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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1986-11-05, Page 9THE HURON EXPOSITOR, NOVEMBER 5, 1966 — A9 What should Canadiafls remember? Recordstell of specific campaigns and battles and of many individual acts of courage which turned the tide of war. They note the skillful dtrategies and the brilliant leader- ship. A t these must be remembered. But ‘ other a ects of war mast also be included in our his ories. With every battle over this centu t extremes of temperature, mud, mutila on, mind -numbing fatigue, fear and death Pere daily realities. W hile most of us have ry�t experienced these hardships we can try tq. understand what the combatants experienced and learn from the survivors. 'tilEFIRST WORLD W AR1914-1918 in the First World War, the Canadians' firstmajor battle was later seen as one of the mos' crucial battles in history. At Ypres, April 22, 1915, the Germans used poison gas for the first time in war. As 145 tonnes of chlorine gas drifted over the trenches, the Camdian troops held and stopped the Getman advance. The casualties here and at th later battle near St. Julien were en rim's. in 48 hours, one of every three C adians was killed. Some of those who su 'ved left records of the aftermath of these fearful bays. The room was filled with dying and badly wound d men; trampled straw and dirty dressin: s layabout in pools of blood. The air, rank wi the fumes of gas, was thick with the dust of ying plaster and broken brick, and stifling with the smoke from the burning thatch.' As th commanders of the period persist- entlyap lied more, men, more guns and more ammun ion, the conflict developed into a war of attriti n with opposing sides struggling to hold ou longest against destruction." ' In Ap'11917, the Canadians helped turn the tide of battle when they won a major victory Vimy Ridge. This triumph too had its cost: more than 10,000 casualties in six days. war continued for more than a year but fin ly on November 11, 1918, the Armisti was signed and the Canadians took part in e triumphant entry into Mons, in Belgiu Throughout this conflict, Cana- dians s ved that they could pull their weight, d by their effort earned for Canada a new p : ce among the nations of the world. THE ECOND W ORLD W AR 1939-1945 For - most six years, Canadians fought valiant) on battlefronts around the world. More t . n one million men and women HOw do we remember? On November 11, in particular, and on occasion throughout the year, we have the opportunity to remember the efforts of those special Canadians. in remembering, we pay homage to those who responded to their country's need. On November 11, we wear poppies. We pause for two minutes of silent tribute, and we attend commemorative ceremonies in memory of our wartime dead. Poppies are worn as the flower of remembrance. a reminder of the blood -red flower which still grows on the site of battles foughG.in, France and Belgium. Lieutenant bloodshed of the second battle of Ypres, in, the spring of 1915. wrote of these flowers which lived on among the graves of dead soldiers. In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses. row on row, That mark our pace: and in the sky The (arks. still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. The flowers end the larks serve as reminders of nature's ability to withstand the destructive elements of war by men, a symbol of hope in a perod of human despair. The poppy was adopted for symbolic purposes after the First World War. A French woman, Madame E. Guerin, suggested to Field -Mar- shall Earl Haig of the British forces that women and ch,idren in devastated areas of France could produce poppies for sale. The first British Poppy Day Appeal was in November 1921 and has been continued since in Britain and in other countries. In Canada, the poppies which we wear are made by disabled veterans. We wear them as reminders of those who died while fighting for peace. Vf a wear them as reminders of the horrorsof conflict and the beauties of peace. The two minutes of silence provides another' significant way of remembering wartime while thinking of peace. Two minute is scarcely enough time for thought and re ection. As we pause and bow our heads, a remember those brave men and women ho courageously volunteered for the cause freedom and peace. For ase who were part of the wartime period, remembering means thinking of cornrad it evokes memories of young men and yo g women who never returned home. Those rn after the wars may picture youth` soldiers who eagerly joined up from high ools across the country only to meet death hi1e rushing to combat the enemy. The, i1ay imagine the anguish of a man leavfn new wife, a young family, an elderly methe The important thing for all of us to rerreem r is that they fought to preserve a way of e, the traditions c! heing Canadian, the om we currently enjoy. Remember that th silence is for peace. Both n Canada and overseas. there are memori s to commemorate the service of , Canadi troops. The National War Memor- ial in ttawa was originally designed to r€cogni a those who served in the Fust World War. It as been rededicated to symbolize the sacrifi made by Canadians in the Second World far and in Korea. The National War Memon symbolizes the unstinting and courag us way in which Canadians gave their se *re when values which theybelieved in seem' threatened. Advancing together through large archway are figures repre- senting the hundreds of thousands of Canadiais who answered the call to serve. At the top o the arch are two figures which stand as embf errs of peace and freedom. The as of Remembrance which lie in the Me rial Chamber of the Peace Tower are anot er record of the wars. in addition, most citi and townsacross the country have dedicate a monument, a building, a room to their nat a sons and daughters who gave . their lives°. These are an enduring record of the losset suffered by communities every- where as Canadians went forward to fight for What they believed was right. One dajtevery year, we payspecial homage to those who