HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1988-11-09, Page 11THE HURON EXPOSITOR, NOVEMBER 9, 1988 — 11A
Remembrance
He was a big lad for his age with broad
shoulders and enormous hands. He was
tall and fit. His hair was thick, dark, and
unruly, and he had the Most piercing blue
eyes. He was strikingly handsome young
man. But he was cold. He was wet. He was
hungry. He was thousands of miles from
home and he was scared. Grandpa was on-
ly 17 -years -old.
It was November 6, 1917. It was the Bat-
tle of Passchendaele. Here in a foreign
land on a bitter autumn day one of the
bloodiest battles of the First World War
was fought, inch by inch, foot by foot, in a
sea of mud.
On that day by some twist of fate, a
17 -year-old boy was sent into battle. A bat-
tle from which most of his friends never
returned. They were destined to die in the
cold wet mud in a far off land. Friends who
never came home. Friends who never had
the chance to become fathers, grand-
fathers, and great-grandfathers.
The strong fit body of that 17 -year-old
boy is now frail and stooped, but those
hands are still enormous. the hair is still
thick and unruly but it's now a snowy
white. The eyes are not their former pierc-
ing blue. He'll be 89 soon.
Day a time to stop, to pray
Seventy-one years have gone by since
that infamous battle. Seventy-one years of
good times and bad. Seventy-one years of
changing seasons, NHL playoffs,
hatvesting crops, playing cards, reading
bogs and observing an ever changing
world. Time to travel, time to raise a fami-
ly, time to laugh or cry, cel.brate or
despair.
Seventy Remembrance Days. Official
Remembrance Days that is. Because
al gone who has ever fought the battles of
cur bloody wars remembers daily the
noise, the stench, the cold, the wet, the
heat, the hunger and thirst, the pain and
the sorrow. They don't need an official
day, nor hour, nor minute of silence to re-
mind them of their fallen comrades. The
memories are with them to their graves.
Their Remembrance Day might be June 1
or August 3 or a Christmas Eve in a camp
or trench.
We are the ones who need Remem-
brance Days, We, the children, grand-
children, and great-grandchildren of the
veterans. We who have enjoyed the
benefits of a prosperous and peaceful ex-
istance. We who view the dwindling
number of marching veterans every Ar-
mistice Day and wonder what the fuss is
all about. We who drop a quarter in the
poppy box and moan if the weather is cold
and damp as we listen to the "Last Post"
at the cenotaph.
Remembrance Day gives us a chance to
silently thank those who gave their lives
that we may live in peace. it gives us a
chance to personally thank the men and
women who fought the battles, tended the
wounded, knitted the socks, parachuted in-
to enemy lands, survived on rations for
years, and returned. Remembrance Day is
a time to learn these personal experiences
from people we know in our community as
storekeepers, farmers, neighbors, and
friends. Some stories are told with
laughter, some with tears. These are the
real stories of war.
Remembrance Day gives us time to
stop, to remember, to pray. To pray that
the lessons learned from our past will
benefit our future. To pray that our
teenage brother, or son, or neighbor, or
friend, will not march into battle never to
return.
Remembrance Day is for us.
With Thanks,
A Grandchild.
They Fought
For
Our Freedom
The following is a statistical profile of the
wars in which Canadians fought, the price
they paid and some of the compensations
made by a grateful country.
SOUTH AFRICA: 7,369 saw service, 224
were killed.
SEAFORTH INSURANCE
BROKER LTD.
Seaforth
527-1610
WORLD WAR I:
Service Enlistments
Army 619,636
Navy 7,000
Air Force 18,000
Dead
59,544
255
1,200
Wounded
138,166
In addition at least 4,518 women did duty
in the medical service, most of them as nur-
sing sisters. •
In 1914 Canada's population was 7Y2
million with a militia force of 57,000. In
three weeks after the outbreak of World
War I, 45,000 had volunteered.
On October 3-4,1914, over 30,000 set sail on
33 ships out of Gaspe Bay for England. They
arrived October 10.14. They landed in
France in mid-February 1915.
ENLISTMENTS MALE - WORLD WAR II:
Service Enlistments Dead Wounded
Army 730,159 22,917 52,679
Navy 106,522 2,204 319
Air Force 249,662 17,101 1,416
It takes just
a moment to
remember
Bob's Barber Shop
ENLISTMENTS WOMEN'S DIVISION:
Service Enlistments Dead Wounded
Army 23.370 35' 19'
Navy 7,126 6' -
Air Force 17,467 32' -
'Included in WW II casulaties. Dash in-
dicates no figures available.
AIR CREW:
Air crew who served overseas during
World War II - 49,694
Battle casualties (fatal) - 13,498
Wounded - 1,416
Prisoners -of -war - 2,475
PRISONERS OF WAR:
There were approximately 1,500
prisoners -of -war in the Far East and ap-
proximately 7,500 prisoners -of -war in
Europe.
CANADIAN WAR DEAD AND WAR
GRAVES
There are 114,000 Canadian war dead.
This includes approximately 2,000 from
Newfoundland, and covers all wars in which
Canadians were involved.
DECORATIONS:
In 1985 there were 1,189 Canadians receiv-
ug Gallantry Awards in respect of decora-
tons granted.
SECOND WORLD WAR NUMBER
Victoria Cross 6
George Cross 1
Listinguished Service Cross 33
hilitary Cross 141
1Zsunguished Flying Cross 520
Distinguished Conduct Medal 17
Cmspicuous Gallantry Medal 4
Distinguished Service Medal 25
Military Medal 353
Distinguished Flying Medal 89
T)TAL
ISOIPMANisinne
1,189
Main St.,
Seaforth
Wear a
poppy in
'&,.n embrance
."°`° O R K M A N
REAL ESTATE LTD.
REPRESENTATIVE
HENRY MERO
527-0430
REMEMBERING THEM - A student stands silently in front of the cenotaph where on
November 11 a service will be held to pay tribute to those who fought and died in past
wars Bosman photo.
THEIR SACRIFICE,
IS
OUR ANSWER
JAMES ETUE INSURANCE
Main St.
Seaforth
527-0720
SALUTING
OUR
VETERANS
MAY WE NEVER FORGET THEIR COURAGE
Maureen Wildfong
482-3224
Gretta Miller
345-2705
Lt SEAFOPTH ONTAt}'Q 4.10K 'WO
J TEIEO NE SI'0?tO
Seaforth 527-0910
NOVEMBER 11
REMEMBER ...
Illp
Today's Freedom
was won
yesterday
Zit/ 94e/i
47 HIGH ST. SEAFORTH
AND IN THE
MORNING WE SHALL
REMEMBER THEM ...
Owned & Operated
BRUCE WILBEE
& FAMILY
Starlight Lanes
45 Market St. 527-0840 Seaforth