Nice to see students at Remembrance Day service

Editor:

Kudos to the principal and staff of Nottawasaga and Creeemore Public School for making last week’s Remembrance Day observance a teaching moment. As I waited for the service to begin, I was struck by the thought that if you are 10 or 12 years old, 1945 might just as well be 1700 – it’s all ancient history.

We grew up in Northern Ontario in a town not unlike Creemore. Our community was full of veterans. Many of our contemporaries had fathers and grandfathers who had served overseas and their memories made the Second World War very relevant. There are very few veterans left, and most of today’s youth will ever have the experience of hearing a soldier describe the D-Day landings or the thrill of being part of the liberation of the Netherlands. Yet, one need only look around at current events like the Russian invasion of Ukraine to understand how important it is that we remember and honour the sacrifices those veterans made to ensure our way of life.

I suspect that morning service at the Cenotaph allowed those students to appreciate that even though 77 years is a very long time, the events of the Second World War are still very relevant. Honouring our veterans on Remembrance Day does matter.

Rick Schubert and Bonnie MacPherson,

Avening.