Daily Archives: 4/10/2007
Afghanistan and Vimy Overlap
| 4/10/2007 | Posted by Patti under Afghanistan, Canadian News, War on Terror |
This past weekend has been a bit of a rollercoaster. The commemorations of the Battle of Vimy Ridge took place in France on a piece of soil deeded to Canada in 1922 as Canadian soil in perpetuity. On it stands one of the largest, and in my opinion, powerful memorials in the world.
As Canada prepared for the main ceremonies which took place yesterday, I opened one of our news sites online on Sunday afternoon and was stunned to learn six Canadian soldiers had been killed in Afghanistan. In comparison to the 3600 killed at Vimy Ridge, six doesn’t seem to be a lot however when it is six in one day out of a force of 2500 deploying some of the strongest armaments possible it is every bit as big and real.
The Canadians who scrambled out of cold wet trenches on that bitterly cold morning ninety years ago yesterday were about as protected as I would be if I walked out my back door and someone stood there with a machine gun. The Canadians killed in Afghanistan were in the back of a heavily armoured vehicle, wearing body armour guarding convoys moving into an area of Afghanistan that needs to be cleared of Taliban so power can be restored to the area.
So what is the overlap? They were Canadians, they were serving their country in a far off land to ensure that the fight they had there didn’t reach our shores and most of all, they are dead brave Canadians. Somethings never change.
Our maritime provinces took a direct hit with these deaths. One of the six was from Ontario, the other five from the maritimes. Although I’ve never seen figures breaking down enlistment from the various parts of the country, I suspect that we’d find that the maritime provinces have always pulled above their weight on a per capita basis of those who join up to serve this country. God Bless Them!
The memorial at Vimy while a focal point for a pivotal battle in Canadian history is a monument to all those who gave their lives for King and country in the Great War, the one that was supposed to end all wars. The monument carries the names of 11,000 Canadians who have no known resting place. That means they were either so blown up they couldn’t be identified or are buried where they fell. The scale of human carnage was so great in that war that just getting the wounded off the battlefield was a monumental task.
Some say that the Battle of Vimy Ridge was the defining moment of our country, our coming of age as a nation. I’d say it was a defining moment, one of a series of Canadian achievements in all aspects of our lives. In an era where the power of a nation was still measured in its ability to fight, it was a defining moment placing Canada squarely onto the world stage. The Canadian Corps had fought as a unit and had done in a day what other supposedly more powerful nations hadn’t succeeded in doing in two years.
Our Canadian troops would continue to command respect for their courage and ability from then until today. Even during the worse of the government’s starving our military for funds to properly equip them, the courage and professionalism of our military has never been doubted. Young Canadians joining our military do so knowing they follow in the footsteps of a long line of volunteer citizen soldiers who have distinguished Canada among nations.
The presence of 5,000 teenagers of which 3,600 were representing not just in body but in name one of those who died on that day 90 years ago. As they entered the memorial area wearing their green shirts with the name of their soldier affixed, it makes one wonder if there were really 7,200 parading in, the flesh and blood student and the spirit of the soldier marching smartly beside them, assured that their sacrifice had not yet been forgotten.
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