Picture by Savannah 12 years old.
It is my absolute privilege to write about remembrance day. I feel very honoured to be organizing and leading our Remembrance Day celebration for all of the Canadians in our community Bonita Bay.
Every year we gather on this date to pause in a silent moment to honour the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country in war, in conflict, and in peace.
More than 1,500,000 Canadians have served our country and over 100,000 have died.
They gave their lives so that we may live in peace.
You can read about a war story from my own family HERE. I recently updated this post that I am referring to as it has the most coincidental ending to it with another Bonita Bay resident.
I told my granddaughter Savannah this story and she wrote about it for a school assignment. She was invited to share the story with her entire grade. It was a very proud moment for her but it didn’t come close to the pride I felt for what she had shared.
Do not forget these soldiers. Share your stories. If we don’t these 100,000 lives will have been meaningless. These soldiers died for their family, their friends, the traditions and the future they believed in. They died for Canada.
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Imagine…..
Imagine… you are the mom of a young man that didn’t want to go to war but had no choice in the matter because he was drafted. You are hugging him goodbye knowing full well that this could be the last time you ever get to hold him. It is heart-wrenching to let him go. As he walks away you have a vision of him as a little boy.
You are walking. You are holding hands. You are picking out candy.
Imagine… you are the dad of a teenage son that you argued with only last week about cutting the grass if he wanted an allowance. Now he has high ideals of going off to war. He is going to prove to you that he is a man.
Imagine… that you are a young married lady. You are pregnant with your first baby. Your husband has been called up to fight for his country. The truck pulls up to your house with other young soldiers. You are scared to death for his safety while worrying about how you are ever going to cope on your own. He leaves you in tears, as you cradle your unborn child in your womb.
Imagine… you are one of these young soldiers….you are excited at the prospect of fighting for your country, changing the world, and taking on the enemy. You are a man.
Imagine… you are on a ship arriving at Normandy Beach or jumping out of a plane dodging bullets as you drop through the air.
Imagine… your adrenaline coursing through your veins…so much that you dint’ feel the bullet enter. You finally land only to realize that you’ve been hit, and the blood is draining out of you. You know you are going to die.
Imagine… praying for your young wife and the child that you never got to meet. You cry because you never asked for any of this.
Imagine… you are only eighteen years old and all you want is your mom. You want her to hold you in her arms and tell you it will be OK. You want to be a son cutting the grass.
Imagine… Your last memory is of you and your mom.
You are walking. You are holding her hand. You are picking out candy
Imagine
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My very good friend Ellen from high school shared this story with me…
“My Mom had memories of when she was a young girl when half the town would go to their house because they were the only ones with a radio. They’d all gather around that radio as the soldiers were coming home from war, and listen to each soldier get say (i.e.) “It’s me, John Smith from Delmas Saskatchewan, I’m coming home”. This is how they found out their sons/brothers/loved ones were ok and coming home. Sometimes her house would erupt in screams of joy, and other times local parents would leave crying because they hadn’t heard their sons’ voices, leaving them with fear and anxiety as they had to wait for the next round of soldiers to make their way home.
Here are a couple of my Mom’s brothers who also served our country.”
Picture by Lilah, age 9
27 Comments
Suzanne Colasimone
November 11, 2022 at 7:22 AMThank you Mare for your beautiful story. It hits home for us because Rays father fought in WW2. It would have been his 101 birthday the other day. The men were so very proud and brave to fight for every single bit of freedom we have today. May we NEVER FORGET. 💙🙏
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 7:28 AMThank you so much Sue. Happy birthday to Ray Ray’s father and so grateful that he fought for our freedom and future. I have been receiving so many photos of soldiers in my email box this morning. So touching.
Xo
Janet
November 11, 2022 at 7:31 AMMarion, your story was so touching. I read it to my daughter this morning over coffee and we both cried. You need to have that published somewhere. I love your friend’s old photos too. I cannot imagine having to listen to a radio show in order to find out if my child was alive and coming home. Imagine?
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 7:33 AMThank you so much for your kind compliment Janet. I am reading it today at a Remembrance Day ceremony. I hope I get through it without crying myself. I really can’t IMAGINE.
Marlene
November 11, 2022 at 8:10 AMOh my!! I am crying. What a beautiful story this is. I love your blog. From these heartfelt stories to the recipes you share. I really love it all.
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 8:15 AMThank you so much for the sweet comment Marlene. It truly means a lot to me.
I have some great recipes and really easy holiday decor DIY that I am going to share soon. Stay tuned.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful day.
Mary Beth Clouse
November 11, 2022 at 8:41 AMMarion, I am so glad I read this story before I hear you read it this morning!! I would be in tears then too. You will get through it.
Love your blog! Alway so much good stuff.
