2023 Remembrance Day section - Wellington Advertiser

‘We carry their stories and remember each of them’ Wellington County remembers local war dead at ceremony

By Jordan

Snobelen

– Monday’s weather would pale in comparison to the conditions suffered by the men and women who served in the First and Second World Wars, but it was enough to chase a remembrance ceremony inside of the Wellington County Museum and Archives.

Inside the Aboyne Hall on Nov. 6, Legion men and women stood lined behind a podium wearing blue legion blazers, some weighed down with medals, atop crisp white collared shirts and blue-gold striped neckties.

Outside a whirling wind disordered a light rain about hundreds upon hundreds of names borne by signs staked into the museum’s recently manicured lawn.

Local Legion members, politicians and county staff gathered as they do each year around this time, to hear those names once called alive on their mothers’ tongues, now belonging to dead men who weren’t quite men, but rather still boys when they fell glorious as the bright yellow leaves outside, returning to the earth on which they fought.

After 23 minutes all the names had been read aloud, and a bugle was made to play

Wellington

the Last Post followed by a lament on bagpipes that echoed through the halls. Guelph/Eramosa Mayor Chris White addressed the gathering, speaking of locals such as George Arnold, an Arthur farmer who fought with the 75th Battalion in the First World War, dying of wounds near France in 1916, at the age of just 20.

Or Erin farmer Ashford Earl who enlisted in 1942 land ater died as a truck driver in a crash at just 21.

Or nurse Alice Cook, the sole county woman to die while serving during the First World War, White said.

At 25 years old, Cook succumbed to pneumonia while looking after returning soldiers.

“Each of these individuals gave their lives for a cause they felt was important enough,” White remarked.

“We carry their stories and remember each of them.”

Wellington Place administrator Jana Burns spoke of farmer Arnold Spicer who enlisted during the Second World War and fought with

County remembers – Local Legion members, politicians and county staff gathered inside the Aboyne Hall at the Wellington County Museum and Archives on Nov. 6 to remember the county’s war dead; the local men and women served in the First and Second World Wars, in the Korean War and in Afghanistan.

Photo by Jordan Snobelen

"And

By Robin George

ROCKWOOD –

Remembrance Day will be different this year, with many here feeling the absence of a veteran who was central to the day and local ceremony for many years.

Sytske Drijber was a veteran, teacher, reporter, photographer, activist and community influencer.

During the Second World War, Drijber, in her twenties, was stationed in Australia and Indonesia as a Dutch Intelligence mapper.

Her primary reason for joining up, Drijber said in a past interview with the Advertiser, was for adventure. Drijber moved to

—Joseph

“The

Rockwood in 1954 and lived there for almost 70 years –from 1954 until she passed away peacefully on Aug. 16 2023 at 103 years old.

Drijber was mother to six, grandmother to nine, and great-grandmother to seven.

“Everybody knew her – everybody loved her,” Guelph/Eramosa mayor

Chris White said in an inter view with the Advertiser

He first met Drijber when he moved to Rockwood in 2007, and “always had a great impression of her.”

Early in their friendship, Drijber gave White old news papers from her time as a reporter, asking him to bring them to the museum.

This was the first shared initiative of many.

“I live right beside her,” White said. “She was sharp as a tack right up until the end.”

Even when Drijber became less mobile later in life she regularly went into the community on her scooter and was “always engaging, looking for a chat,” White noted.

And Drijber was an “absolutely central figure” in Rockwood on Remembrance Day, making sure to never miss a service.

“She was always part of it,” White said. “Her spirit will be with us for a long time.”

He noted Drijber comes to mind every time he thinks about Remembrance Day.

mental part of her identity and Remembrance Day was always important to her.

“It was a big part of her life,” White said. “It surely shaped who she was, and her character.”

He describes Drijber as “always positive and happy,” constantly smiling, and a “real inspiration for everybody.”

White said Drijber was constantly coming up with initiatives in the community.

“In conversation with Mrs. Drijber,” White said the township decided to hold Remembrance Services on Nov. 11 that focused on the children, who walked to the cenotaph from Rockwood Centennial Public School and took turns reading veterans’ names.

