorials erected to our war dead throughout Canada, and beyond. Eighty-five years have passed since the South African War began, 70 years since the beginn- ing of World War I, forty-five years since World War'll broke out, and even the conflict in Korea started nearly 15 years ago. Thus there must be a large number of young people who cannot, from personal memory, have a full appreciation of the meaning of Remem- brance, even including some sons and daughters of those being honoured at the Remembrance services. Are we informing? As we participate in these ceremonies - by ac- tual attendance at the services, not in front of television sets, I hope - we must ask ourselves what we are doing to inform our children, our youth generally, of the significance of this oc- casion. Perhaps we might go further and ask if we can analyze it for ourselves satisfactorily. Well, why do we hold Remembrance services? Why should we attend them, especially when the wind is chill or more attractive pursuits he kon. Undoubtedly the first reason is the war dead themselves; more than 112,000 of them in the four conflicts listed, above. Their names and their regiments are permanently inscribed in Canada's four Books of Remembrance, and in the hearts of those who knew and loved thenri. Their graves are in far -away places and in the seven seas. It is a sobering experience to walk among the serried rows of headstones in the war cemeteries and note their names, sometimes familiar ones, and their ages - 18, 20, 23, 25; truly the flower of youth, its pro- mise unfulfilled. But not all of them have markers over their final resting places. Those who "vanished" are commemorated on the great memorials erected by Canada and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, of which Canada is a senior member. They are but names, a single line to each, on panels of stone or bronze; 11,285 on the ramparts of the ma- jestic Vimy Memorial alone. Why did they have to die? Was their sacrifice worthwhile? Their lives were part of the price demanded of the free world for the preservation of freedom. For freedom is never "free". It is the prerogative only of those who are prepared to defend it. Failure to resist each encroachment upon it inevitably means that it must he redeemed, eventually, at an awesome price. The 15 years that culminated in 1945 arp a 4c,Joissic example of that axiom. Was it worthwhile? Only those who have lost their freedom can adequately answer that. Only those who know the tyranny of a dic- tatorship, and the darkness that descends when justice is abrogated, know what it is like not to be free. There are many such people. in your com- munity. Let them speak! Let us, on this Remembrance Day, honour those who, by their sacrifice, gave us the right to live in democratic freedom. An inspiration Let us make it our resolve to preserve their memory, and to inspire in our children the ideals for which they gave their lives. Let us, with sympathy and enthusiasm, do all we can to care for their widows and their or- phans, and for their surviving comrades whose wounds and scars were also part of the price of freedom. These men, and those who marched with them, fought not for personal gain, nor for glory or for conquest. Their homeland was their love; duty wg-11:---teir creed; meaningful were their lives; truly they are Canada's heroes. Let us, in our time and in our way, be worthy of their tradition. Then I realized how much that poppy meant. That simple little flower was not just a scrap of plastic; it stood for important things. It was peace, and freedom - not only mine - but the peace and freedom of my family, and friends and neighbours. Yet, it was more than these. That poppy was the soldiers. Soldiers fighting at Vimy Ridge and at Dieppe. It was these men, fighting for their freedom, and freedom for the world. It was their families back home in Canada, lying there on the soggy ground. I shrugged. Remembrance Day was over. That poppy wouldn't matter again until next year. I tried to think of my own concerns, but I couldn't concentrate. My mind wandered. Once again I saw the old man's face as the tears came into his eyes. 1 saw the poppy, ly- ing in the grass, and I was ashamed. Remembering the soldiers who fought for Canada was not just a yearly obligation. Their gift of peace lasts all year round, and so should their memories. I had sat here, moments before, angry at the world, when those men loved the world so much that they gave their youth, many their lives for us. These were the people to be grateful to, not just on Remembrance Day, but every clay, for they were the ones -who earned our freedom. For the first time that day, the world seemed friendly to me. I knelt down, rescued the pop- py from the wet grass and proudly pinned it to my coat. The rest of the world might have thought it was just a battered and shabby poppy, but to me it was special - for now I knew what it meant. In;Etandetrfiell the lAiplis 6loiv Between the crosses, row on row, That Mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead, Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved aild were loved, and now we lie in Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch: be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, tho poppies grow In Flanders fields. irta tohlikl(Cpar THANKS TO THESE COMMUNITY -MINDED SPONSORS FOR 1E1(..'f The Royal Canadian Legion -BRANCH 109- ( ,,tderit h cat.f qvi, 12 c, CCE Lest We Forget PARI'vli N1 `110121 146 1HE SQI.JARt, (,0111 RI( ti Remember Those Canadians F. ht For Our Peace eep it Forever Ozt GODERICH PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION We Shall Remember The Staff and Pete Shepherd, Manager STANDARD '710! TRUST N‘o‘enther 11th, Nou ( an' I remembert war, think of peace. FLOWERS FOR TODAY GIFTS FOREVER 166 IFII V)(IARF, CO1)ER1( H Lest We Forget Denomme The sights; the sounds; the memories; the fear Lest We Forget. EDWARD FUELS LTD. 202 Anglesea St., Goderich To the many Veterans from the Goderich Area who f ught for • sur Freedom FLOWER SHOP Rick Polio A Family AND STAFF STILES FUNERAL HOME Lest We Forget BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA 44 Shoppers Square Goderich Let Us Remember Those Who Died For Our Freedom E TRAVEL LIG 68 Court House Square Downtown Goderich 524-7335 For those who gave of themselves so that we may be tree, "Thank You." Grayhurst Business Supplies Ltd. EAST STREET, GODERICH "Lest we forget...." Sul-m(30st Mall Goderich