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
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