Keeping memories of sacrifice alive during Veteran’s Week

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – "As the hind of the company reached the street corner about a hundred feet away a shell landed in their midst. About six men went down… The Company Commander lay on his face with the back of his head sheared off… Three other men were killed and lay beside him. The Company Sergeant Major had his leg blown off just above the knee and several men had less severe injuries. We put hurried dressings on the wounded and got them off the corner, which was a very hot spot, into shelter as quickly as possible.”

— A wartime letter excerpt from Captain Bellenden S. Hutcheson, under bombardment during the First World War.

Short of being there yourself, nothing brings home the horrors of war than hearing about it from those who lived through it.

Canada Remembers is a Facebook page that makes that possible, dedicated to promoting Veteran’s Week and the remembrance of Canadian veterans from all our country’s wars.

It links to the Government of Canada veterans affairs website and its archives outlining the country’s military history and various UN peace-keeping missions up to and including Syria.

Visitors to the site can read diaries and letters from veterans sent home to families and friends and view video clips of veterans recalling their wartime experiences.

The history and meaning of the various medals and decorations earned by Canadian military personnel are explained, as is the role played by various ethnic communities during different conflicts.

The site provides age appropriate learning resources for educators and explains the various ways Canadians can get involved in Veteran’s Week.

To contact a reporter for this story, email John McDonald at jmcdonald@infonews.ca or call 250-808-0143. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.