“We are standing on the shoulders of giants”

November 6, 2020 · 0 Comments

Robert Hay vividly recalls visiting hospitals to meet elderly veterans of the First World War.

When he first joined the Royal Canadian Regiment more than 40 years ago, the Great War was still very much in our collective living memory – and memories of the Second World War and Korean War were even more immediate.

The men and women who served in these theatres of war are the ones who come to mind when Robert hears the word “veteran.” In fact, when he looks back on his own service, he says he stood on the shoulders of these giants.

But, his daughter, Alix, has a different perspective. Not only is her father a veteran, he is a giant on whose shoulders she now proudly stands as a Corporal with the Aurora-based Queen’s York Rangers.

The Hays, a family which boasts four generations of service persons, have attended local Remembrance Day commemorations without fail for more than 20 years. This year, as participants are encouraged to stay home and watch a live-stream of the ceremonies, which will be open to just a few invited guests to lay wreaths this Wednesday, November 11, they spoke to The Auroran from the Cenotaph to speak about what Remembrance Day means to them, particularly in this extraordinary year.

“I have had a few Remembrance Days overseas,” says Robert, who began his service as an Infantry Officer deployed to Cyprus, followed by Bosnia, before taking on the role of unarmed Military Observer in various places around the world where the Canadian Armed Forces served. “For me, Remembrance Day is a private moment, it has always been a private moment coming to the Cenotaph, and whether the Legion is hosting it or the military, it is immaterial to me. It is that moment where one remembers.”

Although Remembrance Day was originally conceived as a way to honour our war dead, this original sentiment with each passing year has also grown to encompass paying tribute to veterans who have returned home and are still members of the community to this day.

Perhaps that is part of the reason why Robert considers gathering at the Cenotaph each November a private moment.

“When I joined the service, I stood on the shoulders of giants,” he says, noting he counts veterans of the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Korean conflict, among his heroes. “When I look at myself, I am not a hero, but I have known some. For me, the hero is the person who gives up their job, leaves their family for six years in the Second World War or four years [in the First] and that, to me is a hero – someone who surrenders what they have to go over and do that for their country.”

As Robert speaks, Alix beams with both pride and emotion – it is clear she has a slightly different viewpoint on what it means to be a hero.

For her, that “hero” is dad.

His service to Queen and Country inspired her to follow suit and, after she was put through her paces, Robert had the honour of swearing his daughter into the service just before his retirement.

“The only word I can think of is ‘pride’,” says Alix of following in her father’s footsteps. “I am just so lucky to be his daughter. What Remembrance Day means to us is different from the ‘Average Joe’ because, for us, when Remembrance Day comes around I think of my dad and the tours he has been on overseas. He is just so courageous and he is my hero, 100 per cent.

“I can’t even contain myself when I hear him talk about it! Also, it is more along the lines of you have to Remember and be respectful and just know there are families out there who suffer in silence with things they have gone through and their memories. We need to keep that alive. You just have to keep together as a community and Remember.”

Although Robert is a veteran of more recent conflicts, when pressed he says he doesn’t ever see a time or circumstance where he might embrace his well-earned title of “veteran.”

“I knew veterans, I had the honour of knowing veterans, but not me. I can’t speak for other soldiers, but I think you will find a whole lot of them are extremely modest about it and I think they are comfortable in their silence.”

Where some feel unable to speak up, it often falls to the Royal Canadian Legion to pick up the slack and lend a hand to even the most reluctant of past or current serviceperson.

“The important thing for people to remember is if they contribute to the Legion’s [Poppy Campaign] to understand to whom they are contributing,” says Robert. “It is an organization that is bigger than themselves and it exists for reasons beyond selfishness. I find the Legion may not have the same flavour with a lot of past soldiers, but what they are doing is purely altruistic. They don’t get paid for it, but they do it because it is the right and proper thing to do.”

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter