Friday November 8, 2019 ~ ESQUIMALT-COLWOOD-METCHOSIN
FEATURE ~ West Shore Voice News
We pause to remember – by Mitzi Dean, MLA (Esquimalt-Metchosin)
“I was born and grew up in a part of the world that knows all too well the ravages of war. When I emigrated from England and settled here on the South Island nearly 15 years ago, I discovered a vibrant, tightly-knit military community.
No surprise when you consider that Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt is Canada’s Pacific Coast naval base and home to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters. Or that this part of the world has a long history of proud public service – protecting our coastline, welcoming immigrants, and pulling together to weather the storms big and small, the way Islanders do.
I’m proud to represent Esquimalt, and I’m never prouder or more humbled than when I attend Remembrance Day ceremonies.
It’s a tradition that began 101 years ago at the end of the First World War as a way to pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, and thank those in the armed forces who have served our country and serve it to this day.
Keeping their legacy alive demands that we pause to remember their enormous sacrifice not only this Sunday November 11th, but every day. And that we pass onto our children the significance of remembrance and the lessons learned from war. For those who paid the ultimate price, we pause to remember.
Each November, millions of poppies blossom in Canada. They blossom on the jackets, dresses and hats of the Canadian population – as they have since 1921. We wear them in grateful appreciation for those who have served and who serve us to this day.
This year we’ll gather again on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month at Memorial Park on Esquimalt Road. Before that, there is a ceremony at Veterans Ceremony on Colville Road that begins at 9:30 a.m.
Following the 11 a.m. service at Memorial Park, a post ceremony reception hosted by Royal Canadian Legion Branch number 172 will be held at CFB Esquimalt’s Chief and Petty Officer’s Mess on Lyall Street. Everybody is welcome to join us as we remember and once again the words of poet Robert Laurence Binyon ring out into the brisk November air:
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”
============