died in service to their country. We remefrrber brave men and women for their Outage and for their devotion to ideals. We wear poppies, attend ceiemonies, and visit memorials. For one brief moment of our life, we reiitemher why we must work for peace ever day of the year. enlisted in the army, the navy and the airforce. They wel-e prepared to face any ordeal for the sake of freedom. W hen the war, was over, more than 95,000 had given their lives, On the home front as well, Canadians were active as munitions workers, as civil defence workers, as members of voluntary service organizations and as ordinary citizens doing their bit for the war effort, in Decetnber 1991, Canadian soldiers were participants in the unsuccessful defence of Hong Kong against the Japanese; 290 Canadians were killed and 493 wounded. Those who survived the fighting were imprisoned and many did not survive the brutality they experienced while in captivity. For the majority, the daily diet was rice — a handful for each prisoner. Occasionally, a concoction of scavenged potato peelings, carrot tops, buttercups was brewed. The effect was obvious: "Sidney Skelton watched the 900 -calorie -a -month diet shrink his body from 145 to 89 pounds. And whenever a group of prisoners could bribe a guard into giving them a piece of bread, they used a ruler to ensure everyone got an equal share." in August 1942, the attack upon Dieppe was launched. Canadians made up almost ninety per cent of the assault force. The raid was a disaster. Of a force of 4,963 Canadians 3,367 were casualties, only 2,210 returned to England — the remainder were dead or were prisoners of war. Lucien Dumais gives the following description of the beach after the landing: "The beach was a shambles, and a lot of our men from the second wave were lying there either wounded or dead. Some of the wounded were swimming out to meet our flotilla and the sea was red with blood. Some sank and disappeared. We stood by as they died, powerless to help; we were there to fight, not to pick up the drowning and the wounded. But the whole . operation was beginning to look like a disaster." Canadians continued to play a part as the war continued. They participated in the conquest of Sicily in 1943 and in the advance up the Italian penihsula. On June 6, 1944, Canadians were in the front lines of the Allied forces who 1 anded on the coast of Normandy. Here, all three Canadian services shared in the assault. In Normandy, the fighting was fierce, and the losses were heavy. Of the approximately 14,000 Canadians who landed, there were 1,074 casualties of which 359 were fatal. As the Allied Mises pushed their way across Europe, it was evident that the war would continue into 1945, In May 1945, victory in Europe a reality.and V -E Day was celebrated by millions. Still ahead lay the final encounter with Japan. Then on August 6, 1945, the Americans dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later, a second bomb destroyed Negasaki, On August 14, 1945, the Japanese accepted the Allied terms of unconditional surrender and the Second World War was over. THE KOREAN WAR 1950-1953 W ith scarcely a rest from war, Canadian soldiers were again organized in 1950 to uphold the ideals of the United Nations Organization against aggression by North Korean forces. By 1951, they were also at war with the People's Republic of China. in Korea, the Canadians were participants at Kapyong, at Cahil-li, in the advance across •the imjin River, and in the patrolling of the Chorwon Plain. W hen the hostilities ended in 1953 Canadians stayed as part of the peacekeeping .force. The conditions in Korea were often difficult. Variable weather, rough terrain, an elusive and skillful enemy — combined with casualties, illness and limited medical facilities — were the common elements. The winter of 1951 brought the realities into focus for the Canadians. At this time they were living twenty-four hours a day in trenches which provided some protection but little comfort. As one soldier recalled, the weather aggravated what was already a demoralizing experience: Rain was running .down my neck, my hands were numb, and I never seemed to be dry. Kneeling in the snow, or advancing in the rain, my knees and the front of my legs became wet. Then the dampness soaked right through and the skin underneath became tender and raw." Altogether, 26,791 Canadians served in the Korean Conflict and. another 7,000 served between the ceasefire and the end of 1955. Casualties numbered 1,558 of which 516 were fatal. While Canada's contribution formed only,a small part of the total United Nations effort, it was larger in proportion to her population that most of the nations which provided troops for the international force. It also marked a new stage in Canada's development as a nation. Canadian action in Korea was followed by other peacekeeping operations which have seen Canadian troops A TIME TO REMEMBER 11 4111?,.. ar PIZZA TRAIN Seaforth 527-0180 A TIME TO REMEMBER PAST SACRIFICES deployed around the world in new efforts to promote international freedom and maintain world peace. From all of these records of wars, the observations of the individuals who took part stand out as reminders of the true nature of conflict. War has many faces but few of them are pleasant. Through knowledge of the realities, we may work more diligently to prevent them from happening again. , NOVEMBER 11 Take time to pause and remember SEAFORTH VETERINARY CLINIC Main Street North 527-1760 Speak not of battles won or lost But remember those who fought for you! T.J. DEVEREAUX Chiropractor 77 Main Street Seaforth 527-1242 SEAFORTH INSURANCE BROKER LTD. )forth 527-1610 AT THE GOiNG DOWN OF THE SUN... AND IN THE MORNING WE SHALL REMEMBER THEM .. . D. DERBYSHIRE MERCHANDISING 126 MAIN ST. SOUTH SEAFORTH THEIR SACRIFICE IS OUR ANSWER LEST WE FORGET JAMES ETUE INSURANCE' 527-0720 Main St. Seaforth BALL Er FALCONER FUNERAL HOMES LTD BOX FUNERAL CHAPEL 527-1142 C.D. DENOMME DIRECTORS M.S. FALCONER REMEMBERING REMEMBRANCE DAY TUESDAY NOVEMBER 11 SILLS Home Hardware Seaforth 527-1620 r