Remembrance Day is often personal. It’s about sacrifice, and gratitude for what Canada is today

For many, it’s Canada’s most sombre holiday: Remembrance Day. A day to remember sacrifice.

And for many Calgarians, it’s still personal. 

That’s what we found when CBC Calgary set up at Fish Creek Library ahead of the holiday. Last week, many residents were already wearing poppies when we asked them: “Who will you be thinking about on Remembrance Day?” The answers came quickly. 

“My dad.”

“My great uncle.”

“My grandmother.”

“My friend.”

Remembrance Day was established after the First World War to mark the moment the ceasefire took effect: the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. 

More than 650,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in that war, erasing a generation in some small towns. Roughly 1.1 million served in the Second World War — a tenth of Canada’s population at the time. Since then, many others served in Korea, Afghanistan and on various peacekeeping missions.

That means for Canadians, especially those of a certain age, they knew those who served or still serve. They’re names, not numbers.

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Students from Bishop Carroll High School and Third Academy came together at the Rocky View Garden of Peace Cemetery just east of Calgary. It was the location for a No Stone Left Alone ceremony, which engages young people in placing poppies on veterans’ headstones.

Jacquie Vincent, a retired school teacher, said Remembrance Day becomes more emotional for her the older she gets.

“I will be remembering my father, Jack Sweet, who was an original member of the First Special Service Force, a joint Canadian-American taskforce that was the prototype of the modern Special Services Unit,” she said.

“I will remember my mother, who was a member of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps stationed here at Currie Barracks, where she was a switchboard operator. Her story is actually memorialized at the military museums.

“I will remember my father-in-law, who was for three years a member as a navigator of a bomber crew over Europe.”

“I will remember my godmother, who served with my mother in the Canadian Woman’s Army Corps, and her husband, who was an air force administration officer.”

“And I remember all the young fighter pilots I met during the Cold War who served on routine patrols to protect this country. None of them died in combat, but too many of them died protecting this country, because it was dangerous work on those flights.”

Jacquie Vincent is remembering close family members on Remembrance Day. Pictured on the left are her mother Anne Gerk Sweet, her father-in-law Harry Vincent, and her father Clarence John (Jack) Sweet. (Elise Stolte/CBC)

Fish Creek Library — a pyramid structure next to Southcentre Mall — was busy that day. There was steady traffic past our table, and many of those who stopped by had stories to share about the people they’re remembering.

Gail Cary is remembering her grandfather, Carmen Vasel Edgson. He lived in Edmonton during the First World War. One day he was caught acting “drunk and disorderly,” she said. 

“He was given a choice between three nights in jail or going overseas. He chose to go overseas, and he was a bicycle courier. He did get injured, and he was honourably discharged. When he was in the hospital recovering, that’s how he met my grandma,” said Cary.

He’s buried in Edmonton’s Beechwood Cemetery.

A father-daughter team stopped by to write a note about a friend who recently retired from the military. Many who don’t have personal connections said they still honour the sacrifices made. (Elise Stolte/CBC)

Gil Closson is remembering his dad, Harry. He served as an airframe mechanic, which meant the family was stationed in bases across Canada and internationally while he was growing up.

He had a lot of stories, like about the fellow who was accidentally sucked into an engine and saved by his thick parka. Or how when his dad was a camp cook at a winter training base in northern Saskatchewan, he’d have to cook eggs by chopping them in half with a hatchet, letting them thaw upside down on a skittle, then picking out the shells.

“He was always the jokester,” said Closson.

Others who knew veterans from those early wars said they rarely, if ever, talked about what they went through. A man who spoke with us recalled sitting with a friend when he opened up with horrible stories of pain, then stopped abruptly and said he had never shared such information before. 

Another man shared a story of his grandma. Her husband was sent overseas as a carpenter, but then given a rifle and sent to the front lines. He died and left her with five kids to raise on her own.

He said the families left behind also sacrificed for this country.

Anne Morgan will be remembering her father, Douglas Morgan. He’s pictured here in a cockpit during World War II. He was a flight lieutenant. (Submitted by Anne Morgan)

Anne Morgan said she’s remembering her dad, an air force pilot. He wasn’t ever posted overseas, and he loved the adventure of his job here.  

On this Remembrance Day, her feelings of respect will be mixed with concern. 

“Concern about the volatility in the world and how people don’t seem able to negotiate and compromise, but become so entrenched that there’s no way of achieving a peaceful end to conflict. I think of Ukraine and Russia, how Putin is just so determined,” she said.

Canada is great because people made it great by their sacrifices.– Jude Iduoriyekemwen

As the morning wore on at Fish Creek, we started to wonder about those who don’t know someone personally or who recently moved to the country. So we tweaked our question to ask what people will be thinking about on Remembrance Day instead. 

Some are thinking about other tragedies. A man from Ireland said he reflects on all the lives lost in the Northern Ireland conflict, which ran from the 1960s to 1990s.

An immigrant from Iraq, reflecting on all the chaos and pain caused by repeated conflicts in that region, said Canada is an example to the world, but sometimes it seems we don’t fully appreciate what we have.

Jude Iduoriyekemwen said on Remembrance Day he remembers those who put their country and community ahead of their own self-interest. (Elise Stolte/CBC)

A man originally from China wrote a note on our conversation board, saying he appreciates how seriously Canadians take this day of remembrance, more so than he sees in his home country.

A young man from Eritrea said he thinks of his grandfather on Remembrance Day, and that he wants to go back to join the military. 

For Jude Iduoriyekemwen, who moved from Nigeria 11 years ago, Remembrance Day is for gratitude.

“We are able to come to Canada because Canada is safe. I think about people who served in the armed forces, who prioritized the nation ahead of self-interest,” he said.

“Everyone can serve in their own different way, but in the end we’re serving to make sure Canada is a great community. Canada is great because people made it great by their sacrifices.”