They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them

In memory of our fallen Canadian:

John Henry Foster Babcock (age 109) — World War 1 — Feb. 18, 2010

Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated

Normally, the header on this post would be the whole post and would be reserved for those Canadians who have died in service to Canada. A post like the above remains at the top of my blog for ten days after their death. I’m adding it to this post in honour of the passing of  John Henry Foster Babcock, the last known Canadian to have served in WW1.

Babcock didn’t make it into service in the trenches of Europe, he was only 15 when he signed up. He managed to get himself as far as England before being rounded up into the Young Soldiers Battalion to wait his coming of age. Had WW1 gone on as long as Canada’s current engagement in Afghanistan, he would have seen service. He called himself a ‘tin soldier’ because he didn’t see action but the point is he joined up with the intent of doing so and that matters. 

Babcock was born north of Kingston, Ontario. The Kingston-Whig Standard has written an excellent article on his life and times. I watched a special about him last fall and found myself engaged and admiring of his sharp mind and quick wit. Babcock earned his high school diploma at the age of 95 and at the end of the special he was musing whether he was going to tackle college or university in the coming year. As nature would have it, it appears he’ll have to decide in eternity what he’s pursuing next.

World War 1 was a turning point in Canadian history. At the beginning of the war the total number in our armed forces was 4,000 including all the brass. By the end of the war, over 600,000 Canadians would have joined up and served. We were a young nation then with little sense of national pride, it came into being during those long hard years of WW1. Canadians served throughout Europe, often taking on the really tough battles against the Germans, like Vimy Ridge & Passchendaele, and bringing them to victory.

Babcock may have moved to the United States where he spent most of his life but in typical Canadian fashion he declined Canada’s offer to provide a state funeral for him to mark the passing of the faces of World War 1. It is believed there are now only three WW1 veterans known to remain in the world: American, Frank Buckles, 109; British born Australian, Claude Choules, 108; and British female veteran, Florence Beatrice Green, 108.

It is not yet known how Canada will mark the passing of the faces of the WW1 era.

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In a rare moment of notice from our neighbours to the south, a segment on the Highway of Heroes which stretches from Trenton to Toronto along Canada’s busiest highway the 401 was broadcast on NBC on our Remembrance Day. Myself and a contingent from my Legion branch are among those who stand on those bridges in all weather to show our regard and our respect for those who have given their lives in Afghanistan.

It’s good to see that Americans are being made aware of both our service and how we, as Canadians, respond to those losses. I’m glad the segment was put up on the web as I was presiding at a Veterans dinner as it was being broadcast.

Highway of Heroes on NBC

The turnout at our services in the morning was good. The OPP and the local community policing group did an excellent job of blocking traffic from moving past the town square as we conducted the services. This was especially important during the silence as two regular force guys and one of our guys were positioned at different points of the park to call out the names of the Canadians killed in the last year.

Lest we forget; lest we forget

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My sister sent me a video via email today. She rarely does this because I’m on dialup and she knows she will tick me off royally tying up my connection to download a large file. This is one file I was glad to take the time to download.

The title of the video is “A Pittance in Time”, you can link to YouTube to view the video.

The music was written by Terry Kelly in 1999 after a Remembrance Day experience in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He was in the Shopper’s Drug Mart just before 11am that morning and was impressed to hear an announcement asking everyone, staff and customers, to pause at 11am for two minutes of silence. Read the rest of this entry »

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