Almighty God. You are our refuge and strength; we humble ourselves in Your presence, and, remembering the great things you have done for us, we lift up our hearts in adoration and praise. As you have gathered us together this day, we give You thanks for all who served their country in time of trial.
In remembrance of those who made the supreme sacrifice, make us better men and women, and give us peace in our time, O Lord.
Today is Remembrance Day, when we remember the many people who left home to serve in the first world war and all the conflicts that followed. Here are some of the stories of those who left their family here in the Alberni Valley:
George Morton Bird wrote this from the front on April 16th, 1917: “I suppose you have read all about the Great Easter Advance... If you should get an opportunity to see any of the moving pictures of it, you might see me amongst the other boys. I am the first man in a party of 12 or 13 advancing in single file… Arthur Lewis, Pryde, Tom and the rest of us are all O.K.,”
A few weeks later George Bird was not okay. He was dead.
We know Redford Street in town. The Redford family had 3 sons. Edward, 29, was wounded by a shell that killed 2 of his companions. William,19, was sent home wounded and Douglas, 20, was killed in action.
Charles Samuel Bannell enlisted in November 1916, and less than a year later, on Oct 30th, 1917, he was dead
William Clarke served in the 7th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry. In 1916, at age 19, he was dead
William Stewart, PPCLI, fought in the 2nd Battle of Ypres in Belgium; he never returned from Belgium. He was 26.
The Roll of Honour lists 25 people from our community here who gave their lives in World War I.
Then there was World War II and young people from our valley continued to die. David Ramsay was a Flight Lieutenant. He was awarded the Belgian Cross of War in 1940 and on April 28th, 1944, he was dead. He was 23 years old.
George 'Bud' Hamilton was a young Hupacasath man. He was a residential school survivor. He landed at Juno beach on June 6th, 1944. Canadian forces that day suffered 1,096 casualties, 381 were killed in action. Canadian casualties alone in Normandy exceeded 18,700. Bud Hamilton survived all of these horrors. But as the fighting continued, an artillery shell exploded, severed his spinal cord and he slowly and painfully succumbed to his injuries.
James George was an only child. James managed to survive the war, and with the money he earned bought a fishing boat. One night there was an explosion on that boat. He died.
Eduard Clutesi, hereditary chief of the Tseshaht First Nation, was a genius. He taught himself to play violin. He could draw a portrait perfectly. He served with a mortar unit. He died in the battle of Canes. He was 26.
It is important we remember those who died for our community, for our country, for our nations, for us. I am honoured, as Legion Padre to have been able to share some of these stories today. Lest we forget.
The Salvation Army, of which I am an Officer, also served in these wars. In World War I, The Canadian Salvation Army ran hundreds of huts, canteens, rest facilities, and hostels in Britain, France and Belgium where troops could bathe, do laundry, eat decent food, and prepare themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually for the difficult return to the trenches. And when they did return to those trenches, they were met with more Salvation Army Officers providing for their care. Will Bird wrote: “Every front-line soldier of World War I, knew that his true friend was the man in The Salvation Army canteen.”
I am honoured that we were able to serve our servicepeople while they were serving us during the terrible times of war.
In 1918, after WWI, The Salvation Army organized their first ever nation-wide appeal for funds: the money raised was used to open shelters across Canada in order to help our veterans cope, transition, and become part of Canadian society again.
Today, because of this opportunity, The Salvation Army still runs shelters, one in this community, whose purpose is still to help people survive, cope, and reintegrate into society.
For the service people who returned from the wars, life could still be very difficult. This is why we have our much-needed Royal Canadian Legion. The Legion is 100 years old this year. It was formed to help our service people returning after WW2.
Today, we are here to remember all our service people; we are here to remember all those who served, fought, lived and died for our ancestors, our families, for us.
The war to end all wars has not yet been fought and people from our country, our province, our valley continue to serve.
Genocide, conflict, death of young people and others continues in our world. And as long as it does, we must all do our best to stand up to injustice, to work for peace, to serve, to save, and to above all else on this day – 100 years after the birth of our Legion - to honour our veterans, and to remember all those who fought for us, in our name, and especially those who didn’t make it home.
Lest we forget.
BENEDICTION: Almighty God, as You have gathered your people together this day in hallowed remembrance, we give You thanks for all who laid down their lives for our sake, and whom You have gathered from the storm of war into the peace of Your presence. Let the memory of their devotion ever be an example to us, that we at the last. Being faithful unto death, may receive with them the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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