I was interested in your thoughts about rememberance day.

I've picked up a few "gongs" along the way. Mistaken for somebody else, in most cases. Certainly nothing like the kinds of heroic actions of our fathers and grandfathers.

Mostly, I guess, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I'm your age.

But, I guess, the point is that the fight still goes on. The same fight. The same ideals after 9/11 as before.

The people who are the enemy have changed but then it was never, really, the people who were the enemy. It was the idea of racial intolerance, of antisemitism, of eugenics, of "them" and "us".

When next I am in Canada on November 11 I will be marching with those old men in the grey slacks and blue blazers. I will be proudly wearing my few "gongs" and I will be hoping that a new generation will continue to fight for our ideals and against the ideas that lead to ethnic cleansing, racial hatred and that led to the holocaust.

I am pleased that the ceremonies touched you. I wish that more Canadians would recognise and support the men and women who have served and, most important, who continue to serve the ideals of tolerance and of peace. Yes, we must remember the grizzled vetrans of the world wars and Korea but the most important people we must remember are the young men and women who are out there now in several peacekeeping missions around the world.

These could be our children.

-- Yourveryold friend (dipdoc@hotmail.com), December 10, 2001

Answers

I set out on a search for answers about rememberance day and its origins after being asked to give a talk infront of my school. I myself am only a teanager and could never even begin to imagine the horrors and devistation braught on by war. So many lives were destroyed, familys torn appart and heartaches caused. Having talked to my own family and that of others i have gained a respect for those involved that is truly unchangeable. The amount of courage they posessed and the tragedy they saw is almost uncomprehendable and i for one would like to pay tribute this year to those whose lives were lost and those who survived. God bless, and may our future be peaceful for the sake of us all.

Stephanie Hardman

-- Stephanie Hardman (steffi_hardman_88_02@msn.com), November 04, 2002.

Thank you, Stephanie.

I hope that your talk goes well and that your audience will understand the importance of remembering, as you do.

-- Pauline (paulinee@colba.net), November 06, 2002.

i think that rememberance day is very important so that children like me today can remember the wars and do somethink to show we do care about people who have died for peace and what we have today.

-- Bethan Rowlands (bethrat2001@hotmail.com), November 11, 2002.