After teaching in Canada for 20 years, I came back and experienced my first American Veteran's day. Though I was born in Salem and attended Sprague, when I lived in Canada this was a day that was honored with respect and reverence.
For example, in almost every school there was an assembly about war and peace.
Almost everyone wore a fabric poppy to honor the soldiers who fell in the war. The Flanders poppies grew prolifically over the graves in the years just after the war. Of course, another Canadian also wrote the poem "In Flander's Fields."
The Canadians were also very proud of their victory along the Arras line in 1917 April 9th. This was the Battle of Vimy Ridge. I have been to the battlefield twice, and it is preserved as a park because the land was given to Canada for a memorial by France to honor the men who died there. Driving in the area of the Western Front is a bit sad, for just as there are fields of grain, there are also fields of graves. The Canadian graves have maple leafs on them. The memorial to the fallen soldiers is considered one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful of all the foreign monuments along the Western Front. The park still has the trenches and shell holes that are now covered in grass. A small flock of sheep is used to trim the grass as the undulations make it difficult for a traditional lawn mower.
For example, in almost every school there was an assembly about war and peace.
Almost everyone wore a fabric poppy to honor the soldiers who fell in the war. The Flanders poppies grew prolifically over the graves in the years just after the war. Of course, another Canadian also wrote the poem "In Flander's Fields."
The Canadians were also very proud of their victory along the Arras line in 1917 April 9th. This was the Battle of Vimy Ridge. I have been to the battlefield twice, and it is preserved as a park because the land was given to Canada for a memorial by France to honor the men who died there. Driving in the area of the Western Front is a bit sad, for just as there are fields of grain, there are also fields of graves. The Canadian graves have maple leafs on them. The memorial to the fallen soldiers is considered one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful of all the foreign monuments along the Western Front. The park still has the trenches and shell holes that are now covered in grass. A small flock of sheep is used to trim the grass as the undulations make it difficult for a traditional lawn mower.
