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Chief Military Personnel's Remembrance Day Message - 2009
In a few days time, we will gather together at memorial sites, cenotaphs, drill halls and parade squares across the country and abroad, much as we have done for the last 90 years. Although Remembrance Day was established to commemorate the signing of the Armistice, formalizing the end of hostilities in World War I, history has and continues to show us that hostilities around the world did not end.
As a result, Canadian men and women, civilian and military alike as one Department of National Defence Team, continue to serve at home and abroad in the Defence of Canada, Canadian values, and in the interest of promoting international peace, stability, and prosperity. Unfortunately for many, that service comes with the cost of sacrifice. On Remembrance Day, we should not only reflect on the sacrifices made by our predecessors, but also on those made right now by our contemporaries, and on those that will inevitably come, as our dedicated men and women continue to serve with the perseverance, resolve, tenacity – and compassion – that Canadians have become renowned for.
We should remember that the sacrifice extends well beyond the individual who serves, and that it commences long before injury or death. For every sailor, soldier, airman and airwoman who serves in the Canadian Forces, a family serves, and sacrifices as well. Their names will not appear on a cenotaph, nor will they be immortalized on a museum's wall of honour, but their sacrifice is just as real and just as important as those for whom we lay wreaths on November 11th.
So, as you proudly wear your poppies this year and participate in this annual day of remembrance, I ask that you remember and reflect on them all – our predecessors and contemporaries, those at home and abroad, civilian and military, and their families.
W. Semianiw
Major General
