Dinner reflects on the true spirit behind Remembrance Day

November 12, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Angela Gismondi

Lieutenant colonel Phillip Halton, of the C.O. QYR Regiment, was the guest speaker at the Veteran’s Dinner held at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 385 in Aurora Saturday.

Halton said he is used to educating people about Remembrance Day, something he would not need to do at a Veteran’s Dinner. Instead he wanted to focus on the meaning of Remembrance Day.

“This is not a crowd that needs to find out from me the meaning of Remembrance Day,” he said. “My sense is that in the wider Canadian community, I’m not sure today really resonates, and I’m sad to say that,” said Halton, adding that this is probably the most poignant Remembrance Day in recent history, with the recent acts on Parliament Hill, and with this year being the 100th anniversary of the First World War.

“The central message is sacrifice – to commemorate and remember the sacrifice and nothing more than that, as profound as that is. It’s not a day to wish for peace. It’s a day to remember those who sacrificed their lives, he added.

“Sacrifice stems from only one thing and that is action – one must take action in order to sacrifice. We reflect on the great sacrifices that have been made by others, some here in the room tonight, members of the military and those who support the military. Those sacrifices have been made for our community, for our country. It’s a day to think about not only what was done but why it was done. It’s a time to commemorate the sacrifices that have been made to the benefit of all of us.”