I readily admit that I get a little misty-eyed when I see aging veterans at the cenotaph on Remembrance Day or other significant anniversaries such as the commemoration of D-Day (75th) which has been unfolding in Britain and France over the past few days. I find it remarkable that more than 300 Canadian veterans have made the trip, all of them over the age of 90 and one within days of his 100th birthday. They were brave young men, some of them boys, really, and they entered into what was hell on Earth for the sake of freedom.
I'm always somewhat conflicted because the older I get the more I am disgusted by the folly of war and the more deeply I respect the sacrifice of those who fought and have done service for Canada in every conflict and peace-keeping mission.
I also realize that WW2 shaped the futures of my father and father-in-law who were both in the Canadian forces. My father-in-law was seconded to chaplaincy services overseas and when he returned after the war he became a Presbyterian minister. My father was in the air force but served at the airbase in Debert, Nova Scotia. His service got him into university, which he wouldn't have been able to afford otherwise, and he eventually became a United Church minister.
As for me, I visited Vimy Ridge and nearby cemeteries in France just after my ordination in 1980 and weeks before I commenced my first pastorate in Newfoundland. As a 25-year-old I was moved to see the ages of the young men buried so far from home. My life was opening up to new possibilities in no small part because of their courage and commitment.
Today I'll forget about the dissonance and say "thank you" from the bottom of my heart.
Thoughts?
No comments:
Post a Comment