A Remembrance Day Tribute

Land. Sea. Air.

Theatres of war where young men and women served and for many gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Whether on the rocky beaches of Dieppe or the beautiful sand of Juno Beach; whether fighting fierce waves on the dark ominous waters of the North Atlantic; whether flying through the dull grey skies over Britain…all have seen heroes made and heroes fall.

To the seventeen year old teenager from the Prairies, climbing the muddy hills of Vimy Ridge; to the young nurse from Cambridge, working feverishly over a wounded soldier at a field hospital near Monchy-le-Preux; to the young man far from home, in the engine room of a battleship during Jutland; to the photographer from a big city in a double seater biplane over Paschendale.

We honour you.

For the Newfoundland artilleryman lifting one hundred pound shells for hours, as the barrel of your Long Tom glowed orange with the heat at the Scheldt Estuary; for the Warrant Officer from Ontario intercepting a bomber with your Hawker Hurricane pushing your Rolls Royce engine to the limit in order to save hundreds of civilians below in London; for the sonar man from Nova Scotia in a destroyer, listening for hours for the slightest ping of a submarine off the coast of Ireland, in order for a convoy to reach its port safely.

We honour you.

To the Private who held his best friend in his arms, while the artillery boomed outside of Goch. To the Bombardier parachuting into the night as you watched your mates go down behind enemy lines outside Hamburg. To the Petty Officer who spent hours in the water, waiting to be rescued off Malta.

We who have never seen war could never fathom your pain.

To our veterans today, who are serving or served in past wars and global conflicts, seasoned servicemen and servicewomen with years in the military and for many who struggle with the scars of combat.

Thank you for your service and sacrifice.

To my Grandfather who served in the 20th Battery, in The 59th Newfoundland Heavy Regiment Royal Artillery, British Second Army from 1940-1945.

Thank you.

I love you and miss you.

We Will Remember.

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Christian

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