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Seniors Served Admirably
By
Bob Orrick
Many of Canada's seniors served their country admirably as members of the army, navy, air force, merchant marine or nursing corps during World War Two and the Korean War. There might still be Canadian veterans of World War One alive and well in Canada. Moreover, those Canadians who were deemed to be essential to the well being of Canada, and were denied the opportunity to join up, also deserve our respect. How many farmers stooked the grain, how many ladies toiled in the ammunition factories, how many housewives stayed home and tended the hearth while they waited for their loved ones to return. How many did not return? And let us not forget the children and their twenty-five cents per week war bond savings. The five-dollar bonds were exchanged for six dollars at war's end. Many Canadians served their country well without wearing a uniform. They set the foundation for today's Canada. Each of those veterans/farmers/workers/children served a government that had a strong commitment to defeat the Axis Powers evil. What has changed? How is today different from then?
Today, it seems Canada has a cabinet that cares little for or about the country's security. It is beyond understanding that the current minister of defence has little understanding of this country's military history. That a well-educated [mostly private] cabinet minister has so little understanding of Canada's history is astounding. However, it does show rather clearly that in Canada today, history has been relegated to the back end of school curriculum where it gathers dust rather than shine through in all its glory. Canadians over the age of 65 years probably attended school at a time when history was considered a pillar of education along with the "Three Rs." Back then, when education was more basic and less esoteric, students learned about the Boer War and Canada's contribution to that conflict, and about World War One [called the Great War then] and Vimy Ridge, Ypres, and a host of other battles of note. Many of those same seniors would have struggled through the Great Depression and would have experienced first hand the difficulties a decade of economic depression wrought on Canadians and how those in the Prairies, especially Saskatchewan, faced the added natural disasters of drought and wind. Today, in many parts of the country, history more resembles local history with emphasis on the region and little or none on the country as a whole. Who in British Columbia, for instance, learns about the 1917 Halifax explosion or who in Nova Scotia learns much about the Regina Riot or who in Ontario knows about how Chinese immigrants were used and misused to build the western section of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Each of these incidents shaped Canada; yet, today's students learn little about them. Is it any wonder, then, that Canada's defence minister knew nothing of Dieppe, the Allies' 1942 attempt to establish a toehold in Europe? If he did not know that, he most certainly did not know that Canadians formed the bulk of the army that suffered grievously at the hands of the waiting Germans in that eventful April 60 years ago.
History, it is with us daily; we are tomorrow's history. Let us be proud and rejoice in its making. Stand tall and be forever thankful you are a Canadian.
Bob is hoping that readers will take the time to think about his column to the extent that they may decide to send an email to syears@senioryears.com and comment, either positively or negatively about what they have read. We will display letters at Talking Back to Bob.
Bob Orrick is a private tutor of English grammar, literature, poetry and Canadian history to off-shore youngsters. His pupils hail from such places as Taiwan, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Venezuela. He was previously in international marketing, was a ministerial assistant to a provincial cabinet minister, spent a few years as a reporter then editor of a community newspaper and enjoyed a career in the Royal Canadian Navy.
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