FELDSTED: They are our torch bearers, who stand ready to save us from losing the freedoms and rights that have been earned through blood and battles over centuries

I was only five years old when WW-II ended. I grew up with stories of the war from family members, returned veterans, and those whose husbands and sons never returned.  Print media was king, and our papers and periodicals were filled with photos and stories of the war, and its ugliness for a decade or two after the war’s end.

Our solemn vows to ‘never forget’ have faded and muted over the following decades.

The numbers who volunteered for military service is staggering. This from a new nation comprised of mainly immigrants from all corners of the globe. Consider also that only males of the age 18 could serve.

At least 4,000 aboriginals served in WW-I and over 3,000 in WW-II. To serve, they had to give up their heritage and become Canadian citizens.

World War I				World War II
Population	8,001,000	(1916)		Population	11,654,000	(1942)
Military	619,000	7.74%		Military	1,100,000	9.44%
Killed	61,000			Killed	44,000
Wounded	172,000			Wounded	54,000
Total	233,000	37.64%		Total	98,000	8.91%

Wounded at the Battle of Menin Road

The numbers of wounded only include those physically wounded. Hundreds, if not thousands suffered ‘shell shock’ – psychological disorders we now call Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that went untreated and often led to premature deaths.

Governments have tried for decades to paint Canada as a benevolent peacekeeper, which is a carefully created myth. For decades, governments refused to acknowledge the Korean War, insisting it was a UN peacekeeping mission. 26,000 Canadian troops and 8 Navy destroyers took part in that war. 516 were killed and 1,042 wounded.

The Korean war was initiated by the North Korean military, supported by battalions of Chinese military intent on overrunning and subjugating South Korea. Over six million soldiers, sailors and airmen fought on both sides in the Korean War. More than three million of these were communists from North Korea, China and Russia. Opposing them were almost three million from South Korea, and from 21 United Nations (UN) countries.

Not all the six million were present at one time. The war began with only 200,000 North Koreans fighting 100,000 South Koreans. With the arrival of the UN, and later the Chinese armies, there were a million combatants present one year after the war began.

By war’s end there were more than two million ranged along the ceasefire line – 1,100,000 UN and South Koreans facing 1,200,000 North Koreans and Chinese. The Soviet Union’s contribution was always small and included medical units from the Soviets’ allies Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.

Casualties were horrific – estimated at over 1 million on the UN side and nearly 1.5 million on the other. The war wound down to a cease fire when both sides realized they could not gain further advantage, or win without incurring further heavy casualties. To demean that as a peacekeeping effort is outrageous. Leaders were afraid to admit to us how close they came to engulf us in WW-III.

The Viet Nam war has also played a significant role in our Remembrance Day. Many Americans and others around the world felt the US pursuit war in Viet Nam was wrong. There were protests and songs and the sentiment quickly grew that all war was wrong which turned to anti-military sentiment. For many, gratitude to the military for its defence of freedom turned to anger at and derision of those who serve.  

It is hard to justify war except in self-defence. In a shrinking world of globalization, and terrorism, it is difficult to establish where a threat emanated from, but terrorist training camps in  led to a war there. The Middle East is volatile and unpredictable. We have no way to determine when or how future threats may arise.  

Proponents of a new world order claim a more peaceful world as an objective, but history shows us that greed is pervasive and insatiable. It is a matter of time before the powers pushing a world order have a falling out and war with one another. At present no leader has the power to threaten or invade others without risking massive retaliation. How long that will last is uncertain.  

We need to stand prepared to defend our sovereignty, democracy and way of life no matter what transpires over the next few decades. We need to avoid war if possible, remembering the horrors of past armed conflicts.

Freedom carries a price of eternal vigilance against those who would enslave us. That is the torch we must bear on behalf of generations of fallen soldiers. They served to protect our freedoms and we can do no less.

Those who have served, are serving, and will serve in the military -- to protect our children and their children -- deserve our respect while serving and in retirement. They are our torch bearers who stand ready to save us from losing the freedoms and rights that have been earned through blood and battles over centuries.

John Feldsted

Political Consultant & Strategist

Winnipeg, Manitoba