Remembrance / Veterans Day November 11 th
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Poppy day
Those 2 little words mean so much
My Dad was a veteran of WW2 and served in the Italian campaign
He was in Holland at the end of the war
He was assigned to the First Canadian Division which was attached to the British Eighth Army
A day of Remembrance
When my father was alive, we had our own day of reflection together
I moved away and we continued by telephone
Growing up he was happy to know that in school we had to memorize " In Flanders Fields "
He said I should never forget the words to that poem....and I never have
I would light a candle and recite the poem while my dad was with me
Then we carried on over the phone when I moved away
He was not big on crowds and going to the cenotaph
He always felt those displays glorified war and for that reason he refused his medals
In his last days I asked if I could send for them and he agreed only because it was me asking lol
I was always his favorite !!!
I received the medals and a description of each
I showed them to my dad and he was amazed he had received so many...I wasn't surprised at all
He told me many many war stories while I was growing up...the same ones over and over again
The last few months of his life he told different stories...the ones locked away for so many years
I just let him talk as much as he wanted although the stories were horrendous and so upsetting to me
His accounts needed to be told so I could remember them when he was gone.
I saw a man at an airshow a few years ago with a shirt on that said Ortona. I stopped him and asked if it meant
Ortona, Italy and he said yes. I said my father was there and his was also. Perhaps they knew each other and fought
shoulder to shoulder in one of the bloodiest battles of the Italian Campaign. Just before Christmas 1943
I will mark this day a little differently this year
I am going to the Cenotaph and share with my community a day of respect for those that sacrificed so much
And for so many...their lives
I will silently recite the poem
RIP and I love you Dad
