Lest We Forget
My father was in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He never saw battle, but proudly serve our country for many years. I have uncles and grandfathers who served as well, some in battle, others in non-combat positions. One uncle came back with a metal plate in his head.
After my parents divorced and my mum remarried, I discovered my stepfather had served in the Forces as well. As a very young man (he lied about his age and was 17 when he enlisted, I believe) he fought on the beach in Normandy. He was one of the very few survivors from his battalion and to the day he died, he felt guilty that so many of his comrades had died and he had not. It brought him to tears. I cannot even begin to imagine the horror soldiers feel when going into battle, having to kill others and watching their own get killed. Especially a teenager.
Today is Remembrance Day. I was at a meeting this morning and we showed our respect to the troops, both past and present, by listening to this rendition of Taps. This is done by a Dutch girl, Melissa Venema, who was 13 at the time of the performance. It is called Il Silenzio, and is a formal rendition of Taps. Needless to say, we all had tears in our eyes. Taps was played at my father's funeral... the standard rendition. This would have been my choice if I had known about it then.
After my parents divorced and my mum remarried, I discovered my stepfather had served in the Forces as well. As a very young man (he lied about his age and was 17 when he enlisted, I believe) he fought on the beach in Normandy. He was one of the very few survivors from his battalion and to the day he died, he felt guilty that so many of his comrades had died and he had not. It brought him to tears. I cannot even begin to imagine the horror soldiers feel when going into battle, having to kill others and watching their own get killed. Especially a teenager.
Today is Remembrance Day. I was at a meeting this morning and we showed our respect to the troops, both past and present, by listening to this rendition of Taps. This is done by a Dutch girl, Melissa Venema, who was 13 at the time of the performance. It is called Il Silenzio, and is a formal rendition of Taps. Needless to say, we all had tears in our eyes. Taps was played at my father's funeral... the standard rendition. This would have been my choice if I had known about it then.
