We all enjoy STAR WARS immensely (as well as other SF), but I think for the most part we tend to forget that in our world we also have wars, survivors and, most importantly, Veterans.

Please check out this link, and I hope to see you down at the cenotaph by the Parliament Buildings 11 Nov around 1000 hours. I'll be there.

http://www.army.gc.ca/chief_land_staff/remembrance/English/video.asp

 

That's a beautiful video, and gets across pretty powerfully the whole point of observing the two-minute silence. Thank you for sharing the link with us, Haru.

My father lost his older brother, and my mother lost her closest cousin in WWII, so Remembrance Day has always been a solemn occassion for our family. Perhaps my daughter is old enough now to observe the 2-minute silence so that we can attend the service downtown instead of watching the memorial services on TV.

Will your squadron be on parade, Haru, or shall we look for you in the crowd?

- Rani

 

443 Squadron hibitually parades in Sidney (by invitation of the town council) since we are based at the airfield. However, they select representatives from my unit rather than ordering everyone out (there's too many of us). Consequently, I go downtown to Victoria's primary cenotaph where I stood my very first Remembrance Day parade in 1983 (and froze my proverbials off).
My maternal Grandfather's brother died in WWI. My mother was in the British ATS: radar when it was first used in WWII. My father was a Navigator/Bomb-aimer with the RAF in the desert campaign, North Africa, hunting down Rommell's forces. I've served in Egypt (1988) as a Peacekeeper, while baby brother, Nick was with 5th Field Regiment for five years before taking on a full-time civilian job. So the military is well represented in my family. Hope to see you there. Look for me on the Empress' corner under the big tree.