“It was really interactive for the kids,” who “could

Drijber was “pivotal in helping us renovate the area around the cenotaph,” White noted, and also helped inspire a booklet with bios of the veterans whose names are listed on the Rockwood cenotaph

The booklet is valuable because “otherwise it’s just a name,” White said, and “as generations pass, things are forgotten.” These booklets are distributed every Remembrance Day.

Honouring veterans like Drijber is important, White explained, because “these people put everything on the line for this country.

“Many people died, were injured, or suffered mental illness for it.”

Without the sacrifices of veterans through multiple wars, Canadians wouldn’t have “freedom, the right to vote, the right to state your opinion, or the right to be involved,” White said.

“I think a lot of people who grew up in North America don’t really realize what we have here.

“Without these people defending us, things might be a lot different here. If you look around the globe ... things are a little messy right now. A lot of nations are suffering – people are suffering.

“I think we have been extremely fortunate here in North America,” White said, and that fortune is thanks to the ultimate sacrifices made by veterans.

People in Rockwood will be honouring those ultimate sacrifices with a parade from the post office to the cenotaph, a service at 10:55am, and light refreshments served at St. John’s Anglican Church.

White noted he is sure in Drijber would be “pleased that we are going to carry on.

“Absolutely, in spirit, she will be there,” he said.

By Patrick Raftis

– Wellington

County’s fallen veterans are now enshrined in a permanent display at the municipality’s main offices.

A massive plaque listing the names of county residents who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country in the two World Wars and later conflicts was installed in the hallway outside the council chamber at the administration centre and officially unveiled during the Oct. 26 council meeting.

“This is a wonderful opportunity that we have to honour and showcase the fallen from Wellington County. They came from basically every community across the whole width and breadth of the county,” said councillor Jeff Duncan, who instigated the project. Duncan said the plaque is a permanent, yearround display honouring fallen soldiers.

“It’s kind of important that it’s in the seat of local democracy here,” Duncan stated.

“It’s really just a reminder … of the sacrifice that’s been made for us.”

Duncan thanked county communications manager Andrea Ravensdale for her role in organizing the project, as well as Warden Andy Lennox and councillor Chris White for their strong support.

White noted the plaque provides another way to memorialize the county’s fallen, in addition to reading their

GUELPH

Remembering the fallen - A plaque bearing the names of county residents who paid the ultimate price during wartime was unveiled at the County of Wellington administration centre on Oct. 26. County council members on hand for the occasion included, from left: front councillors Dave Turton and Jeff Duncan, Warden Andy Lennox, councillors Chris White, Mary Lloyd, Steve O’Neill, Shawn Watters and Michael Dehn; back councillors Dave Anderson, Gregg Davidson, Earl Campbell, Diane Ballantyne, Doug Breen, James Seeley, Matthew Bulmer and Campbell Cork. BELOW: Lennox and White unveil the plaque. Photos by Patrick Raftis

St. John’s poppy project still going strong

Wellington County Museum in Aboyne.

over 9,000 knitted and crocheted poppies created by over 150 people across Canada and assembled by the Knitters and Quilters group at St. John’s Elora.

With approval from Elora Branch 229 of the Royal Canadian Legion and the National Poppy Campaign, the poppy banner installations can be viewed at St. John’s Church in Elora; at libraries, retail shop windows, lampposts, and nursing homes in Elora and Fergus; and a new installation in 2023 of a 40-foot banner on the front steps of the

The first St. John’s Elora Poppy Project in 2021 marked the 100th anniversary of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance.

The next year, 2022, marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Colonel John McCrae, author of In Flanders Fields. McCrae was born in Guelph.

“In 2023 we are reminded of the need to pray for peace and be peacemakers in a world filled with conflict,” officials stated.

The church is open for the public to view the poppies on Nov. 10, 11 and 12, from 11am to 3pm.

Poppies galore – ABOVE: New this year is a 40-foot banner on the steps of the Wellington County Museum and Archives. BELOW: Originally the group wanted to make one banner reaching from the top of the steeple to the ground. Now the poppy display at St. John’s Elora has taken over the town. Submitted photos

Elora poppy project replanted

Guelph’s Riverside Residences in the Park latest to take on the knitting challenge

By Joanne Shuttleworth

GUELPH – Inspired by a project at St. John Anglican Church in Elora, Riverside Residences in the Park in Guelph is adopting the knitted and crocheted poppy design to decorate the lobby of the building. St. John’s initiated a project for the church two years ago, hoping to drape a mesh banner outfitted with knitted and crocheted poppies from the steeple to the ground.

