We Will Remember...

November 11th!  Standing at the cenotaph, often in the snow, holding my dad by the hand and watching the tears roll down his face.  I was always aware that we had to remember the sacrifice of thousand of young Canadians who never came home and the thousands who came home physically and emotionally scarred.  One that I knew was my Uncle Gordon who was captured by the Japanese in Dec. 1941.  He had nightmares for years and his health was never the same.  As a young adult I had the chance to go to Ottawa for the National Service and was impressed by the thousands of people there singing O Canada.  I was even even more impressed when the last post was played and those same thousands were so SILENT, it was like standing in a large forest and all I could hear was the wind blowing across the cenotaph. It was SO peaceful and spiritual.
Today Harold and I went to the Sailors Memorial for this years service.  It was moving but nature took over.  The memorial is set close to the shore in Point Pleasant Park, facing the Atlantic Ocean.  The tide was coming in and large waves were rolling with a big BOOM when they hit the beach.  It was an amazing background sound for the service. 
Every year on this day, I think of my Dad and my uncles and in my heart, I say thank you to each of them and tell them I miss them and always will.  I also pray for Canadians serving around the world, especially those in Afghanistan. We will remember them.