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It may have been over a century since the first Armistice Day, but the recognition of sacrifice continues here in Sudbury and from coast to coast. The Great War of 1914-1918 was important to Canada as a nation.

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The Battle of Neuve Chapelle, Vimy Ridge, Amiens and the Third Battle of Picardy, The Fifth Battle of Ypres, The Somme, Cambrai: Horses, sabers with bayonets, men, tanks, gas, artillery barrages.

World War I went from failed charges to the muddy mess of barbed wire and machine guns. The fact that it lasted for years and became mechanized, inhumane and crushed with souls made us hope that this was the war to end all wars.

Of the more than 650,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who served, 66,000 died; more than 172,000 people were injured.

And then there was 1939-1945. An air war characterized by the Battle of Britain and Dresden saw massive bombing by both sides weaken targets for possible ground attacks. More than 42,000 Canadians died during the Second World War: the campaigns of Dieppe, Normandy, the Ruhr Valley, the liberation of Holland and Italy all resulted in heavy losses.

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Civilian victims? These were even greater and the suffering did not end on November 11, 1918, nor on May 8, 1945 (Europe) nor on September 2 (Japan) 1945.

Canadians have also served in peacekeeping missions in the Korean War, Vietnam, the Gulf Wars and Afghanistan. We have something to be proud of.

The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 76 Dr. Fred Starr hosted the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Sudbury Arena with the annual theme “We Will Remember” at the heart of the gathering.

In attendance were over a thousand citizens and on the parade ground, as well as veterans, serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the 2nd Battalion of the Irish Regiment, Sea Cadets, Army and Air Force, police, firefighters, government officials and scouts. A total of 26 wreaths were placed at the cenotaph.

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Raine Harvey, 11, and her mother, Joanne, were in the stands. “He has friends among the Sea Cadets. It’s a representation of our freedom,” Joanne remarked.

These are good reasons to attend. “I want to watch,” said Raine, a World War II history buff. “I love learning about it.”

On the phone, Kathleen LeBreton spoke about her father, George Koivu, who is now 99 years old. “Remembrance Day means so much to him. It’s special because he lost his older brother in the war. His sister was a military nurse. He immediately signed up at 18 years old. It’s a time to remember all your lost friends…and the families affected.

“He usually dresses for the ceremony, but he suffers from Parkinson’s disease. He usually places a crown. He now uses a walker and went to an event at the Chelmsford Legion on Sunday. His father lived to be 102…longevity runs in the family. If he could, he would be present at the arena ceremonies. He made the trip to Vimy and Normandy a few years ago.

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By email, I contacted sisters Kathy O’Neill and Bonnie Courchesne. “What does Remembrance Day mean to me? That all these young men, boys in fact, fought to make sure Hitler was stopped from invading the free world. I thank my father and it’s amazing that he survived and will reach 100 years old in March,” Courchesne said.

O’Neill added: “I thank all veterans for their service, especially those from World War II. We have freedom today, and I am grateful for it every day. My children and grandchildren can grow up in a world where they can be anything they want and go anywhere. My granddaughters can go to school and not hide their education. You know, my children and grandchildren call their grandfather every November 11th and thank him for his service. They are all so proud of him.

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“I see my father’s pride when he wears his Legion uniform, he seems taller. I found letters from a friend of his who was a pilot during the war. They were very interesting. How many of their friends never came back. Can you imagine losing most of your school friends?

“Dad doesn’t talk much about the war, he usually steers the conversation towards the wedding on the big day. If he had landed on the beach (Juno) we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. The world is in ruins again and Dad said the other day he was scared of what was going to happen.

Serving for 41 years, Brian McKenelley can recount every engagement of his military career. “I enlisted in 1974, joined the PPCLI (Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry) Airborne Regiment, then Cornwallis, Vancouver Island and Germany.

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“I think today means a lot to the people in the stands. If that wasn’t the case, they wouldn’t be here. They might have loved ones who were serving. I find that Sudbury has immense military history. I have been here since 2004 and retired in 2010. Four days later I was Regimental Sergeant Major in the Irish Regiment.

“Of course, it’s difficult to express this to young people. I know the schools are doing a great job. Today is not a holiday; that’s not it. I have a granddaughter here at today’s event. She is an instructor at the Navy League. My great-grandson marched for the first time as a Navy League cadet.

Nick Contini of Princess Anne Public School is a student success teacher. He and his colleagues accompanied a large group of young teenagers. “These are middle-level students – 12, 13, 14 years old. They are interested in what is happening here. Some of those kids – today – are international students. They are aware of what is happening in their country and some are here because of the war. So it’s real.

Some are Ukrainian and for their friends and classmates it is not just about history textbooks and school curricula.

“I wish we could fill these seats with more and more students,” Contini said. “It brings him home.” It’s really not a distant memory.

It was a moving ceremony and as bagpipes played and John McCrae’s In Flanders Fields was read, tears inevitably flowed from bowed heads.

The Local Journalism Initiative is made possible with funding from the federal government.

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