They got such a surge of support from crafters in the community that the church was able to decorate much more than the steeple.

Karen Morrisy, a resident at Riverside, called the Elora display “impressive.”

She and Marilyn Couture, chair of the building’s social committee, visited the church last year around Remembrance Day and came back inspired and motivated.

“I asked the social committee if we could take on a

project to make poppies and display them this November. The women here have knitted over 2,000 poppies since last February,” Couture stated in an email.

“They knitted and crocheted their hearts out,” Morrisy agreed in an interview.

On Nov. 1 the put their handiwork on display in the lobby and lower entrance of the building. There will be a tablecloth, swags and wreaths.

Morrisy said Rob Pettigrew at the Guelph Legion held a talk and small ceremony at the building last year ahead of Remembrance Day, “and he’s coming back again this year,” she said. Pettigrew was to talk about how the Legion helps veterans on Nov. 6.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Morrisy said.

“We’re proud of what we’ve done.”

REMEMBERING & HONOURING OUR HEROES

Poppy crew – Knitters at Guelph’s Riverside Residences in the Park picked up their needles last February and started knitting poppies for a Remembrance Day display in their lobby. The creators include, from left: Kate Nilsson, Sylvia DeHaan, Leona Petri, Pat Harwood, Karen Morrissey and Donna Milne.

Bob Stubbings: In Sight of Remembrance

By Bob Stubbings, Fergus Legion Branch 275

In a civil society the essential rituals of remembrance within families is recognized because of the universality of bereavement. Grief, a very deep personal emotion, is expressed through the visible conventions of mourning.

Although publicly displayed, mourning is a private cultural observance to which public access and participation is strictly defined by the living, as they reconcile the death of a loved one and reinforce memories to become part of their family’s history.

Commemoration is the tradition by which the public pays homage to the individual who has passed, through actions ranging from the cel-

ebration of their life to the renaming of local landmarks and the building of monuments.

War disproportionately increases the frequency of these solemn ceremonies and thereby places the onus on communities and nations to bear witness to the sacrifice of their war dead. The remembering of this enormous loss of life creates a national family of collective Canadian Remembrance.

Because the dead could not be repatriated during the Great War, their public com-

memoration was achieved through the building of cenotaphs and the dedication of a Day of Remembrance.

The continuance of this reverent memory is contingent upon how well we know the dead or, in lieu of this, how well we can identify with their experience.

The challenge here is to honour those who died in war without glorifying war itself. In Remembrance, it is only the names of the dead that matter.

At the family level, the death of a veteran from any era is punctuated by the letters, photographs and medals of their lost loved one. These mementos have special significance to the family and serve to quietly remind all of their sacrifice.

Mementos become heirlooms

Commonly, they become heirlooms passed on to succeeding generations along with the account of their deeds.

Regrettably, with the passage of time, this linkage can be broken as these keepsakes go astray.

The First World War is now over five generations from today’s youth. Furthermore, citizens new to this nation either by immigration or birth do not have an obvious lineage to our national war veterans.

How do these individuals identify with our country’s war legacy? How do they connect with the meaning of Canadian Remembrance?

Our awareness of the world around us is gained through our five human senses.

Their collective sensory input organizes the framework and clarity of our memories. The greater their aggregated input and intensity, particularly if they are unpleasant, the greater the imprint of that memory.

We have all experienced the adrenaline rush associated with fear. Fortunately, these moments are usually of short duration.

Here we have the written word and the visual image to serve us and though not without limitation, they can leave powerful impressions when delivered true in thought and deed.

Millions of words have recorded the contradiction, the chaos and the carnage of war. Paramount for readers today are those which recount the daily extremes in suffering, fear, boredom and fate of our battle warriors.

The writings of Canada’s war veterans, based on their own experiences, would have to be considered the most reliable and truthful observations of any published works.

When well written, the imagery revealed through our mind’s eye enlightens us to the volatility of their world.

The breadth of authorship extends from the unschooled yet detailed and sensitive memoir of John Harold Becker’s Silhouettes of The Great War through to And No Birds Sang by one of Canada’s literary sons, Farley Mowat.

