Page 37 - 1961

First Prize Junior Essays WHY WE REMEMBER THEM
Cathy Smith XA
Each November eleventh, Canadians lay aside their working tools, and pause, for one day a year, to give thought to the thousands of men and women who laid down their lives for the freedom and future of their country. In two Great Wars, and the Boer and Korean Wars, Canadians, Britons, Americans, and members of the Common- wealth and Empire, have fought together, suffered together, and died together, so that we may have the right to Iive free of tyranny.
And so, on the one day set apart to preserve their memory, we think of our faIIen. But, do aII of us really commemorate this day as we should, or do we treat it as "just another holiday?" Do we fully realize the tre- mendous price they have paid that we might live as free people?
These men and women, in the prime of life that they had just begun to enjoy, drenched the soil of a troubled world with their blood, and mingled it with the waters of the seas, that their loved ones at home, and we, the future generations of those loved ones, might never feel the lash of dictatorship. Many left parts of their bodies across the sea, while they themselves lived on to endure physi~al pain, the pain of re-adjustment, and to mourn for lost comrades.
Young men they were, just beginning their journeys, striving to attain their dreams and goals, and finding joy, happiness, and love, which is the true purpose of living. Then suddenly, their glowing skies were darkened by the threatening clouds of war. When the storm came, they unhesitatingly cast aside their dreams, and went to win a war. When they returned they would chase their dreams anew; but many never got the chance. So
young, so brave, with so much to live for--and yet, something much greater to die for--peace.
This is what we too must fight for. Let us hope and pray that we may never know the miseries of war, for if such were to come, it would be "a war to end all wars," for man has reached the point where he can now destroy all his kind.
We, the leaders of tomorrow, must realize, now, that the only way to achieve peace is to acknowledge, that throughout the world people are different, have different ideas and beliefs, and we must accept andre- spect the fact, We must love our fellow-men, help each other when we stumble, and realize that we are not always right, for man is prone to error. We must avoid war, so that the price our servicemen have paid in the past wi II not have been wasted.
We wi II remember our war dead for many reasons. We wi II remember them for the great price they paid for our freedom; we wiII remember them for the great debt we owe to them; we wi II remember them because this is the least remuneration we can offer; we will remember them so that we may never forget the hell of war, and so we wi 11, with a II the strength we possess, strive for peace.
THIS MAkES A MAN
Come where the moose herd's daily feed, By moss grown swamp and IiII ied lake; Where fallen trees lie several deep
And Nature's glory is awake.
Come where the speckled beauties strike At fancy fly or living lures;
Where sparkling wind-lashed water falls, Its cadence like an overture.
Where fragrant cedar and ba Isam grow And fill the air with incense sweet, And flocks of mallards dot the sky- Almost a paradise complete,
Then smell the fish, just freshly caught That sizzle, cooking in the pan,
While coffee bubbles merrily-
THIS is the life that makes a man!
Jack Bent XID
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