This one is particularly good and very important. We need to keep the memories alive. I am going to share this with my girls.
Thanks Marion. Good luck this morning, you got this!!
PS. Nice touch adding the art from the girls! 👍🏻
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 9:16 AMI’m crying reading your response MB!! Thank you so much for reading this blog and for your lovely sentiments too. I am so happy that you are going to share this with your girls. I will be doing the same with my kids today as well. I did share it with Savannah last night…she said “Nana this is good. Read loud and clear and don’t forget to breathe” Great advice from my sweet girl. Xo
Cathy Farley
November 11, 2022 at 8:48 AMWhat a lovely story……. I’ve stood on the beaches of Normandy and visited the war memorial there…. So sad to know how many young men…sones, fathers….died for us…
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 12:36 PMIt sure is sad Cathy. Our boys are so close in age…can you ever imagine? Gut wrenching.
Xo
Mary Lynn
November 11, 2022 at 9:47 AMAbsolutely beautiful and touching Marion. We have no idea what it would be like sending your child off to war…. heartbreaking for sure. We pray for all soldiers today 🙏🙏🙏
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 12:28 PMThanks ML. I hope we never know how it felt to send a child off to war.
Xo
Joan
November 11, 2022 at 10:44 AMA heartwarming and poignant story – really hits home. Thanks for sharing and reminding us of the importance of the day!
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 12:30 PMThanks Joan. I read it this morning to the Canadians at the Remembrance Day Ceremony. I barely got through it.
Xo
Brenda Loomans
November 11, 2022 at 10:55 AMMarion. Such a touching and beautiful tribute to our soldiers. Present and Past. Thank you Brought tears to my eyes. ❤️
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 12:32 PMThanks Brenda. There were plenty of tears when I read it this morning. It was such an honour to lead the Canadians through the ceremony this morning.
Xo
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 12:35 PMThis message from my husband’s friend……”This is incredibly moving and extremely well done by Marion! She’s very very special! Our generation definitely relates to the World Wars; hopefully the current young people who follow us will come to understand the sacrifices that were endured to ensure our freedom and embrace their privilege to vote to preserve our democracy and freedom that Marion so eloquently expresses. Beat regards to you both and we look forward seeing you soon!”
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 12:35 PMWhat a lovely message.
Joanne
November 11, 2022 at 1:01 PMI love the pictures that your granddaughters contributed. I recognize their names from past posts. I wonder if you are aware that the black and white picture is of a Canadian father marching off to war and his son reaching out to him. The photo, is called Wait for Me Daddy. It was featured in Life magazine, then to every B.C. school during the war and is now proudly displayed in the Canadian War Museum.
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 1:05 PMHello Joanne. Thanks for the compliments on the girls pictures. I will save these for them.
Funny you should mention the picture ‘Wait for me Daddy’ To be honest, I knew this was the picture i wanted to use but had no idea that this was a Canadian family from the west coast. I only googled it last night and read the entire story behind it. I should have written a bit about it given that it is in the Canadian War Museum. Definitely an oversight on my behalf. I do hope that some of my followers know the history of this picture. It speaks a thousand words!!
Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving your comments.
Val
November 11, 2022 at 2:43 PMHonest, emotional and upsetting. My uncle fought in WW2 and it scarred him for life. He committed suicide….
Kudos to the 2 artists and the author❤️
Let’s keep remembering….😢
Marion
November 11, 2022 at 3:04 PMOh my gosh Val. That is so, so sad!! I am sorry to hear that. It is doubtful anyone returned home from those wars the same as when they left.
Yes, my little artists did a fab job for me!!!
Thanks for sharing your story Val. I have learned this can be a very emotional day for many.
Xoxo Marion
Ellen Rodgers
November 11, 2022 at 5:48 PMBeautiful article, Marion. Thank you for sharing this, for honouring some of my family members, and for helping to spread the word about why “remembering” is so incredibly important. I had 33 relatives who served in both WW1 and WW2. I was raised a “military brat”, and I’m incredibly proud of that. My dad was, and always will be, my hero. Xo
Marion
November 12, 2022 at 11:08 AMYour dad was, and always will be one of my hero’s too Ellen.
PS..you are the coolest and funniest army brat I have ever know!
Xo
Ellen
November 12, 2022 at 11:16 AMXoxoxo “me love you loooong time, Marion”.
Don
November 12, 2022 at 11:09 AMWhat a great poem you wrote young lady! It moved me to tears when my wife shared this with me.
Well done.
Marion
November 12, 2022 at 11:13 AMYour comment comes at the most amazing time! I just responded to a lady named Ellen. The ‘hero’ that Ellen and I are referring to below is her dad and his name is Don. What an amazing coincidence that I should read your text immediately following hers. This has given me goose bumps.
Thank you so much for you kind comment, Don.