Remembrance Day

I can remember every year when I was a kid, we would have our Remembrance Day assembly in the Gym to honor those Canadians who had served or who were serving in our Armed Forces. For the month prior we would all buy and wear the poppy pins that were a symbol of the soldier's sacrifice, which would also raise money for Veteran's organizations. These pins meant a lot to me- as my Grandfather had been a pilot in World War Two, and I knew that it meant a great deal not only to him, but to all the soldiers who saw people wearing the poppies in their honor. When I got married my Grandfather was no longer with us, but I had a Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law who had served in the US Air Force to add to my sense of how great a sacrifice, how much strength of character it takes to volunteer to serve and protect our countries and way of life, and what a military family goes through while their loved ones are away.

Thank you to all the Veterans and Active Military for your courage and your dedication to keeping us safe.


In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army