First of all, I would like to thank you
for visiting my site and this link, which is in tribute
of the special heroes, who risk their lives around the
world for people like you and me. I have also come to
notice and am relieved to say that such heroes, are not only found in my home and
native land, Canada, but can be found all over the
world. Sometimes I’ve forgotten that it’s their
sacrifices, for their fellow man that has allowed us the
freedoms and lifestyles most of us could not fathom
without.
Even though I am foreign born, as so many
Canadians are, I proudly declare, as a citizen of this
great country, that I will always
stand at attention, in tribute of our past and present
brave men and women of our armed forces, our fire
fighters, and all other heroes, foreign or domestic, who
wear their courage, their passion for liberty of all,
and that higher sense of duty on their sleeve.
In such a time as this, I’ve been given a
great gift of which I must acknowledge and not take for
granted. Yet, unfortunately this same gift is
formulated from a word that all too often is cheapened
by those who forget or ignore its true purpose – it is
the gift that encompasses the expression -
FREEDOM.
When I read about the brutality of lives
lost, I think – for Freedom!
When I see the surviving veterans, who
were once filled with youthful exuberance now weighted
by the gravity of yesteryears; when I hear their stories
it transfix my psyche of a time that extends beyond the
magnitude of
my understanding of what they endured. I
wander to myself, how could I dare to forget such
sacrifices for freedom? How could I not honour those
who walk through the valleys and shadows of death for
people they may never hear a thank you from?
It is to my understanding that history
will always champion the sacrifices of the forgotten,
and echo their cries to those of us living now. It
tries to remind us of how we should cherish the more
precious things in life today; to heed to its beckoning
call to respect the liberties of life and those who gave
(and give) themselves for it. For these are elite warriors,
who now bear the mark as history’s representatives,
who continue on by the memories, for the memories, and of
the memories of their fallen comrades. Yes, young or
old it keeps them going, keeps them believing that their
sacrifice was and is for a greater good, for a purpose
that exceeds their comprehension.
In conclusion, I say to these heroes,
that though your legacy may not get the recognition and
respect deserved; or be remembered as often as it should
again I thank you for you chose to numb your Doubt in
the clutches of danger, and made Fear abased; you
allowed Hope to be reborn in a generation which
transformed to Faith; Even when that moment was at hand
and Time seemed to have stilled you sought the touch of
Courage’s embrace; then please know this that for all
you’ve done I and History will remember your face, lest
we forget.