Absurdity and insanity of war

In contrast, air, land or sea combat exposes all of our human senses to a simultaneous and overwhelming endurance. Thus, it is not possible to replicate the horror of battle because all of our senses cannot be artificially engaged at the same time.

Unless present, it is not possible to associate the din of battle with the stench of spent cordite.

Touch and taste cannot be duplicated by any means.

So we are left with our sense of sight as our principal means of conceptualizing the experience of warfare.

Even though of different world wars, their journeys are uncannily similar as they portray the absurdity and insanity of war.

While written for all to read, they were intended to pay tribute to their respective platoon mates who shared their surreal experiences.

Very quickly after the world wars the physical scars of battle were erased as cities were rebuilt and public symbols were restored to their former prominence.

While necessary steps for each country’s recovery, they permanently removed the savagery of war from the sight of future generations.

When one embarks upon ‘battle tours’ it is very dif-

ficult to visualize the events which took place.

Dated photographs and film preserved the evidence and are the visual proof of what came before.

Photos against orders

Although photography was against army orders during the First World War, some soldiers did sneak ‘snaps’. Certainly these shots are compelling however, they were limited by the skill of the photographer and the geographical location of the soldier.

In 1916 official photographs were commissioned which permitted a more inclusive representation of the war. Of these, the most telling are the photographs of enlisted men.

Look into their eyes. The eyes tell all. See the set stare of men who have just come from sheer gruesomeness. See them trying to hide the weakness of their fears under the courage of their smiles. Seared in those faces are sights which they may try to forget but will forever stare back at them through closed eyelids.

If the eyes are the gateway to the soul, then witness the soul-shock extracted by the darkness of war.

The First World War appeared just as the film industry became the center of entertainment. Because humans have always had a fascination with war and particularly with the recounting of its stories, motion pictures quickly became an important medium for disseminating war’s narrative, as they are today.

This is significant for as Tim Cook, historian at the Canadian War Museum, has observed “Sharing stories from the war on screen helps keep the experience alive in our social consciousness”. Film reaches beyond book-reading citizens and is attractive to a time-sensitive public.

War films intentionally leave no psychological stone unturned in their attempt to enable audiences to relive the conflict. The challenge for these films is in their accurate depiction of the events.

Unfortunately, when writers’ and directors’ artistic liberties are used to

Lest We Forget

Never Forget – Always Remember

“There can be no dedication to Canada’s future without a knowledge of its past.”

We pause at the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month to refect on the memory of our brave servicemen and women.

- John Diefenbaker, 13th Prime Minister of Canada

Observe a moment of silence on November 11 to mark the sacrifce of the many who have fallen in the service of our country, and to acknowledge the courage of those who still serve.

We say a heartfelt thank you as we “remember”.

the Highland Light Infantry. Burns told of the many letters Spicer wrote to his mother at home in Mount Forest. “He loved his mother, and he loved receiving letters from her,” Burns said.

After being injured in France, Spicer took leave in 1943 for a six-week reprieve in England. There he met a British girl who was vacationing with her family in the English countryside.

“They spent some time together, she showed him the historic sights in London, and with her he even engraved his name into St. Paul’s Cathedral,” Burns said. Spicer talked a lot about his family back home in Wellington’s north, and the girl even wrote to his mother.

On Oct. 4 in 1943, Arnold wrote to let his mother know he was returning to the fight. He was grateful for the chocolate she sent.

“That was his last letter to his mother; seven days later … Arnold was killed in combat in France at the age of 23,” Burns told the gathering.

Her son was doing well, was very tanned and fit, and a kind, young man, the British girl wanted the moth er to know.

we will remember you.”

Burns said. “We will never forget;

Wellington County Legion members – Doug Kirkwood served with the Lorne Scotts. The medals on the left are from the Legion, and the ones on the right are government medals for his service. Photos by Jordan Snobelen

Owners Jon &

Bagpipes – A lament was played on bagpipes.

