Youth need to learn of great sacrifices

Letter to the Editor
I am a member of Operation Legacy: a program for members of The War Amps Child Amputee (CHAMP) Program who have accepted the challenge of carrying a general message to the public about the need for Canadian youth to understand more about our military heritage.
On July 1, I was visiting France at a commemorative ceremony as a guest of the Department of Veterans Affairs for the 90th anniversary of the Battles of the Somme and Beaumont-Hamel. Sadly, the news of the National War Memorial controversy reached our delegation of 39 youths and 34 veterans and escorts.
We were shocked and embarrassed at what these young Canadians had done back home - nobody in France would dare to do such a thing with their country’s memorials.
It was the general feeling of the Canadian delegation that we need to do more back in Canada to educate young people on the topic of remembrance and the importance of our national memorials.
Operation Legacy is a joint project of The War Amps and older members of its CHAMP Program who are missing a limb or limbs. This project has given the participants a close association with the veterans.
I suggest that it might be practical to arrange seminars for Canadian youths, similar to those I attend as a member of CHAMP and Operation Legacy, at which the sacrifice of Canada’s war veterans is brought to our attention. We need to do more of this educational work in our high schools and post-secondary institutions.
Over the past few years, Operation Legacy members have made an effective contribution at various commemorative ceremonies both in Canada and overseas. We have raised the money, we have our own uniforms, and we always stand ready to assist in these ceremonies and pilgrimages.
Confederation Square with the National War Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a place of reverence and remembrance and should be treated with the respect that it deserves.

Sincerely,
Annelise Petlock, 19, Ottawa
Student at
University of Ottawa
and member of Operation Legacy