Be sure to thank our veterans

My uncle Ron posted a picture of Private Ronard Kleven of the 78th Battalion, Winnipeg Grenadiers taken on November 1918 on Facebook this past week. Ronard was my mother’s father. My grandfather James Alexander whose family had immigrated to Canada at the turn of the 20th Century was a medic in the Great War.
It was my uncle’s way of remembering his father’s commitment to his new country Canada.
My father was a navigator with the Canadian Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Today many of those living veterans of the Second World War are well into there 90’s. Fewer each year make it to the cenotaph on Remembrance Day to remember their fallen comrades.
We have veterans from many wars who we should take time to remember. Canadians participated in the Second Boer War in South Africa. Throughout the “Cold War” Canadian men and women were stationed in Germany.
Canada committed Naval and land troops to the Korean War. The South Korean Government recognizes all of the nations and the soldiers who died in that war.
Through time, Canada has contributed peacekeeping troops in Cypress, the Republic of Congo, the Sinai, the Yugoslav wars, Haiti, The Central African Republic, Sudan, and Darfur.
More recently, Canada committed both its navy and troops in the Gulf of Arabia, and Afghanistan.
At home Canadian troops have been involved in the Manitoba floods, keeping the trans Canada Highway open through British Columbia, patrolling our coastal waters, and Ontario Forest Fires.
We often think that the veterans we are honouring are those who fought in shooting wars. When the Afghan war made the news almost weekly with announcement of deaths of Canadians in that war, we responded to the understanding that war had serious consequences to families in Canada.
Today over 950 Canadian personnel are still stationed in that country training the members of the Afghan army. Since the move of Canadians from active fighting to training, deaths of Canadian soldiers has almost disappeared from our radar.
Afghanistan still is not a safe country for our troops. Families with mothers, fathers, sons and daughters working and living in Afghanistan live with the fear of losing a loved one every single day of their deployment.
Often times the peacekeeping or the humanitarian work of our armed forces goes forgotten. Yet all of the service people throughout our nations history have helped define who we are and project Canadian values to the world. Our military forces have protected us in times of war and in times of disaster.
We cannot forget them. On Monday we can take some time to remember Canadians who have protected Canada both at home and abroad. Over 3,600 soldiers, sailors and air force personnel are posted somewhere beyond Canada today. We should all take time to say thank you to them and all the other men and women in the Canadian Forces.

–Jim Cumming,
Publisher