It's a day, a season, that brings inner conflict for me. I understand that evil prevails when good is silent. I understand that we have to fight back against injustice and atrocities around the world. I am thankful for the reckless courage of young boys rushing in to make a difference.
My family includes many who enlisted. Most survived the war, though I don't know what toll it played on their personalities and relationships. My great-grandfather made it home only to later die from pulmonary issues related to his active duty. My grandmother was only 4 and grew up without a father.
I believe that in many ways we didn't know any better in the 1900s. But now we have research that tells us that our brains are constantly developing over a span of three decades and don't reach adulthood until our thirties. How then can we not only allow but actively encourage young men in their late teens and early twenties to go overseas and engage in combat? We may claim that Canada's troops are peacekeepers, but peace is kept through force.
These are my thoughts, feelings, frustrations this time of year.
Nevertheless, thank you to all of the women behind the scenes, and to these men from my family who enlisted.
Father:
Ron, age 16
1967 - 1969 Royal Canadian Navy - Donnacona
When he signed up to serve for 5 years with the Royal Canadian Navy he told them he was older than 16. When they found out his real age a year and a half later, they gave him an honourable discharge.
Paternal Grandfather: |
| "John," age 17 Canadian Army (Militia), WW2 |
Maternal Grandfather: |
| Malcolm, age 19 Royal Canadian Air Force (stationed in Canada), WW2 |
Paternal great-grandfather: |
| Gordon, 19 4th field ambulance, WW1 |
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| Gordon went on to serve again in WW2 in the Veteran Guard of Canada |
Maternal great-grandfather: |
| Roland, age 23 Canadian Expeditionary Force Battalion
He received a military medal for marked courage and devotion to duty in action. "This man worked unceasingly in maintaining telephonic communication between Battalion and Brigade Headquarters. His duties necessitated him being constantly in the open, and exposed to the enemy barrage, but his work was so thorough that at no time was communication broken. Although wounded early in the operation he remained at duty until relieved, a period of three days."
After returning home from war he died of a pulmonary issue related to being gassed in war.
What makes me really angry is that he was buried in a mass grave at Hawthorndale cemetery on the eastern tip of the island of Montreal. Their records indicated that the plot had been provided by the Red Cross in a section of the cemetery for persons of limited funds. There is no marker to commemorate him, nor can one be placed since he shares a grave with so many. |
Maternal great-grandfather: |
| John, age 20 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Canadian Expeditionary Force in France
In November 1916 he was listed among casualties. He was later found, having being wounded and suffering a brain concussion. His discharge papers indicate he suffered a gun shot wound to the head.
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Paternal relative |
| Harold, 22
Canadian Force, RCASC (CASF) 2nd Divl. Petrol Co
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Maternal Grandfather's brother: |
| Jack, age 19 |
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| John, age 20 |
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| Duncan, age 24 |
Suggested reading:
The Psychology of Going to War
The teenage soldiers of World War One
Why is 18 the age of adulthood if the brain can take 30 years to mature?
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