In a time of a Pandemic how do we celebrate Remembrance Day?

 As we move into October, we are busy planning for Thanksgiving and Halloween, but what about Remembrance Day? The Legion has been thinking about this and they put out the following information to help you plan for the day.

The global pandemic has directly affected the execution of this year’s National Remembrance Day Ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. However, The Royal Canadian Legion is still planning for a much smaller yet heartfelt ceremony, which will include a maximum of 100 participants.

“The importance of a live ceremony honouring our Veterans and their sacrifices is considered paramount by the Legion, especially during the 75^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War,” says Danny Martin, National Ceremony Director. “At a time when we have all been isolated for months by the pandemic, ensuring the symbolism of the Legion and community leaders paying homage to our Veterans are more important than ever.”

For the first time, spectators will be discouraged from attending in person, due to the limited space and requirement to physically distance. The smaller number of people participating will be required to remain 2m apart and will need to wear masks unless performing certain duties related to the ceremony.

Anticipated significant changes to this year’s commemoration include:

·       No Veteran’s parade

·       No Canadian Armed Forces parade

·       A reduced colour party

·       Wreaths pre-positioned such that no wreath bearers or assistants will be required

·       No members of the Cadets or Junior Rangers present

Similarly scaled back ceremonies will be organized by many Legion Branches across the country, to the best of their abilities given the current restrictions. Please contact your local Legion Branch for updated information as the weeks progress. The Legion’s National Headquarters will also continue to release national updates as more details become available.

The Legion will offer a Facebook Live presentation of the National Remembrance Day ceremony and additional broadcast plans are under consideration.

 

Remember our troops

My nephew is serving on Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Ottawa, which departed from her homeport of CFB Esquimalt Tuesday for a four-and-a-half-month-long deployment to the Asia-Pacific Region.

The deployment is part of the Canadian government’s commitment to operations in the region and as part of ongoing United Nations sanctions against North Korea.

Starting early October, the renewed Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) contribution to the multinational effort in the Asia-Pacific region will be a CP-140 Aurora, along with the crew and supporting personnel, operating from Japan.

HMCS Ottawa will join the international maritime monitoring mission periodically between late August and mid-November.

He is serving our country as did his grandfather and his great uncles. This day is a day to remember the men and women who serve our country and willingly put themselves in harm's way so that we can enjoy our freedom. Here is are the numbers of those who died in service to us. The important point to remember when reading statistics of war service is to appreciate the fact that every number represents a person.

These are men and women who grew up, had families and left loved ones behind.

One of the best ways to remember and support our vets is to wear a Poppy. By making a donation and wearing a Poppy, Canadians of all ages support the Legion’s mission to serve veterans and their dependents while also promoting Remembrance. The sale of wreaths and the Poppy Campaign make it possible for the Legion to operate a National Service Bureau which acts as an advocate for veterans and their dependents seeking compensation from the government for service-incurred disabilities. Every year, more than a million dollars of the money raised through the campaign is used for direct assistance for ex-service people and their dependents in financial distress. The funds are used to pay for food, accommodation, utilities, dental and optical services and hospital comforts.

It is also important to note that over the years many millions of dollars have been given to worthy charities or spent providing valuable services, such as Meals on Wheels, to seniors. The campaign’s expenses, meanwhile, remain low owing in large part to the national network of volunteers who distribute the Poppies.

The money collected is held in trust and cannot be spent on anything other than the purposes specifically authorized in the General By-laws of the Legion.

If you do nothing else today, buy a poppy and hold one minute of silence at 11:00 to remember our serving troops and our veterans who fought for our freedom and who continue to put themselves in harm's way for us.

Remember our Service men and women today

This is an important day for me, my father fought in the second world war, as did my wife's father and grandfather. My Uncle served in the Army for over 20 years and during his time served as a Peace Keeper in Cypress. I also have a nephew in the armed services and this Remembrance Day  I know he is safe at home. Many of our armed service members are not, they are in harms' way, protecting our way of life. We remember and honor those people who are serving today and those who have fallen. 

In Canada, Remembrance Day is a federal statutory holiday as it is in many other countries in the world where this day is observed on the national level.

All government buildings fly the Canadian flag this day and people remember those who fought for Canada during a two-minute silence at 11am. Many people wear poppies before and on Remembrance Day to show their respect and support for Canadian troops. Poppies are generally handed out free but often a voluntary donation is given in exchange.In the United States, they call this day, Veteran's Day

We remember members of our armed services on this day, but what other interesting and important things happened on this day in history

1620 - The Mayflower Compact was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower when they landed in what is now Provincetown  Harbor near Cape Cod. The compact called for "just and equal laws." 

