I remember the first time I saw poppies for purchase after I moved to Canada.
It was one of those dark and rainy nights in Squamish at a local grocery store. The red colour piqued my partner’s memory and she bought one.
Admittedly, I did not.
There were lots of things I didn’t understand about Canada when I moved here from the U.S. Plus, I was—and still sometimes am—a little hardheaded. So it takes a few goes for things to make sense to me. Remembrance Day was one of them.
In 2018, however, both of my grandfathers passed away. They actually had a lot of similarities. They were both very clever, uniquely funny and served in the U.S. military.
My Grandpa Lott served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and was stationed in Berlin, Germany, during which he helped as ground crew during the Berlin Airlift. In the years that I knew him, he proudly wore hats that signified his service during this time. He and my grandma even later attended the 50th anniversary of the airlift in Berlin in 1998.
My Grandpa Hughes was stationed in Iwo Jima, Japan during World War II with the U.S. Army. While there, he was an electrician and his squadron helped provide services to the planes. My dad said my grandpa “always mentioned working to keep the landing lights working which were regularly damaged by both Japanese attacks and from disabled American planes.”
Both my grandfathers fortunately lived long and largely healthy lives beyond their military service. Still, after they passed, Remembrance Day started meaning something different to me.
Now when I see that red poppy in shops or pinned next to people’s hearts, it makes me think of the two of them. Of course, the concept and red poppy for Remembrance Day do not necessarily harken back directly to my grandfathers, who didn’t have any immediate ties to the Canadian military other than as allies.
But to me, the heart of Remembrance Day is about honouring those who served, which I believe spans further than just the Canadian military. Perhaps that evolution isn’t exactly what the day originally meant to represent, but I would like to think it’s exactly what those who served would have wanted to be the outcome.
Maybe my poppy means something a little different to me, I’m guessing yours means something unique to you. But to live harmoniously with those differences is exactly what they were meant to stand for.
A Remembrance Day ceremony is taking place on Saturday, Nov. 11 at the Cenotaph Plaza in Stan Clarke Park in downtown Squamish. The ceremony begins at approximately 10:45 a.m. and the two minutes of silence begins at 11 a.m.
