Remembrance Day Address 2024 (Romans 5:7-10 and Isaiah 11:6)

Presented to the Alberni Valley community at the Community Remembrance Day Ceremonies at the Glenwood Centre by Major Michael Ramsay, Padre, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293, on 11 November 2024

 

August 4^th,1914 Canada, as part of the British Empire joined World War One. Four years later, when the fighting ceased on November 11^th, 1918, there were 888,246 Commonwealth soldiers who never returned home – over 18% of them, 160 000, were Canadian, Newfoundland, and First Nations soldiers.

 

Then from September 10^th, 1939, until August 14^th, 1945; 1,159,000 Canadian, Newfoundland and First Nations service people served in World War 2 and when the war was over, a further 44,090 Canadian, Newfoundland and First Nations service people had laid down their lives.

 

Robert (Robin) Watson was just 14 years-old when he joined the Army. On Thursday, at the Field of Honour. we held a memorial service for him; he was 96 years old. He was, I believe, the Valley’s last surviving Word War II veteran.

 

Many people marched out of the Valley to serve God, King, and Country in the first world war, the second world war and the conflicts that followed. In past years here I have shared many of their stories.

 

Today I would like to add to those stories, remembrances of George (Bud) Hamilton, James George, Eduard Clutesi and others. They were among the Nuu-Chah-Nulth soldiers who left the Valley here offering their lives for us, our ancestors, our descendants, our families, our friends and our allies.

 

George, 'Bud' Hamilton, as he was known, was the youngest boy in his family. He was a young Hupacasath man. He was a residential school survivor. Even so, he volunteered to serve with the Canadian forces during the second world war. He was a bright and resourceful young man. On his tests before entering the military, it is recorded that he was above average intelligence.

Letters he wrote home, to his dad Clifford, still exist. He wrote about how he applied to transfer to the navy. He wrote about how he looked forward to going fishing with his dad when he returned home from the war.

 

Bud Hamilton landed at Juno beach with the Canadian Forces on June 6th, 1944. Canadian forces on that day alone suffered 1,096 casualties, 381 of whom were killed in action. By the end of the Battle of Normandy, Canadian casualties exceeded 18,700. George, Bud Hamilton experienced all these horrors and Bud Hamilton survived to fight another day. But then...

 

as fighting continued into Belgium, in one particular small town, an enemy artillery shell exploded very near to him; it severed his spinal cord, and he slowly succumbed to his injuries.

 

He would never go fishing with his dad again.

 

Bud had a daughter whom he never knew. She was born after he died. I understand that she is living today in Idaho with a large family of her own - whom Bud never met.

 

There is also James Goerge. He was the son of Cecil George (George Hamiliton's brother). James was his only child. James survived the war; James made it back and with the money he made, he bought a commercial fishing boat.

One night he tied his fishing boat at a sandbar near where the orange bridge is today. There was an explosion, and he died in his boat that he bought with his pay from serving in the war.

 

I have mentioned Eduard Clutesi before, hereditary chief of the Tseshaht First Nation. [Josh Goodwill, I believe, sits as heredity chief in this seat today.] I will now share a little more of Eduard Clutesi’s story as I have come to understand it.

 

Eduard Clutesi was of superior intelligence, his military tests showed. He was a genius. He taught himself to play violin. He could draw your portrait perfectly. He was very quiet. He did not say much.

 

He served with a mortar unit. This was precise work. It involved intricate mathematical calculations. He served well. He was killed with his mortar unit in the battle of Caen and he was buried with his military comrades in Europe. He never did return.

 

Our First Nations, in many cases, were forced to renounce their status, in order to be enfranchised – until as late as 1960. Yet many, I am told saw the greater good and thus served and found true friendship with their Canadian Comrades and many died for us. Thank you. Thank every veteran who lived fought and in some cased died for us.

 

This week as well as laying to rest a veteran who signed up to serve in the war as a 14-year-old child, I also got news that my sister’s only child passed away suddenly at 22 years of age and it dawned on me that of the 200 000 soldiers who died fighting with the Canadian forces in the World Wars, the majority of them were children – no older than my niece. Canada’s youngest soldier was 10 years old.