1831 - Nat Turner, a slave, and educated minister, was hanged in Jerusalem, VA, after inciting a violent slave uprising. 

1851 - The telescope was patented by Alvan Clark. 

1868 - The first indoor amateur track and field meet was held by the New York Athletic Club. 

1880 - Australian outlaw and bank robber Ned Kelly was hanged at the Melbourne jail at age 25. 

1887 - Labor Activists were hanged in Illinois after being convicted of being connected to a bombing that killed eight police officers. 

1889 - Washington became the 42nd state of the United States. 

1918 - World War I came to an end when the Allies and Germany signed an armistice. This day became recognized as Veteran's Day in the United States. 

1918 - Poland was reestablished shortly after the surrender of Germany. 

1920 - The body of an unknown British soldier was buried in Westminster Abbey. The service was recorded with the first electronic recording process developed by Lionel Guest and H.O. Merriman. 

1921 - The Tomb of the Unknowns was dedicated at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia by U.S. President Harding. 

1938 - Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" on network radio. 

1940 - The Jeep made its debut. 

1942 - During World War II, Germany completed its occupation of France. 

1946 - The New York Knickerbockers (now the Knicks) played their first game at Madison Square Garden. 

1952 - The first video recorder was demonstrated by John Mullin and Wayne Johnson in Beverly Hills, CA. 

1965 - The government of Rhodesia declared its independence from Britain. The country later became known as Zimbabwe. 

1965 - Walt Disney announced a project in Florida. 
Disney movies, music, and books 

1966 - The U.S. launched Gemini 12 from Cape Kennedy, FL. The craft circled the Earth 59 times before returning. 

1972 - The U.S. Army turned over its base at Long Bihn to the South Vietnamese army. The event symbolized the end of direct involvement in the Vietnam War by the U.S. military. 

1975 - Civil war broke out when Angola gained independence from Portugal. 

1981 - Stuntman Dan Goodwin scaled the outside of the 100-story John Hancock Center in Chicago in about six hours. 

1981 - The U.S.S. Ohio was commissioned at the Electric Boat Division in Groton, CT. It was the first Trident class submarine. 

1984 - The Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. died in Atlanta at age 84. 

1984 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan accepted the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a gift to the nation from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. 

1984 - Gary Coleman, at age 13, underwent his second kidney transplant in Los Angeles. He had his first transplant at age 5. 

1986 - Sperry Rand and Burroughs merged to form "Unisys," becoming the second largest computer company. 

1987 - Vincent Van Gogh's "Irises" was sold for a then-record 53.9 million dollars in New York. 

1988 - Police in Sacramento, CA, found the first of seven bodies buried on the grounds of a boardinghouse. Dorothea Puente was later charged in the deaths of nine people, convicted of three murders and sentenced to life in prison. 

1990 - Stormie Jones, the world's first heart-liver transplant recipient, died at a Pittsburgh hospital at age 13. 

1991 - The U.S. stationed its first diplomat in Cambodia in 16 years to help the nation arrange democratic elections. 

1992 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin told U.S. senators in a letter that Americans had been held in prison camps after World War II. Some were "summarily executed," but others were still living in his country voluntarily. 

1992 - The Church of England voted to ordain women as priests. 

1993 - Walt Disney Co. announced plans to build a U.S.  history theme park in a Virginia suburb of Washington. The plan was halted later due to local opposition. 

1993 - In Washington, DC, the Vietnam Women's Memorial was dedicated to honor the more than 11,000 women who had served in the Vietnam War. 

1994 - In Gaza, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at an Israeli military checkpoint killing three soldiers. 

1996 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund unveiled "The Wall That Heals." The work was a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that would tour communities throughout the United States. 

1997 - The Eastman Kodak Company announced that they were laying off 10,000 employees. 

1997 - Roger Clemens (Toronto Blue Jays) became the third major league player to win the Cy Young Award four times. 

1998 - Jay Cochrane set a record for the longest blindfolded skywalk. He walked a tightrope between the towers of the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas, NV. The towers are 600 feet apart. 

1998 - Vincente Fernandez received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

1998 - Israel's Cabinet ratified a land-for-peace agreement with the Palestinians. 

2002 - Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates pledged $100 million to fight AIDS in India