Remembering: 90th Anniversary of the Armistice

As all of you are aware, today is Remembrance Day. It happens to be the 90th anniversary of the day the guns of the First World War went silent, on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month. I have been wearing my poppy proudly, and today especially, have been thinking about the sacrifices of so many, for the country that we have today.

My boyfriend and I ventured downtown this morning as I had looked for Remembrance Day events in Victoria. There was an exhibit at the museum that sounded interesting to see, and when we got there we were able to also see a medal ceremony, some speaches, a military band, and a parade of cadets and officers. It was amazing to see the numbers that turned out to see this. I was moved by the turnout, and was especially excited to see just how many young people were there. I saw quite a few groups of teens milling around, wearing poppies and being respectful.

On the news last night I watched a story about how thirteen young Canadians are getting the opportunity to see history come to life by travelling to France and Belgium with Second World War Veterans and Canadian Forces Veterans. They will be seeing many of the monuments and battle sights from both WWI and WWII. There is only so much understanding that one can gather from hearing or reading about the atrocities that occurred so long ago: to SEE those sights, to touch the tunnels of Vimy, feel the bullet holes in the walls, walk through the cemeteries with white crosses as far as the eye can see.... those are memories that will bring to life what so many people, from so many countries, experienced and did for the betterment of the world.

The museum had set up some information about various boats and naval facts and figures, with emphasis on Victoria and BC contributions, a wall of Chinese-Canadian contributors, a wall hung with pictures and stories of some very impressive women who were nurses, spies, factory workers, intelligence agents etc, and a recreation of a tent and some other paraphernalia from Canada's war past.

Whether it is called Remembrance Day, Veterans Day, Poppy Day, Armistice Day or something else, today is a day that brings the whole world together in the remembrance of, and thanks to, those countless people around the world who created a world we can live in. I was impressed and moved by the things I saw today, and hope that many youth have the opportunities I have had to see the battle sights and monuments in Europe - for that is what truly brings to life the teachings of Social Studies teachers.