 

Our service people, our family members who fought and died; their parents never saw their 22-year-old children, their 26-year-old children, their 17 or there 12-year-old children again.

 

The veterans who served and survived those wars weren’t in their 90s then, like they are now, if they are still around. Mostly, they were children in their 20s or even younger.

 

Our service people who died for us and the veterans who lived and saw them die. Please let us remember them.

 

And in remembrance of those who made the supreme sacrifice, Let us be better men and women, and give us peace in our time.

Lest we forget.

 

We will remember them.

Remembrance Day Address 2023

Presented to the Alberni Valley Community, 11 November 2023, by Major Michael Ramsay, Chaplain (Padre) Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293.

 

On May 17^th of this year, I walked the short walk from a parking lot to a monument on the ridge of a hill overlooking a town in France. There were sheep everywhere. One little lamb had escaped a fence and become separated from the flock; she desperately ran back and forth along the ridge looking, searching, hoping for someway to break through the fence; hoping to join her flock, looking for safety she bleated, she cried as she looked out terrified over the ridge. This ridge, on which she was lost and bleating, is Vimy Ridge

As I stood atop Vimy Ridge by the memorial to our Canadian soldiers, the symbolism of this bleating lamb running back and forth, looking for someway through the fence, was not lost on me.

April 9^th to 12^th, 1917, a brutal battle was fought as our Canadian soldiers desperately looked for a way to break through the fences and trenches on this very same ridge. Many had tried before. Many had died before. But here were our troops, trying to get over those fences and through those trenches; trying to climb the ridge, to succeed, to survive.

Our troops were able to secure the high ground on April 9^th; On April 10^th they secured the village and the crest of the ridge; the final objective fell to the Canadians on April 12^th. The battle was the first occasion when the four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together. Our soldiers climbed through barbed wire fences, deep trenches, hazards and perils and accomplished what others had not - but at great cost: By nightfall on 12 April 1917, the Canadians had sustained 10 602 casualties; 7 004 soldiers had been wounded, some never to recover, and 3 598 people breathed their last breath on that ridge overlooking that town in April of 1917.

On April 16^th, George Morton Bird, from the Alberni Valley, wrote this:

“I suppose you have read all about the Great Easter Advance, and the part the Canadians took in it. If you should get an opportunity to see any of the moving pictures of it, you might see me amongst the other boys. I am the first man in a party of 12 or 13 advancing in single file. I believe Jack Mathison and Edwin Davey were both wounded. Also one of the Greenards. Arthur Lewis, Pryde, Tom and the rest of us are all O.K.,”

George Morton Bird died of injuries sustained in a later battle in June 1917. People from our Valley served in many battles. The Roll of Honour lists the names of 25 people from our community here who gave their lives there in World War 1.

 

May 15^th and May 16^th of this year, I walked along a beach in France, in Dieppe. I looked out across this beautiful beach covered with large smooth rocks that gave way under my feet, drawing me inwards, drawing me downwards, backwards, toward the sea; as I stumbled, I looked up to see steep, steep cliffs and even ancient fortifications; in the evening they were beautifully lit up by an amazing sunset.

August 19^th, 1942, over 80 years ago, 6 100 mostly Canadian infantry arrived at this same beach. The same rocks that gave way under my feet gave way under theirs. Only they were wearing heavy packs and carrying weapons and supplies. Balance must have been near impossible. They would have been so heavy, soaking wet as the sea wanted to claim them for her own. And she claimed many. As the Canadians looked up at the sheer cliffs, I am sure it was not the beauty of the moment that captured their imagination but rather the sheer horror of having to find a way to scale those cliffs, sopping wet, heavy with gear, while being shot at. The fortifications seemed insurmountable to me this past May; the fortifications were impenetrable for many in August of 1942. 3 623 Canadians died on this small strip of beach. As I stood there 80 years later, watching the sunset over the water, this fact was not lost on me. 3 623 Canadians, after visiting this very same beach, never saw a sunset again.

