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A Unique Tribute to our Soldiers
I know life is complex. With Remembrance Day finishing up yesterday, I wanted to tell you about a unique way I paid tribute.
Recently I was an extra in several crowd scenes for a Canadian movie, Fallen Heroes.
It’s the story of all nations with soldiers in Afghanistan hiding their fallen soldiers. They deliberately left that country under cover of darkness. They also arrived unannounced in their home countries. Then there was a change of leadership for the Canadian forces.
The Canadian decided that there would be a ramp ceremony in Afghanistan so fellow comrades could pay their respects. There was a ceremony in Canada upon their arrival. Then the ‘Highway of Heroes,’ down the 401 in Ontario, completed their last journey.
All this was against the firm expectations of some other countries, who wanted to hide their losses.
It seems so normal a tribute now, but it was groundbreaking for the world. The film, Fallen Heroes, tells this story.
As I waited on a local Edmonton highway overpass, which was standing in for the 401, I had time to reflect. There were about 100 of us extras waiting for the motorcade to pass beneath us several times, Canadian flags waving in the strong breeze. Action. Blink. Cut. Repeat.
I thought about the young men and women who voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way for the benefit of others.
A few years ago, I walked the sandy Juno beach in France. It was a flat wide open, no-place-to-hide kind of beach. I quietly cried as I imagined the Canadian men, trusting fate getting them safely onto dry land and behind or beneath some inadequate shelter from enemy fire.
As another annual day of tribute passes, I am grateful for our opportunities to say a simple ‘Thank You.’
Please give this a bit of a think. Please identify a moment of tribute to our fallen heroes that you experienced. Please consider sharing it in the comment box below.
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And my thanks to St. Albert Seniors Association: 780-459-0433 for making this Blog possible.
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Every year we have been going to the Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph in St. Albert, except for last year and this year, for the obvious reasons. My wife and I were in France in 2019 and attended the 75th anniversary ceremony at Juno Beach. It was touching, but even better on the day after, the 7th, because we could walk the beach where the soldiers landed and so many got killed. It was truly an experience to be there and visit the Canadian museum that is there. It all gave us so much to think about and so much to be thankful for.
Yes, I was so choked up while there, just imagining those soldiers. We were also fortunate to visit the Pegasus Bridge that the British, landing via glider planes, captured in the dark of night. The men were lined up on each side of the interior, lifting their feet as the plane belly-landed. Wood and fabric were used to save weight for the gliders!! Terrifying.
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