Jotdaniel wrote:

So what your saying is... the dead soldiers don't deserve their own day. Another reason to invade Pepsi Presents Canadia. ;P

No... the dead soldiers have Remembrance Day. The veterans who are still alive don't have their own day. But it's the veterans who honour the dead; the citizenry mostly just supports the veterans in their recollections of the day. But really, the day isn't about the soldiers, or the dead soldiers, at all... it's about the war, and remembering that such a thing must never ever happen again.

Remembrance Day is highly steeped in tradition in Canada, far more so than Memorial Day or Veterans' Day in the U.S. I'd be lying if I said I knew the figures beyond a wild guess, but I'm under the impression that at least 25% of Canadians observe a minute of silence at 11:00 am on Remembrance Day. =)


I remember the last Remembrance Day assembly I had in high school. A Canadian AA-gunner recollected how he was stationed in London. The troops were all collected to the south when the Luftwaffe flew overhead. They didn't bomb the troops, not even in retaliation against the anti-aircraft fire. They entirely ignored the troops, and sailed past and dropped bombs on civilian buildings.

As I was listening to that, the hot sensation of a feral rage boiled up. I let it subside very slowly.