Nelson Longeuay, of the Alberni Valley, was one of a few Canadians to survive Dieppe. Commenting on the raid 45 years later he asked, “what more could a man do than give his life?”

Many Canadians never returned from serving in World War 2. Twenty-two are on our honour roll from the Alberni Valley. One such person is Edward John Clutesi; born to be hereditary chief of the Tseshaht First Nation, instead he gave his life for us, in August of 1944, in Normandy, at age 26.

As I walked silently along the beach at Dieppe this past May, I looked at the stones, the cliffs, the fortress, the waves, the sea and I imagined and remembered those who had gone before. Then I noticed a monument in a garden, in a place now called Canada Square, put there by the citizens of Dieppe. It reads:

On the 19th of August 1942

on the beaches of Dieppe

our Canadian cousins

marked with their blood

the road to our final liberation

foretelling thus their victorious return

on September 1, 1944.

 

This memorial does not talk about the futility of war. Neither does this monument glorify war. This memorial simply notes that those who died, “marked with their blood the road to our final liberation, foretelling thus their victorious return”.

The monument at Dieppe remembers the sacrifices of the Canadians on their beaches, celebrates their victorious return and final liberation. May we likewise honour the lives of all our servicemen and women of every time and place. Let us remember them and their sacrifice and continue to work towards a time where there will finally be no more war and all of our service people and everyone else can safely return, and, like the little lamb on Vimy Ridge, be re-united with our families once and for all – forever in Peace. Lest we forget. Lest we forget.

John 15:9-17: Greater Love Has No Man...

Presented to each the Nipawin and Tisdale Corps, 15 November 2008; Swift Current Corps, 08 November 2009;Warehouse 614, 05 November 2017; Alberni Valley 05 November 2023 by Major Michael Ramsay

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends, John 15:13.

This is a season of remembrance in the Church. In Canada and other nations that fought in World War One it has been a time to reflect on the sacrifice of our soldiers, and our citizens who lived during that era and the times of conflict since. This is a time to reflect upon sacrifice as in a few very short weeks we are going enter into the advent season where we will remember the coming of Jesus as a small child and look forward – very soon - to His return in power. He lived, sacrificed and died for us, his friends.

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends, John 15:13.

On November 11, 1918, the armistice was signed to end the Great War, the war to end all wars – the First World War. Canadians, our friends and our family, in service to God, King, and country, marched overseas to lay down their lives for our friends

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

On November 11, 1813, more than 200 years ago now, Canadians repulsed an horrific American invasion in the Battle of Crysler Farm – this was the last serious attempt to conquer Canada militarily. We did this with the help of our friends, the British and the First Nations. We laid down our life for our family. They laid down their life for us, their friends. This is outside the timeframe of the State mandate for Canadian Remembrance Day ceremonies as is the Boer War, a few years later (1899-1902), but…

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

On our November 11th ceremonies we remember our friends and families who headed overseas in the World War I and World War II, in service to God, to King, and to country to lay down their lives for their friends. Many of us have friends and family who offered up their lives up for their friends. My grandmother’s brother who left un Saskatchewan never spoke of the day they were surrounded by the Germans right up until he died.

My grandfather returned home to Canada from California, where he was working when war broke out, so that he could serve God, King and country in the Second World War. He eagerly grabbed some friends of his from Cut Knife and they drove over the Rockies to enlist. Of all of them that enlisted that day with my grandfather, I believe, only he lived to see the end of the war.

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

The Salvation Army and other volunteers were present in both these wars – in the trenches -offering support and the love of God to the soldiers.

In World War One, the Canadian Salvation Army was part of a ministry that included over recreational huts, rest homes, hostels, and more than 1200 volunteers. The Salvation Army sent chaplains to the frontlines and helped operate these huts, canteens, rest facilities, and more.

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

At the conclusion of the Second World War some allies turned foes and some foes turned friends in the Cold War that ensued and again Canadians headed overseas – this time to Korea – to offer our lives on behalf of our allies and to lay down our lives for our friends. 

