On April 9 we commemorated the 100th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge.
Dignitaries, including our Prime Minister, the French President, Prince Charles along with his sons princes William and Harry, gathered at the magnificent cenotaph overlooking the French countryside along with thousands of guests and students to take time out to remember Canada's sacrifice at this pivotal battle.
As I watched the CBC coverage of the event, I wondered how many of us were also taking some time to remember. Between April 9 and April 12 Canada suffered 11,000 casualties and the Germans, 20,000.
Have we all 鈥減icked up the torch鈥� and moved our country forward 鈥渇rom failing hands鈥� of our war dead as the First World War Canadian army surgeon Lieut.-Col. John McCray challenged?
I never fought in a war and I don't know what it is like to truly fear for my life but at least I know that as William Tecumseh Sherman of Civil War fame said, 鈥淲ar is Hell.鈥�
How is this possible?
The answer lies in what I have learned.
I have learned lessons in my life, from my training and from my family. I don't need to fight in a war to learn its lessons.
鈥淭here is no glory in war; only butchery.鈥�
Canada's commander at Vimy, Sir Arthur Currie said that.
As a child I played at war because it seemed noble to dominate and test my courage in the face of battle. As an older boy I learned the truth of violence from my grandpa Gibson who did not speak of it but displayed the injuries of his experience.
Of course, there were the lessons at school and the Remembrance Day services which reminded me of the losses of life and the serious scares that war creates. As I grew older I realized that war should be avoided because it only destroys.
Unlike some, I believe the intent of remembering Vimy Ridge or The Battle of the Somme or Paschendale or for Remembrance Day is not as a recruiting campaign for the military. No, we should remember war so we learn to love peace and promote peaceful reconciliation.
Soldiers seldom speak of war because it was horrible. It is up to each of us to learn from the past. If you didn't learn these lessons at school; do so now.
People who claim to love peace need to study war. Only then the true lessons can come.
We should all honour sacrifice and remind ourselves that this should happen never again.
Sophie Trudeau, the wife of our Prime Minister, often exhibits a simple gesture when she meets individuals and crowds. Without speaking, she simply touches her heart with an open hand and extends her open hand outward. This unspoken gesture is the universal sign for 鈥淭hank You.鈥� It doesn't need to be spoken and no one else needs to hear your words to admire your remembrance, it is simply a gesture of thanks from one human to another. This is the gesture we should learn and teach to others. That is what the Vimy Memorial is to me. Not glorifying war but learning the lesson that our fallen and dead have taught us and a reminder that we owe them our thanks.
Thank you.
Gary Gabel
Madge Lake
