Juno Beach, June 6, 1944

by David Shanahan

This is the time of year when we look back and think about the many Canadians who left their country to fight in wars all over the world. The Twentieth Century was a long series of conflicts which saw Canada develop from a colonial outpost of Empire into a sovereign nation charting its own course on the world stage. And the wars in which it was involved reflect that development.

The century started with Canadians volunteering to go to South Africa to fight on the side of the British Empire against the Boers. One hundred and twenty years ago, Canadian men and women were to be found on the veldt and creating a sense of national identity, if only among themselves. More than 7,000 Canadians, including 12 women nurses, served overseas.

When war broke out in Europe in 1914, Canada was automatically included when Britain declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. By 1915, the first Canadian Expeditionary Force had landed in France to take part in a long and bloody conflict. Some 619,636 Canadians enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the war, and approximately 424,000 served overseas. Close to 61,000 Canadians were killed during the war, and another 172,000 were wounded. Many more returned home broken in mind and body. Battles at Ypres, Vimy, the Somme, and Passchendaele were fought in horrendous conditions, with men drowning in mud, as well as dying from bullets, shell and disease.

Just three decades later, Canadians would be back again, fighting all over the world. During the Second World War, approximately 1,159,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders served, of whom 44,090 died. Places like Dieppe, Hong Kong, Juno Beach, Caen, and so many others, would burn their names into Canadian history. But that was not all. Just five years after World War 2 ended, fighting broke out in Korea, and the Canadians were sent out again. Another 516 names to inscribe in memorial books.

Since then, we’ve had Afghanistan, peace keeping missions, and the Canadian contribution in all of these conflicts has brought about a different status for the country in world affairs. But now, in this strange year of 2020, as we all fight an unseen enemy, it’s right and timely to remember all those who went away, some came back, others didn’t.

So, we remember.

 

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