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

As this Cold War progressed, Canadians continued to stand beside our allies but we also donned blue barrettes for the first time, intentionally standing between warring factions, some with legitimate grievances, protecting and reconciling populations, and still offering our lives for our friends. 

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

2000 years ago, Jesus died on the cross so that we all may live.

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

Now, through the real horrors of the wars of the twentieth century and earlier a great thing happened: Canada’s primary foes during 1814, 1914, and 1944 are now some of our closest friends and allies. Our soldiers laid down their lives for us, their friends. And they laid down their lives so that we could be reconciled to our brothers and sisters. Canada is reconciled to her old foes and united with them more than ever because of the sacrifice of our friends, siblings, parents, grandparents, and our veterans. Thanks be to God for this reconciliation. (May this same reconciliation occur with our current foes.)

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

And, of course, it was through Jesus’ death and resurrection that we all may experience this same reconciliation with God. John 15:13 records a part of Jesus’ farewell discourse to his disciples. He is giving them instructions before he voluntarily marches off to His death for them and for us.

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:12-15: [Jesus says,] …My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Jesus laid down his life for us and he now asks the same of us. Do we love our God and do we love our neighbour: Are we experiencing that reconciliation for which He died? Are we a friend of Jesus? And, if we claim we are, are we willing to lay down our life for our neighbour, for our God, and for our friends like Jesus commands? Jesus after commanding this reminds us that indeed, “You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

Remember that Jesus died so that we may live. Remember that Jesus died so that we may live lives reconciled with God and with our family, our brothers and sisters in Christ, the family of God. Remember to that though this Salvation War is won, the battles still rage and these seemingly never-ending battles are not merely with flesh and blood but are in reality truly waged against other powers and principalities (Ephesians 16:11-13).

John 14:23-24, Jesus says, “… If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me”. And “Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.”

Even more than the sacrifice of many of our servicemen and women whom we remember with respect and gratitude, Jesus, the Son of God, died so that we can live reconciled lives. Jesus laid down his life for us, his friends, and not unlike the sacrifices of many service people who died that we may be reconciled with our old foes, Jesus died so that we can be reconciled with God.

Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.

So today I urge us not to let Jesus’ death to have been in vain in our own lives. If there is anything between our neighbour and ourselves, if there is anything standing in the way of our reconciliation, today let us lay it aside. If there is anything that is preventing us from fully living out reconciliation with God, today let us cast it aside. If there is any impediment to our relationship with God, let us today confess it to Him, and experience the abundant joy that only comes with reconciliation.

Jesus died so that we may be reconciled with God and each other. May we never forget His sacrifice.

Greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends.

The Lamb at Vimmy Ridge (John 1:29; Revelation 12:7-12a) and the Sunset on the Beach at Dieppe (Hebrews 9:28).

 Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 20 August 2023 by Major Michael Ramsay (Padre. Royal Canadian Legion)

 

The Lamb at Vimmy Ridge

 

 

 

On May 17^th of this year, I walked the short walk from a parking lot to the memorial atop a small ridge, overlooking a small town in France. There were sheep everywhere. I did not see a shepherd. One little lamb had escaped a fence and become separated from the flock; she desperately ran back and forth along the ridge looking, searching, hoping for someway to break through the fence before it is too late; hoping to join her flock, looking for someway to be reunited; looking for safety she bleated, she cried as she looked out terrified over the ridge. This ridge on which she was lost and bleating has a name. It is Vimmy Ridge.

As I stood atop Vimmy Ridge by the memorial to our Canadian soldiers, the symbolism of this bleating lamb running back and forth, looking for someway through the fence was not lost on me.

April 9^th to April 12^th, 1917, a brutal battle was fought as our Canadian soldiers desperately looked for a way to break through the fences and trenches on this very same ridge. Many had tried before. Many had died before. But here they were now, trying to get over those fences and through those trenches, to climb the ridge and bring safety to so many.

