They grow not old, as we who are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
We will remember them.
Remembrance Day is by far one of the most important days of my year. A day which holds so much meaning and emotion for me.
This morning Leah, Travis Gary and I went to the Remembrance Day service here in Arctic Bay. It differs in several aspects from those ceremonies in the south that I am used to. A major difference is that there are no veterans here, and the service is run by the Cadets, which is an important innovation, as the ranks of the veterans are growing thinner with each passing year.
It was a nice ceremony, but like many things here, it got off to a late start. The importance of being flexible was demonstrated as they just changed the order of service so that taps, and the minute of silence got off on time at 11:00 am. A real nice touch was having a real trumpet player (a new teacher?) this year to do taps and reveille, and one of the teachers sang an amazing rendition of O’ Canada.
I miss certain things from Remembrance Day at home though, like the Veteran’s benediction, which opens this piece, and the singing of the hymn Abide With Me. (lines from which will close it, at least as my memory serves me). But mostly I miss visiting Grandpa’s grave with my dad.
My Grandfather was a soldier in the Great War, that war which most people refer to as World War I. He served with the 16th Canadian Scottish, and fought at in France and Belgium at places like Ypres, Paschendale, Vimy Ridge, and others. He was awarded the Military Medal for his actions at the Battle of Hill 70 near Lens. He was gassed and lost friends and many colleagues. After the war he became the Postmaster in Roblin, a job which my father took over and which is now held by my brother. He was a lay minister and a great cribbage player, and a fantastic fisherman. But mostly he was my grandfather and probably the second biggest influence in my life after my dad. I miss him terribly.
I remember so vividly pestering Grandpa for stories of the Great War, and he always accommodated me, and it wasn’t until after he was gone, when I had grown, that I realized how much it pained him to relate those stories, but telling them was something he knew was important. I guess he knew that even though I saw adventure and excitement in them, that one day I’d realize how hollow those ideas of war were, and that I’d recognise the human suffering that they related. My Grandfather knew that what he did overseas was important. He also knew that war was a terrible thing, and that no one should ever have to live through one again. However it happened again, and he saw more young men march off to die a scant twenty years later, including his nephew, my namesake, Clare Kines, who was executed by soldiers of the 12th Panzer under Kurt Meyer two days after D Day.
As a youth I used to dress up in Grandpa’s uniform, put on the kilt and tunic that he wore in that terrible arena of death. His uniform is now on display in Canada’s War Museum in Ottawa, the only complete uniform of an individual soldier from the Great War.
A staggering average of almost six thousand combatants a day died over the course of the Great War. Six thousand (mostly) young men, every day for four years. To put it in perspective to young people, I often put it this way… imagine the entire town of Arctic Bay killed in three hours, every three hours, for four years. Such promise wiped away from this world.
I know that I am very lucky that he made it through "the big scrap", for had he not, I would not exist. But I am lucky even more so, for his experiences made him who he was, which shaped my father, which shaped me. I hope I grew into the sort of man that he hoped I would, I like to think that in many ways I have. What I would have given to have him standing with my father and mother, brother and sister and the rest of my family at my graduation parade at Depot. He abides with me always.
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.
Though darkness deepens, Lord with me abide.
In times of trouble and when comforts flee.
Help for the helpless Lord abide with me.