I was upset this week to learn that there are people in our society whose conscience doesn’t bother them when they steal poppy funds. Members of the Royal Canadian Legion and other volunteers every year work hard to raise funds before Remembrance Day (November 11) and it breaks my heart to see such funds vanish by some good for nothing individual. The money is collected to support ex-military personnel, their dependents and other veterans.
The poppy fund helps provide electric scooters, power chains, walkers, wheelchairs, food and shelter for those who fought for our freedom. I get emotional every Remembrance Day when we pay tribute to those who fought for our freedom and liberty.
Remembrance Day is observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War aimed at remembering members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty. Hostilities between the warring factions ceased “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.”
On November 7, 1919, King George V dedicated that special day as a day of remembrance for members of the armed forces killed in World War I. The red colour of remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day, their brilliant red colour signifying a symbol for the blood spilled in the war.
How can anyone steal funds collected for such a worthy and noble cause? Has he no milk of human kindness? Officials have disclosed that within a week of launching the fund drive, 31 poppy coin collection bins were stolen in Calgary – more than double the number of pails stolen last year.
” This affects seniors, all of whom made a great contribution to this country,” said Staff Sgt. Craig Skelton. ” For people to steal money from the Legion and deny them the opportunity to provide support to our veterans is hard to take.”
Fortunately for everyone concerned, the police have arrested a man responsible for three of the Calgary thefts after being spotted on surveillance video. We can only hope that justice will be done when he appears before a judge.
The man charged with theft is only 35 and not old enough to remember the sacrifice that our veterans have made during the First World War. He doesn’t know what freedom and liberty means because when he was born, we were already enjoying freedom, which was taken for granted. Many don’t remember what our veterans had to undergo so that we can live in liberty, freedom and peace.
Other countries are still under dictatorships and living under totalitarian regimes. People are flocking to countries like Canada because there is freedom and rule of law, protecting its citizens from arbitrary confinement. There are countries in this century where citizens are scared to vote and women cannot even drive cars – privileges which we have taken for granted here, thanks to our veterans.
When I was publisher of the weekly newspaper in Morinville, we always bought a wreath on Remembrance Day and it was my privilege to be invited to lay the wreath during Remembrance Day ceremonies. It was a duty that I highly cherished and discharged for several years. That’s why I was a little hurt to learn that civic leaders and other politicians fail to show up for formal ceremonies aimed at paying tribute to our fallen soldiers.
David Howard, who organizes the Field of Crosses tribute along Memorial Drive in Calgary, claimed in a Calgary Herald interview that Premier Alison Radford and Prime Minster Stephen Harper have never attended the regular ceremonies held for 11 days leading up to Remembrance Day. He also claimed that attendance by our MPs and MLAs had been “spotty.”
There are more than 3,000 crosses at the Memorial site and each is inscribed with the name, age, rank and regiment of Alberta soldiers who lost their lives in the two world wars, the Korean War, Afghanistan and peacekeeping missions.
“These are soldiers that put their lives on the line in Canada, and they are from Alberta,” Howard said in the interview. “We would think our national and provincial government officials would come and pay their respects.”
Well said, Howard. Hope our national and provincial leaders come to their senses and start paying tribute to our fallen soldiers. Their lack of action and stealing poppy funds places a black mark on the red poppy.
