Things and Stuff

This past Remembrance Day was marked by the lowest ever attendance of WWI and WWII veterans to ceremonies across Canada, and it is no surprise why: as the years from these wars grow in number, the remaining veterans conversely decrease in number. There are currently only 3 or 4 surviving WWI veterans in the world (depending on how veteran is defined – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_veterans_of_World_War_I, and when they no longer remain, the entire global perception of the First World War will change. It will change from being within living memory to suddenly being a conflict long past, the details of which are remembered only in textbooks rather than in the vivid and fresh stories of individuals.

Our collective memory of WWII faces a similar, if not as urgent, problem.  It has been estimated that approximately 1700 WWII veterans pass away each month. Soon, this too will pass from living memory.

How will this change our perception of Remembrance Day? The poppies have always been associated with John McCrae’s iconic poem In Flanders Fields, relating directly to the First World War.  Even though the message of Remembrance Day and the significance of the moment of silence at the time of Armistice have transcended the boundaries originally set by WWI, for many the perception of the day is one of recognition primarily of veterans from wars long past, and of modern day veterans second.  In light of this, many Remembrance Day celebrations have started to include costumed individuals to represent the war veterans who can no longer be with us, yet the gravity of whose sacrifice must still be acknowledged.

However, I believe for Remembrance Day to continue to carry the weight and significance that it deserves into the future, a shift needs to be made in its focus.  By 2015, modern-day veterans will outnumber the veterans from WWII and the Korean War by approximately three to one (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/Remembrance_Day/veterans-by-the-numbers/article1794591/?from=1794568).  Canadians need to understand that even though the scope of our wars may have changed, this does not change the enormity of the sacrifice that our soldiers make for this country.  Veterans Affairs Canada needs to seriously consider rebranding Remembrance Day to put a much more emphasized focus on today’s veterans, who are coming home with a vastly different psychological landscape to a much more lukewarm reception.  In order to truly allow Canadian citizens to feel motivated to participate in Remembrance Day once more, we must be forced to recognize that today’s veterans are among us, and deserve our  appreciation.  I would suggest the creation of more informative advertisements and documentaries by Veterans Affairs Canada, as well as increased funding for celebrations putting a strong focus on modern-day veterans.  The symbols of Remembrance Day, such as the poem and the poppy, should not be dropped, but rather should be used to help put focus on modern-day veterans and warfare.  We cannot afford to forget the past, but in order to keep this memory alive we must keep the tradition alive, and the only way to do this is to adapt the traditions of Remembrance Day for today.