With Halloween behind us, stores and homeowners are already preparing for the Christmas season.
Decorations and displays are creeping into the malls while wish lists are being created.
But between the sugar rush of Halloween and the consumer rush of Christmas lies a date that can often be lost in all the consumer hype – Remembrance Day is upon us.
On Wednesday, November 11, ceremonies will be held, wreaths will be placed and veterans will don their uniforms in respect and appreciation for the sacrifices made by the men and women who have defended our rights and kept us safe.
Many paid the ultimate price.
These ceremonies take place not only in the Comox Valley, or Canada, but throughout the Commonwealth of Nations.
One day, one hour doesn’t seem like a heavy price for the public to pay to say thank you and to remember.
But is the true significance of Remembrance Day becoming lost on a new generation of Canadians?
The First World War has already slipped for many from memory to history and in a few years, as veterans continue to age, the same will occur with the Second World War.
Do our children truly understand the sacrifices made by their grandparents and great-grandparents? Do they understand the sacrifices still being made today?
In this modern age, joining the armed forces and being deployed may not have the same emotional impact on those left behind.
Today, many youth understand war through the eyes of a video console. Supposedly realistic games allow them to be heroes on the TV screen.
On November 11 we need to remember the real heroes.
Lest We Forget.