Veterans Week 2021 – Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers delivering a message specific for teens in grade 7 to 12
Video / October 22, 2021
Transcript
It’s 1916. 800 young Newfoundlanders head toward the frontline. They fight bravely through barbed wires and a firestorm. The next morning, only 68 answer the roll call. A community loses a generation.
That same year, hundreds of Black Canadians come together as members of the Number 2 Construction Battalion. Many had been denied the opportunity to fight for their country because of the colour of their skin, but they refused to take “no” for an answer. Even then, they are only allowed to be part of a segregated, non-combatant unit. After the war is done, they do not receive the full recognition they deserve until a century later.
A country is denied its heroes.
It's 1951, in the heat of the Korean War. Canadian forces are under attack. Noel Knockwood, a residential school survivor from the Sipekne'katik First Nation, fires his 105-millimetre howitzer against the enemy. He is only 18 years old, and he serves in Korea for 413 days. He comes home and begins his lifelong work to promote and protect Mi'kmaq heritage and spirituality.
A community gains a pillar.
It’s 1956, and conflict has escalated between Egypt, France, the United Kingdom, and Israel over the Suez Canal. With the region in crisis, the United Nations calls for a ceasefire and withdrawal of foreign forces. They create the first United Nations Emergency Force. It is led by a Canadian peacekeeper named “Tommy” Burns.
A country gains a new part of its identity.
Our history is not just dates and key battles.
It is not just victories and defeats.
Our history is people.
It is their duty, honour, integrity, and courage.
It is the people who came home, forever changed by the grim realities of war.
It is the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of a better world.
A world where everyone can be free.
A world that follows the rule of law, and upholds human rights.
A world where all people are treated with dignity and respect.
This Veterans Week, we remember the sailors patrolling the perilous seas, navigating bravely despite the danger of hidden German U-Boats.
We remember the soldiers, crawling through the mud, bracing for enemy fire.
We remember the aviators flying out in the night, dodging enemy spotters and hoping that their planes would make it through.
We remember the nurses, saving lives while putting their own on the line.
We remember the people on the home front, making munitions and ensuring that our forces overseas had the supplies they needed to stay alive.
And we remember that conflict did not end with the First and Second World Wars.
Over the decades, Canada’s military members have continued to answer the call to save lives, protect peace, and uphold security and stability in the world.
Most recently, over 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces members served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014, risking their lives to help people in need.
Although our military is not involved in any combat missions today, we proudly remember the contributions of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
When I hear Veterans’ stories, I am inspired to be a better Canadian. A better person. I want to live up to their example.
I am inspired by people like Major Lynn Doucette, an Air Weapons Controller.
She was deployed to the Persian Gulf in 1991, and worked in an American Air base in Turkey.
There, she commanded a US Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft.
She kept a careful eye on the enemy and reported what she saw on the radar to the Generals on the ground. She recommended what actions they should take.
But she faced significant barriers as a woman in uniform. Local cultural restrictions at the Turkish airbase banned women from entering the operations centres.
She was denied her seat at the table, due to her gender.
But she was undeterred, and performed her duties with excellence and bravery.
Her work, and that of her comrades-in-arms, was key to maintaining control over the sky during the Persian Gulf War.
Today, Canadian Armed Forces members work at sea, on the ground, and in the air to protect and defend our country, and to support our allies across the globe.
There are missions in Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific and it’s all about making the world safer.
As Canadians, we can take a lot of pride in being a reliable friend and in working together, especially with our NATO allies.
We also help make the seas safer by stopping traffickers.
Earlier this year, a Canadian ship broke records when it seized 2,835 pounds of heroin off the coast of Oman.
Those drugs would have hurt people, and the money made from selling them would have gone to criminal groups. The Navy has done a lot of really great work in the Middle East, as well as in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean to stop these smugglers.
And Canada helps make sure that the ocean is safe for ships to travel. When so many of the things we love travel by boat, that’s a really important responsibility.
In countries like Ukraine, Iraq, and Lebanon, Canada supports local security forces. We help them develop the skills they need to build and maintain long-term peace and stability.
Canadians are also supporting United Nations peacekeeping operations.
That includes flying people, equipment, and supplies where they are needed for UN operations in Africa.
Here at home, you may have seen military members right in your community.
They are there helping out with floods, fires, ice storms, and COVID-19. No matter what happens, their job is to work hard to keep you and your communities safe.
Maybe you’ve seen helicopters or planes flying overhead, or you’ve walked past the massive steel hull of a ship docked at port. Or on the highway, you’ve passed by some big green trucks driving all together. Maybe you have someone in your family who is in the military, or your neighbor is a Veteran.
We all have different connections to Veterans’ Week.
And we have different ways of showing our gratitude.
A wreath laying ceremony. Reciting a poem. Wearing a poppy. Listening to a podcast. Calling up a relative and asking to hear their stories.
I want to thank you for taking the time to be part of this Veterans’ Week event.
Thank you for remembering their stories and their sacrifices.
Together, we celebrate the lives of those who made it home, who survived to have families and to grow old.
And we honour those who did not.
We remember the thousands of people, past and present, who put their lives on the line in defence of our country, our people, and our values.
Lest we forget.