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  • Sam Nicholls, DSC Member

What Remembrance Day Means to Me


One of the many grave sites of Canadian soldiers. Photo taken by Sam Nicholls.

 

My memories of Remembrance Day growing up heavily consists of ceremonies held in my school gymnasium, where myself and fellow peers would sit, cross-legged, encouraged to reflect on Canadian war efforts primarily during World War I, and World War II. Wearing a bright red poppy and staring at a giant white cross, solemnly bearing the phrase “Lest We Forget,” the sense of national unity and collective memory was stronger than that on Canada Day. These experienced ceremonies instilled within me a sense of distance from war and violence; while I was aware that war existed in the world around me, there always seemed to be an underlying assumption that November 11th was a day to reflect on the historic realities, or realities distant from my Canadian experiences.

Four years later and outside the elementary school walls, my passion and interest in history exceeded me, and I found myself partaking in a life-changing school trip to Europe. An emotional, memorable and ultimately perspective-altering experience, I walked along the shores of Juno Beach, into the trenches at Vimy Ridge and into the lives of the brave Canadian soldiers who sacrificed so much for the lives of others. Yet, my understandings that week still remained so incredibly distant from the fears, losses and overall experiences of those who lived it. Despite my engagement with the once war-torn European landscape, Remembrance Day continued to be a day where I felt the Canadian nation reflected on war as a poignant and withdrawn part of our realities today.

I suppose I always felt an emotive connection to Remembrance Day ceremonies. In both elementary school and high school, I recall proudly stating my familial connection to the military; while my dad was retired by the time I was born, his involvement as a Peacekeeper in Rwanda and Bosnia instilled a sense of recollection to the day that I have never really expressed until now. As a child, the images I had of dad in these landscapes reflected the traditional imagery of soldiers seen on Remembrance Day advertisements – the proud, courageous and resilient Canadian soldier who fought tirelessly, who fought restlessly, for the country he so generously served for. In many ways, this image still remains embedded in my mind – my dad will always be a hero; however, as I grew up and began to acknowledge all the ways in which involvement in such sorrows can impact an individual, did I realize that my previous approaches to Remembrance Day needed to be readjusted.

This past year has been particularly difficult for my family. In many ways, I began to internalize how impactful and consuming these experiences can be. War and violence are not distant, nor in the past, in the ways I had understood it to be. The sorrow and hurt, the courage and the unimaginable experiences faced by Canadian soldiers are very much real, and very much in the present. Nearly twenty-two years after my father’s retirement from the Canadian military, the reality of his experiences live within him in every place he goes. I know understand this to be reflective of several experiences of those who lived through such unimaginable experiences. It is important to recognize then, that wartime violence is not stagnant. The return of a solider, the retirement of a veteran and the end of a war does not just stop at the time of conflict. Indeed, the wars and experiences live on in minds and lives of these courageous fighters, whose battles impact their lives and decisions.

The experiences I have had have impacted my understandings in various ways, and I recognize that my individual interpretations are limited by, and as a result of, my own privileges. This being said, there is still more to learn. I am eager to understand the ways in which Remembrance Day lives on within my community and within my country, in both historical and contemporary contexts. Now, I am no longer obligated to attend in-school Remembrance Day ceremonies. Instead, I choose to. I choose to remember and honour the selflessness of those around me, of those who have served, and for my dad. As a history student at Queen’s, engaging in a diverse range of historical approaches, I recognize the importance of memorialization and recognition of the effects war has had on the social, political and economic development of our country. More importantly, however, I recognize, and am eternally grateful for, the sacrifices made by all members of the Canadian in past war and past conflict. I am especially grateful for the sacrifices made by my dad and others like him, who continue to make sacrifices every day for their families and for themselves. You are all loved, you are all remembered, forever.

Lest We Forget.


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