Remembering our fallen

Today serves as the annual opportunity to toast and remember the fallen, and all those who have served in the military and the families. But pausing to reflect while the subway stops at 11:00 am for two minutes doesn’t need to be your only outlet.

Last evening, I had the pleasure of attending my second True Patriot Love dinner at Toronto’s cavernous convention centre (see prior post “True Patriot Love” Nov 11-09). 1,900 people came to toast the current members of our armed forces and their families. $2.4 million was raised to help ease the burden on military families when their loved ones are posted overseas, and it was great to see two of our portfolio companies, SkyLink and Top Aces, as corporate sponsors. Medcan’s Shawn Francis deserves full credit for making it all happen; people can make a difference.

The highlight of the night was a speech by the wife of a soldier who’d been killed in Afganistan. What did she do in the months that followed, as she worked through her grief? She signed up herself, and is now a Private. We need to acknowledge the burden on these families far more than we do (see prior post “Forgotten too easily” Nov 26-06).

There are plenty of ways to pay tribute and thank or Forces for what they are doing for our own families, and a donation to the Foundation is certainly one of them. Friends of mine are serving as Honourary Captains and Colonels, for example. Another, of course, is to honour our soldiers collective service, which we did at the Toronto Port Authority last year by renaming the airport after WWI Ace Billy Bishop, VC, and naming one of the two ferries after WWII pilot David Hornell, VC. At the time, it was well understood that by honouring anyone in uniform, our goal was to honour everyone who had ever taken up the task.

Air Marshal Bishop needs no introduction, I suspect, but there’s a great interview with his son, Arthur Bishop, here. Ft. Lt. Hornell’s story is less well-known, but as a former resident on Toronto Islands, it was a perfect match to name a ferry after him that connects the City to the airport.

Whatever your walk of life, find a way to make Remembrance more than just a one day event.

MRM