"There is no greatness where simplicity, goodness and truth
are absent."
Leo Tolstoy
Monday, November 11, 2019
Remembrance Day, 2019
We live in a culture which exalts in self promotion. Self sacrifice is not a popular meme. It's never been popular. But sometimes it's necessary. It's that necessity which we remember today.
Image: (John Woods/Canadian Press)
2 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I was fortunate to meet Nicola Goddard a bit before she was deployed to Afghanistan.
She was marching a platoon from Currie Barracks [Now closed and re-purposed.] on a circuit around the Glenmore Reservoir; full pack kit, body armor, combat weapons, ammunition. They were all packing close to eighty pounds I reckon. It was hot and there is a lot of up and down marching that bike path. I was surprised when I got to the head of the column that the officer in command was a ... woman. And she was making good pace. The platoon was not dragging their ass but they were struggling to keep up.
I was on a bicycle so passed the time of day, briefly, with her and her lads.
I was impressed with the professionalism they all brought to the task. By this point they were on their way back to barracks and they were all pretty much played out. But, since she was not stopping or slowing down and she was packing what they were . . . there were no stragglers.
The profession of arms, violent as it may be, is still an honorable one when practiced by honorable men and women. We, as Canadians are fortunate to be so well served by those who have chosen and now choose to follow that demanding and dangerous path.
We owe them more than merely honoring them. This is not a cost Canadian society can shirk . . . yet we do. When Canadians can be proud of ourselves because our military veterans are well taken care of once their service is completed, then maybe we will be able to celebrate Remembrance Day without that horrible, nagging guilt.
One of our sons is a naval officer, james. My wife and I are impressed with the way the Navy does things. And, like other families, we know just how important the work they do is.
2 comments:
I was fortunate to meet Nicola Goddard a bit before she was deployed to Afghanistan.
She was marching a platoon from Currie Barracks [Now closed and re-purposed.] on a circuit around the Glenmore Reservoir; full pack kit, body armor, combat weapons, ammunition. They were all packing close to eighty pounds I reckon. It was hot and there is a lot of up and down marching that bike path. I was surprised when I got to the head of the column that the officer in command was a ... woman. And she was making good pace. The platoon was not dragging their ass but they were struggling to keep up.
I was on a bicycle so passed the time of day, briefly, with her and her lads.
I was impressed with the professionalism they all brought to the task. By this point they were on their way back to barracks and they were all pretty much played out. But, since she was not stopping or slowing down and she was packing what they were . . . there were no stragglers.
The profession of arms, violent as it may be, is still an honorable one when practiced by honorable men and women. We, as Canadians are fortunate to be so well served by those who have chosen and now choose to follow that demanding and dangerous path.
We owe them more than merely honoring them. This is not a cost Canadian society can shirk . . . yet we do. When Canadians can be proud of ourselves because our military veterans are well taken care of once their service is completed, then maybe we will be able to celebrate Remembrance Day without that horrible, nagging guilt.
j a m e s
One of our sons is a naval officer, james. My wife and I are impressed with the way the Navy does things. And, like other families, we know just how important the work they do is.
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