"We Will Remember Them"

Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph in downtown Ottawa.

Photograph by: Wayne Cuddington, The Ottawa Citizen

Austerely solemn, in an austere month, this
11th hour of the 11th day of the Eleventh month,
winter-coat-clad Canadians assemble to honour
their battle veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces
who answered the call to duty on behalf of the
free world's longevity, as we live it to this day.
The singing of Oh Canada, to accompany the
Ottawa Children's Choir, then the sombre play
of The Last Post. As the clock tower of the
Parliament Buildings strike 11, a cannon burst.

From Flanders Fields to the fields of poppies
thriving in Afghanistan, the old soldiers,
physically desiccated, and the stern young faces
of current military, amidst the wailing of the
bagpipes and the volley of cannons, all testament
to the solemnity of the occasion. The Cenotaph,
that proud memorial of a proud nation towers
over the dense gathering under a wide, blue sky
where a squadron of planes perform a flyby
and then return, thundering under the sun.

Canada's new Governor General officiating,
a grave address by Brig.Gen. Forces Chaplain
in both official languages. The bright red poppy;
respect in solemn commemoration pinned over
the heart. The national flag proudly waving
against the broad blue of the sky; the tradition of
wreath-laying commences; first that of the
Mothers of Canada for their sacrifice, the
penultimate, mourning their dreadful loss.

Parliamentarians, diplomats, the Armed Forces
branches and elite, representatives of foreign
countries, civil organizations, the youth of the
country; all present and accounted for. The
beautiful, uplifting melody of children's sweet
voices raised endearingly in chorus after chorus
of hymns and paeans to the search for universal
peace despite the dreadful, soul-destroying
urgencies of war imposed upon the world through
the overarching venal ambitions of tyrants,
dictators and power-hungry psychopaths.

The singing children's red-clad figures a note
of evanescent hope and clarity, ascending to a plea
for the sanctity of life, the sanity of live and
let live; a symbol of Amazing Grace, amid the
cannon fire salutes. The Tomb of the Unknown
Soldier blanketed by fiery-red poppies of
remembrance, and the regiments march by.