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November 2009 Remembrance Day Edition Compiled by Bill Hillman www.hillmanweb.com/flash/0911.html

More than 1,500,000 Canadians have served our country in our armed forces, and more than 100,000 have died. They gave their lives and their futures so that we may live in peace. One day every year, we pay special homage to those who died in service to their country. We remember these brave men and women for their courage and their devotion to ideals. We wear poppies, attend ceremonies, and visit memorials. For one brief moment of our life, we remember why we must work for peace every day of the year. READ A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE from Veterans Affairs Canada

“Across this great country, from our largest cities to our smallest communities, we are united in remembrance and gratitude.  On this Remembrance Day, we pause to remember the courage and sacrifice of those Canadian soldiers, sailors, and airmen and airwomen who served to defend our nation and fight tyranny, injustice and terror.

“Canada is proud of its forces.  The world has seen the bravery of our service men and women at Vimy Ridge, on Normandy beaches, in Korean hills and in countless other missions throughout the world.  When the cause is just, Canada has always been there to defend freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

“This is our heritage.  It is a legacy handed down to us from those who sacrificed so much for our country, a legacy still carried on today by the brave Canadians serving in places such as Afghanistan.

“So, as we pause for a moment of silence this Remembrance Day, we ask ourselves, ‘How will I remember?’  We remember these brave Canadians by wearing a poppy over our hearts.  We remember these brave Canadians by visiting our local cenotaph with our children and reflecting on the names etched in stone.  We reflect on the fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters who never returned home.  We remember these brave Canadians by sending a message of support to those serving overseas.

“However we choose to remember, we must keep the torch of remembrance burning for future generations to come.  Let us never forget these brave men and women whose sacrifice served to make life better for others. We must remember, not just today, but every day.

“Lest we forget.

 
REMEMBER?

1. Why is Remembrance Day celebrated on November 11?

2. What is the common symbol of Canadian remembrance?

3. Name the Canadian pilot who is credited with having shot down the infamous German fighter ace Baron van Richthofen ("The Red Baron").

4. Capt. John McCrae served as a medical officer in the First World War and wrote this famous Canadian war poem.

5. Which was Canada's most famous single victory in the First World War that consisted of the capture of a key ridge on the Western Front?

6. This epidemic that killed 50,000 Canadians, Canada’s worst, was spread by troops returning from service overseas during the Great War.

7. What Canadian city was severely damaged by a massive explosion in its harbour in 1917?

8. In 1942, almost 1,000 Canadians lost their lives in a tragic assault on this French seaside town.

9. From 1950 to 1953, more than 25,000 Canadian service men and women took part in this Cold War's first major armed conflict.

10. What was the last city liberated by Canadian troops in the final days of the First World War?

ANSWERS

National War Memorial ~ Ottawa

Hamburg, Germany, War Memorial
From the Hillman Hamburg Adventure
"On the night of 30th July 1943,
370 persons perished in the air-raid shelter
on the Hamburgerstrasse in a bombing raid.
Remember these dead.
Never again fascism. Never again war."

From our RCAF Tribute Site
Sandon, England, Memorial
Bill Hillman and mother, Louise, attend the 1999 dedication of a monument
in memory of the crew of the Lancaster bomber KB879 that crashed at
Sandon, England on April 30, 1945
www.hillmanweb.com/rcaf/william

Fly past of the Memorial Flight

"They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."
                                                                    ~ Laurence Binyon

 
 
 
 
 

Remembrance Day Quiz Answers:
1. November 11 is the date on which World War I ended (Armistice Day) in 1918.
2. Poppy
3. Billy Bishop
4. In Flanders Fields
5. Battle of Vimy Ridge
6. Influenza
7. Halifax
8. Dieppe
9. Korean War
10. Mons, Belgium