After many battles fought by many of our allies. The Canadian Corps were able to secure the high ground and most of the ridge on April 9^th 1917. On April 10^th they secured the village and the crest of the ridge and the final objective, a fortified knoll fell to the Canadian troops on April 12^th. The battle was the first occasion when the four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together. Our soldiers climbed through many barbed wire fences, many deep trenches, many hazards and perils and accomplished what had not been accomplished before but at a great cost: By nightfall on 12 April 1917, the Canadian Corps had sustained 10 602 casualties; 7004 soldiers had been wounded, some in the most horrific of fashion, some to never recover, and 3 598 people breathed their last breath on that ridge overlooking that town on that day in April in1917.

It was quite something to stand there in May of 2023 and see that one little lamb bleating as she ran trying to get through the fences more than 100 years after 10 602 Canadians lay bleeding, 3 598 never to be reunited with their families the way the little lamb I watched was finally able to be reunited with hers.

This all reminds me, of course, of Jesus, who himself is the lamb of God. John the Baptist, John 1:29, “…saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” And relating to the sacrifice of battle, Revelation 12:7-12a:

7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now has come the salvation and the power

    and the kingdom of our God,

    and the authority of his Messiah.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,

    who accuses them before our God day and night,

    has been hurled down.

11 They triumphed over him

    by the blood of the Lamb

    and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much

    as to shrink from death.

12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens

    and you who dwell in them!

 

Jesus is the lamb of God. As all those soldiers died on that simple ridge more than a century ago, Jesus died on the cross more than 2 millennia ago. The WWI soldiers offered their lives there and many of them died. Ultimately they were victorious. The foe was defeated and as a result of this battle 100 plus years ago and others that followed over the next 100 days, they celebrated victory and experienced a much sought after peace.

The angels in the heavens fought against the devil and his forces. Jesus, The Lamb of God has triumphed in the Ultimate battle. He has defeated not mere mortals but even death itself; therefore we can all rejoice!

 

Sunset on the Beach at Dieppe (Hebrews 9:28)

May 15^th and May 16^th of this year, I walked along the beaches of Dieppe. I looked out across a beautiful beach covered with large smooth rocks that gave way under your feet drawing you back, in towards the sea, and I looked up steep, steep cliffs to see even ancient fortifications, in the evening beautifully lit up by an amazing sunset.

August 19^th, 1944, almost 80 years ago, over 6000 infantry, primarily Canadian infantry arrived at this same beach. The same rocks that gave way under my feet gave way under their feet. Only they were wearing heavy packs and carrying their weapons and supplies; just trying to survive. Balance must have been near impossible. They would have been so heavy, soaking wet as the sea wanted to claim them for her own. As they looked up at the sheer cliffs, I am sure it was not the beauty of the moment that captured their imagination but rather the sheer horror of having to find a way to scale those cliffs, while sopping wet, heavy with gear, and being shot at. The fortifications seemed insurmountable to me months ago; the fortifications for many of the Canadians on the beach then were impenetrable. 3623 Canadians died on this small strip of beach. As I stood there watching the sunset over the water, this fact was not lost on me. 3623 Canadians after visiting this beach never saw another sunset again.

I walked silently along the beach. I looked again at the stones, the cliffs, the fortress, the waves, and the sea and imagined and remembered those who had gone here before me. Then I noticed a monument, a monument, in a garden, in a place now called Canada Square, placed there lovingly and in remembrance by the citizens of the town of Dieppe. It reads:

 

On the 19th of August 1942

on the beaches of Dieppe

our Canadian cousins

marked with their blood

the road to our final liberation

foretelling thus their victorious return

on September 1, 1944.

 

This memorial cast my thoughts to Jesus and His sacrifice -yes- and also the hope that comes with it. This memorial did not talk about the futility of war – we all know about that and the closer to having had experienced a war we are personally the more acutely aware of that we are. This monument does not glorify or justify war pretending that is somehow a noble cause or something we should exalt in. This plaque at this monument notes that those who died, “marked with their blood the road to our final liberation, foretelling thus their victorious return”. These words are so poignant for me that I will probably remind you of them on Remembrance Day and again on Resurrection Day, Easter. These words sum up the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross on Good Friday, and the hope of Easter and beyond. Hebrews 9:28 records, “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” When Jesus died on the Cross on Good Friday it not only foretold His resurrection on Easter; it also foretells His victorious return at the Eschaton, at the end of time, when Heaven comes down to earth and there is new heavens and a new earth. 

This is our hope. Just as the people of Dieppe remembered the sacrifices of the Canadians on their beaches at a future time when they were able to celebrate their victorious return at their final liberation; so too do we even now remember Jesus, each and every week as we gather here for, as the plaque in Dieppe, interpreted, paraphrased, adapted; reads, Jesus “marked with [His] blood the road to our final liberation, foretelling thus [His] victorious return”. At which time there will be no more suffering and no more death in the Kingdom to Come.

 

Psalm 116:3-4, Isaiah 2:4: Remembrance Day Address 2022

Presented to the Alberni Valley Community, 11 November 2022, by Major Michael Ramsay, Legion Branch #293 Chaplain (Padre)

  

Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth forever more.

At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, time stands still for a moment; and we remember those who died, not for war, but for a world that would be free and at peace.

 

Psalm 116:3-4:

The cords of death entangled me,

the anguish of the grave came over me;

I was overcome by distress and sorrow.

Then I called on the name of the Lord:

“Lord, save me!”

Isaiah 2:4:

He will judge between the nations

and will settle disputes for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

nor will they train for war anymore.

 

Almighty God. You are our refuge and strength; we humble ourselves in Your presence, and, remembering the great things you have done for us, we lift up our hearts in adoration and praise. As you have gathered us together this day, we give You thanks for all who served their country in time of trial.

In remembrance of those who made the supreme sacrifice, make us better men and women, and give us peace in our time, O Lord.

 

Today I have my facemask from the Legion with me. You probably can’t see it that well. It is red with a poppy on it. We lost a few legion members throughout covid-19. Most people in our community lost someone during covid-19. Do you remember the fear when the pandemic began? Do you remember the empty streets? Do you remember the flags we used to have in front of City Hall to mark the dead in BC from the pandemic? Every week we used to address this community from that spot mentioning the tragedy as the number of flags, each representing a casualty grew. Can you imagine if in 1914 or 1944 we added a flag for every casualty of war?

In World War One, 650 000 Canadians gave their lives and our whole country only had around 7 million people. 1401 from BC alone gave there lives and of the only 1600 people who lived in the Alberni Valley, 116 – more than 17% of our population – signed up to go overseas in just the first few months of the war alone.

We know about Cyril Woodward: he was only 15 when he enlisted.

We know about the Redford boys - 3 brothers who enlisted from our area.  Edward, 29, was wounded by a shell that killed 2 of his companions. William, age 19, was sent home when he was wounded in combat and Douglas at age 20 was killed in action – never to come home again.

The poet Charles Samuel Bannell, in November of 1916 he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and less than a year later, on Oct 30th, 1917, he was killed in action.

From our roll of honour at the legion: Private William Stewart, PPCLI, fought in the battle of Frezenberg during the 2nd Battle of Ypres. He is buried in Ypres, Belgium. He was 26.

Private William Clarke, Son of Daniel and Laura Clarke, of Alberni, British Columbia. Served in the 7th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry. In 1916 he was buried in Belgium at age 19.

And then after so much loss, more was to come: the Second World War. Port Alberni again answered the call and contributed greatly to the war effort. There are many who served. There was Flight Lieutenant David Ramsay. He was awarded the Belgian Cross of War in 1940 and on April 28th, 1944, he was given another cross, this one on his grave. He was 23 years old.

There was also Jim, Jack, John, Joe, Leo, Leonard, Nick and Dorothy Schan. Seven brothers and one sister (4 connected to Pt Alberni) all enlisted in the military during the 2nd World War. No family is believed to have contributed more soldiers to Canada's war effort.

