Richmond Hill
November 06, 2008 11:16 PM
Adam Mc Lean
Lest we forget.
It’s the essence of Remembrance Day and a poignant warning scripted deep within the haunting verses of ‘In Flanders Fields’ by Canadian Dr. John McCrae.
‘To you from failing hands we throw; The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die; We shall not sleep, though poppies grow; in Flanders fields.’
Scripted by Dr. McCrae, while mortar and machine-gun fire raged around him on the front lines of the First World War in Belgium, he was killed soon after writing these words and from his failing hands he threw the immortal words that all Canadians repeat every Nov. 11.
It’s a creed that remains to this day in the hearts and minds of Canadians and in the memories of six Richmond Hill Royal Canadian Legion members.
Six brave men who may be physically slowed by age, but whose memories still run like the wind.
And, as a mural inside the Legion notes, ‘Remembrance is timeless’.
They were a part of ‘the greatest generation,’ a generation of young men who answered the call to arms, a call to fight for freedom and for Canada during the Second World War, more than 60 years ago.
Bill Harris, Sid Hunt, Ivan Hillaby, Tom MacRae, Tom McKeage and Art Fortin.
All in their 80s and all living examples why we wear the poppy and why we give thanks to men and women like them.
Richmond Hill resident Art Fortin was 19 when he left Canada for war in Europe and on Sunday, now 87, he will take part in the Town’s Remembrance Day service, laying a wreath at the Richmond Hill Cenotaph in memory of those who were not as fortunate as he and never returned home.
“Every Remembrance day renews the hope that everyone young and old pays tribute to those who gave up their lives fighting for the freedom we all have today,” Mr. Fortin said.
“It is a hope that other generations will not have to endure a war like I fought in.”
“There were some good times during my training in England and Scotland, but once we landed on Juno Beach (France) and began fighting, boy there were some bad times ... really bad,” he added.
Mr. Fortin was a soldier in the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.
His battalion fought in France, Belgium and Holland and Mr. Fortin was awarded the French Legion of Honour medal in recognition of the role he and his battalion played in the liberation of France.
Mr. Fortin said his battalion witnessed its fair share of action and admits he was lucky to make it home in one piece.
“We were fighting in Holland and the Germans were throwing everything they had at us.”
“We were making a push forward and an explosion went off a little way in front of me that stopped me in my tracks,” Mr. Fortin said.
“I could feel this warm feeling in my chest, I reached my hand into my tunic and it was covered with blood. I opened my shirt and I could see my chest was torn up and I went down,” he added.
Doctors told Mr. Fortin that he had been hit with shrapnel, which entered through his chest and exited out his back. He was one of the lucky ones who fought and survived the war, but like most veterans Mr. Fortin lost many friends, friends he will pay tribute to on Sunday.
Sid Hunt was only 17 when he enlisted with The Toronto Scottish regiment and he spent five years in England guarding the country’s south coast from the threat of invasion and endured relentless night bombing raids from German forces.
“Nobody knows what it is like unless they have lived through it,” Mr. Hunt, 86, said recalling his half a decade on constant alert.
Like other soldiers stationed in England, Mr. Hunt not only returned home alive and well, but also with a wife and family.
“I was fortunate enough to meet a girl. I married her and we had two kids before I came home in 1946.”
“We’ve been together for 66 years,” he added.
Mr. Hunt will be riding in a jeep on Sunday, flanked by other veterans as they make the March of Remembrance from the corner of Wright and Yonge Streets to the Cenotaph for a moment of silence and a remembrance declaration.
The Master of Ceremonies for the event will be another veteran and one of the ‘kids’ in comparison to his Legion comrades, 83-year-old Tom McKeage.
Like Mr. Hunt, Mr. McKeage was only 17, when he enlisted and he spent time as both an infantry man and a Royal Canadian Air Force captain.
Stationed in Prince Edward Island during the Second World War, McKeage said he racked up 50 hours of flight time over the Atlantic Ocean, protecting the air space over and around our borders.
He has been a member of the Richmond Hill Legion for more than 40 years and said he enjoys remaining active, educating school children as to what Remembrance day is all about.
“I have been visiting schools and giving talks to classes for a long time and it is great to see that even though the war was fought long before these kids were born, it is an important issue for them and something they are interested in,” Mr. McKeage said.
“The appreciation they have and their awareness of the situation is encouraging that Remembrance Day in Richmond Hill is certainly not dying”.
Lest we forget.