Remembrance Day Classic tournament

Remembrance wreath - Mike Marson, centre, a teacher at J. D. Hogarth Public School and student Avery Holmes, left, a Mustangs U15 player, with Private Edwards, of 31 Canadian Brigade Group at the Grand River Mustangs Remembrance Day Classic girls hockey tournament. The large wreath was created by students at J. D. Hogarth for the tournament played this past weekend in arenas around the area, including the sportsplex in Fergus. Submitted

Members of 31 Canadian Brigade Group, Southwestern Ontario’s Army Reserve; Players form an honour guard as Legion members and officials pass through for opening ceremonies on Nov. 4 at the sportsplex in Fergus; Tournament officials and players join legion members and Canadian Forces Reserves at the official opening ceremonies. Photos by Patrick Raftis

How students will commemorate Remembrance Day this year

By Robin George WELLINGTON COUNTY

– Every year on Nov. 11, people across the British Commonwealth take time to honour the sacrifices made by those who fought in the armed forces.

Students will be commemorating Remembrance Day early this year, as Nov. 11 falls on a Saturday.

UGDSB

At the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB), Remembrance Day will be commemorated on Nov. 10.

Some schools have planned Remembrance Day assemblies on site, while others will be making trips to local cenotaphs for Remembrance Day services.

Local Legion members will visit some schools to share presentations about the importance of Remembrance Day.

“For over 100 years, Canadians have set aside the 11th Day of November to remember the sacrifices of soldiers who fought for Canada and the British Commonwealth in global conflicts that took place in foreign lands,” UGDSB spokesperson

Heather Loney stated in an email to the Advertiser

The UGDSB will also commemorate Indigenous Veterans Day on Nov. 8, “to honour the contributions made by Indigenous warriors in those military campaigns,” Loney continued.

Educators will be given resources, including new films, that highlight contributions and challenges of Indigenous veterans.

WCDSB

At the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) students and staff will commemorate Veterans Week from Nov. 5 to 11.

There will be a focus on Indigenous Veterans Day on Nov. 8 and Remembrance Day on Nov. 10.

“Schools have been provided with a number of resources for educators discussing Indigenous Veterans Day and Remembrance Day and have elected to engage community members in a variety of activities and ceremonies,” WCDSB spokesperson Alison Lupal stated in an email to the Advertiser St. Joseph Catholic School in Fergus will commemorate Remembrance Day with an assembly, flag party, and bucket drummers on Nov. 10.

The student flag party will use French and English drill commands.

The school will welcome honoured guests from the community during the event, including retired intelligence non-commissioned member Marie Sterling.

Sterling was stationed in Lahr, Germany, Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Carp, or the Diefenbunker, CFS Lac St. Denis and Canadian Forces Base Trenton.

The Act of Remembrance –an excerpt from For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon will be recited: “They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not wary them, nor the years condemn.”

Students will also watch a video, and observe a moment of silence and the Last Post – the traditional bugle call signifying the end of activities.

Veterans will be visiting Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School on Nov. 9 for the annual Guelph Veterans Remembrance Panel.

Visiting veterans include people who served in the Second World War, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War as well as United Nations Peacekeepers and members of Guelph’s 11th Field Artillery

Regiment.

This panel offers students an opportunity to meet veterans, shake their hands, speak with them, and listen to them share their stories.

At St. James Catholic High School, there will be a

Remembrance Day assembly on Nov. 10.

The assembly will include the school’s band and drama class, alumni playing the bagpipes, St. James students involved in Cadets and Father Valentine.

Veterans panel – Students at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic High School shake hands with veterans after the annual Guelph Veterans Remembrance Panel last year. Submitted photo

Canadian war stories in art, film, memorials

sensationalize or over-sentimentalize they not only mislead an uninformed public, but also insult veterans as they see their experiences inaccurately portrayed.

While Canadians were given just tribute in Second World War films like Captains of the Clouds and Corvette K-225 , the American and British film industry overwhelmed the viewing public with their extremely biased perspective in films such as The Longest Day. Many films, for example The Great Escape, wrote Canada’s legitimate involvement out of the script entirely.

Canadian story in film

Others, as seen in The Devil’s Brigade, did acknowledge our participation even if the Canadians were not accurately portrayed. The Canadian story witnessed in Passchendaele, Storming Juno and Hyena Road best depict our contribution through their attention to detail and hard-to-watch reality.

film may be, some of the most striking images exposing the world at war are captured with pencil and brush. Many extraordinary works have been completed by both civilian and soldier artists. The subject matter is all encompassing, running the gamut of all things war.

