Once again I attended the Remembrance Ceremony at our hockey rink. The place was full of our residents from babies in arms to seniors who walked with canes. Those who died to defend our freedoms were well remembered. The bands and the pipes and the trumpet solos were deeply felt and reminded us of all the young lives that were given up for all of us lucky enough to be here today. The sun never sets on those valued lives ...our real heroes.
In keeping with the theme of Remembrance Day and honoring Canada's valiant and historic contribution to world peace, special recognition must also be given to Canada's UN forces whose valiant efforts during the 1993 battle of Medak Pocket in southern Croatia prevented the advance of Croatian forces into Serbian territory preventing the ethnic cleansing of innocent Serbian civilians and maintaining the integrity of the UN protected zone. The Battle of Medak Pocket was the most significant fighting for Canada’s forces since the Korean War and should have been celebrated as an outstanding story of Canadian heroism. Instead, the incident became a victim of national and international politics as it was seen to compromise the UN Peace Keeping mandate of non-use of force. For Canada, currently in the throws of an election and suffering the embarrassment of a contemporary scandal in which Canadian soldiers tortured a Somali teenager to death, the historic event was conveniently buried only to be resurrected in 2002 and memorialized as, "Canada's Forgotten Battle".
Lest we forget !!!!!!!!!!!
"I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind."
Beautifully written, informative, and educational as always.
Once again, our heroes are actively training other heroes in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. It is crucial to remember how we find ourselves entangled in these dreadful wars, as we often tend to forget. Even though we are not supposed to!
One cannot remember what one does not fully understand.
We yield, we remain silent, we succumb to fear, we comply, we refrain from saying No.
This was such a good article that it seems entirely "petty" to point out that the guns went silent on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, rather than 1919, as stated by the author, requote:
AUTHOR: For the first time ever, on November 11th, 1919 at precisely 11am, the entire island of the United Kingdom (and many other countries in the British Empire called on by King George V) came to an abrupt stop.
I don't know about the "first time ever" either, given the respect British people have for deceased sovereigns. But the rest of the article was fine. Kemosabe's contribution was also interesting and informative concerning the contribution of Canada's "Princess Pat's" in the former Yugoslavia. Good "remembering" everyone.
Once again I attended the Remembrance Ceremony at our hockey rink. The place was full of our residents from babies in arms to seniors who walked with canes. Those who died to defend our freedoms were well remembered. The bands and the pipes and the trumpet solos were deeply felt and reminded us of all the young lives that were given up for all of us lucky enough to be here today. The sun never sets on those valued lives ...our real heroes.
In keeping with the theme of Remembrance Day and honoring Canada's valiant and historic contribution to world peace, special recognition must also be given to Canada's UN forces whose valiant efforts during the 1993 battle of Medak Pocket in southern Croatia prevented the advance of Croatian forces into Serbian territory preventing the ethnic cleansing of innocent Serbian civilians and maintaining the integrity of the UN protected zone. The Battle of Medak Pocket was the most significant fighting for Canada’s forces since the Korean War and should have been celebrated as an outstanding story of Canadian heroism. Instead, the incident became a victim of national and international politics as it was seen to compromise the UN Peace Keeping mandate of non-use of force. For Canada, currently in the throws of an election and suffering the embarrassment of a contemporary scandal in which Canadian soldiers tortured a Somali teenager to death, the historic event was conveniently buried only to be resurrected in 2002 and memorialized as, "Canada's Forgotten Battle".
Lest we forget !!!!!!!!!!!
"I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind."
—John Diefenbaker
Thanks for this Kemosabe. Maybe I’ll write about it next year!
You might also find the attack on the USS Liberty during the Six Day War also interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5WUIzrCxxo
Beautifully written, informative, and educational as always.
Once again, our heroes are actively training other heroes in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. It is crucial to remember how we find ourselves entangled in these dreadful wars, as we often tend to forget. Even though we are not supposed to!
One cannot remember what one does not fully understand.
We yield, we remain silent, we succumb to fear, we comply, we refrain from saying No.
In the developed democracies "we" decide what we pursue.
Save your complaints re politicians for another day, not today.
This was such a good article that it seems entirely "petty" to point out that the guns went silent on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, rather than 1919, as stated by the author, requote:
AUTHOR: For the first time ever, on November 11th, 1919 at precisely 11am, the entire island of the United Kingdom (and many other countries in the British Empire called on by King George V) came to an abrupt stop.
I don't know about the "first time ever" either, given the respect British people have for deceased sovereigns. But the rest of the article was fine. Kemosabe's contribution was also interesting and informative concerning the contribution of Canada's "Princess Pat's" in the former Yugoslavia. Good "remembering" everyone.
Thank you Kevin. The first time ever, refers to the first collective moment of silence after WWI.
Ah! My mistake. Well said. The first time "after WW I".