Canada’s contribution has come from some of our most celebrated artists including A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer and Frederick Varley, original members of the Group of Seven. While commissioned as war artists, they reproduced memorable events connected to the Great War, now housed at our own Beaverbrook Collection of War Art.

Artist contribution

Though art is a personal impression, one which gives pause to all is Jack Nichols’ Drowning Sailor. Nichols captures the struggling hopelessness of a terrified seaman. Death is near.

The human destruction brought by war was a recurring theme and few captured

Remembrance Day services in Wellington County

WELLINGTON COUNTY

– There are numerous opportunities to remember war veterans on Remembrance Day: County: Candle lighting ceremony at the museum on Nov. 10 at 5:30pm.

Salem: Salem cenotaph on Nov. 11 from 9:30 to 10:30am.

Elora: Elora cenotaph Nov. 11 from 10:50 to 11:50 followed by light refreshments at the legion.

Fergus: Parade to the cenotaph begins at the legion at 10:30am on Nov. 11.

Puslinch: Hosted by Optimists of Puslinch on Nov. 11 at the Puslinch

Community Centre in Aberfoyle. Service runs from 10:50 to 11:50am.

Rockwood: On Nov. 11, a Remembrance Day parade will commence at 10:30 from the Rockwood Post office and proceed to the cenotaph, Service at the cenotaph at 10:55 followed by refreshments at St. John’s Anglican Church.

Please note, Hwy. 7 between 4th Line and Milton Eramosa Townline will be closed during the service as well as some local streets surround-ing the cenotaph.

Erin: At the cenotaph on Nov. 11 at 10:45am.

its essence better than Mary Riter Hamilton. Unique in her endeavour, Hamilton travelled to the Western Front in 1919 to reproduce battlefield landscapes before they were cleared.

Enduring harsh conditions, Hamilton literally painted on the sites of major Canadian battles, producing the largest collection of Canadian First World War paintings by a single artist. Portrayed in an impressionist style, her works displayed themes of destruction, devastation and renewal. One memorable piece, Trenches on the Somme, has been recognized by Canada Post.

Refusing to sell her work, she gifted some of her paintings to war veterans and donated many others to what is now Library and Archives Canada.

Since time immemorial, public monuments have been erected to commemorate notable individuals or events. As simple as a headstone or obelisk to as elaborate as a statue or memorial, their architecture is artistically designed to reflect the sentiment of an individual, a community or a nation.

War memorials

Our National War Memorial in Confederation Square, Ottawa, is a tribute to all Canadians who have served in times of war.

Designed by Vernon March, The Response presents 22 bronze figures bursting through a Canadian granite arch surmounted by allegories of peace and freedom. Initially intended to recognize the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who fought in the First World War, it has been rededicated to now include all Canadians killed in all conflicts past and future. In 2000, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was added to honour those Canadians who gave their lives for their country.

In everyday Canada we

have our local cenotaphs to remind us of these events. Our own Fergus cenotaph carries the names of 68 servicemen, marking their sacrifice. The names of all Canadians who died in service of our country are respectfully ledgered in eight Books of Remembrance historically archived in The Peace Tower’s Memorial Chamber on Parliament Hill. The debit entries are many. The credit entry is but one word – freedom. Richly illustrated and solemnly presented, these tomes stand as poignant national treasures.

It has been said that war begins and ends inside each individual human being who experiences it. Accordingly, those of us who have not known war cannot relate to the physical, mental and emotional toll it extracts.

We, the uninitiated, will always be spectators to the netherworld of war’s barbarity. The disconnect between our notion of warfare and its actuality exists because the assumptions we create are influenced by our daily life experiences.

Consequently, the meaning and significance of these artistic and written works of war have a deeper purpose. They not only serve as touchstones to our national military heritage, but also intrude on all Canadians’ perception and collective memory of these events, regardless of their age or ancestry.

When we look back on our military history from our current vantage point, our vision should be filtered through the eyes of those Canadians who endured. Their horrendous reality is the human focus to our sight of Remembrance.

Identifying with their ordeal is difficult. Acknowledging and respecting it is not. Remember, you are here because they are there.

That is all you need to see.