And then there was Edward John Clutesi, born to be hereditary chief of the Tseshaht First Nation, instead he gave his life for us in August 1944, in France, at age 26.

Hugh Patterson, the uncle of one of our Legion Members, has his name on the honour roll of those who never returned from the Second World War.

I have a story to read. This one was handed to me on a piece of paper from another legion member. It is about another war in another country from another time.

There was a captain with an invading army. Through the night he heard the cries of a wounded soldier in the distance. He didn’t know whether the solider was on his side or the other. He eventually decided to risk his life to try to find and save the soldier. He got to the soldier and the soldier was indeed one of the enemy but -in a cruel twist of events- the soldier was also the captain’s own son. He did not know his son was fighting for the other side. One can only imagine. His son died. He requested a military funeral but that was denied. He was eventually allowed to have a single bugler and the captain asked the bugler to play notes that were written on a paper in his son’s pocket. That is the story of the origin of the American version of ‘the Last Post’: music composed by a deceased confederate soldier and played for the first time at a funeral performed by the enemy who killed him -who also happened to be his family who loved him.    

Many of us have friends and family who left our community and our country only to be buried overseas or to come back missing their friends who had. My grandfather served in World War 2 and my grandmother’s brother, who left the family farm to serve, never did speak of the day they were surrounded by the enemy.

We have spoken briefly today to honour some of those many young people who were loved by others here in our community and who lived and died in the wars. There are many more stories: of Canada’s then 11 million people, 45 400 of them died in World War II. In World War I, from our population of just more than 7 million people, 61 000 gave their lives. If you were alive then, someone you knew and probably someone you loved, died in the war. We are here to remember them today and we are here to remember all of those who have died since that war, the war to end all wars – and in the many wars that have followed.

Shortly after the world war my grandfather was stationed in Pembroke, Ontario. One day, he sawed off the butt of his rifle and made a cribbage board out of it. Many of his comrades followed suit hoping that was now the best use for the rifles.

We can only hope and pray that one day the real War to end all wars will finally be fought and we will learn war no more. For it is only as we remember the tragedy of war and the stories and lives of those who serve that we can possibly be willing to fight for peace so that one day our young men and women will no longer be compelled to go overseas to lay down their lives for us. Let we forget. Lest we forget.

 

Let us pray: Almighty God, as You have gathered your people together this day in hallowed remembrance, we give You thanks for all who laid down their lives for our sake, and whom You have gathered from the storm of war into the peace of Your presence. Let the memory of their devotion ever be an example to us, that we at the last. Being faithful unto death, may receive with them the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Alberni Valley Remembrance Day Service, November 11th 2021

FIELD OF HONOUR

CAPTAIN MICHAEL RAMSAY

PADRE, ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION # 293

1. O CANADA

 

2. INVOCATION: Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth forever more.

 

At the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month, time stands still for a moment; and we remember those who died, not for war, but for a world that would be free and at peace.

 

3. OPENING REMARKS

·       MC

·       Mayor

 

4. SCRIPTURE READING: A Reading from the 23^rd Psalm.

 

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

he leadeth me beside the still waters.

 

He restoreth my soul:

he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

 

Yea, though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;

thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

 

Thou preparest a table before me

in the presence of mine enemies:

thou anointest my head with oil;

my cup runneth over.

 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

 

5. PRAYER: Almighty God. You are our refuge and strength; we humble ourselves in Your presence, and, remembering the great things you have done for us, we lift up our hearts in adoration and praise. As you have gathered us together this day, we give You thanks for all who served their country in time of trial.

 

In remembrance of those who made the supreme sacrifice, make us better men and women, and give us peace in our time, O Lord.

 

6. LAST POST

 

7. SILENCE – 2 MINUTES

 

8. REVEILLE

 

9. LAMENT

 

10. ADDRESS: This is our second Remembrance Day where, instead of gathering in the Glenwood Centre, we are obliged only to gather outside in the cold and the weather. More than 100 years ago, from 1914-1918, Canadians, First Nations, our allies, and our foes, stood outside on days such as today and days with weather much more miserable than today. They stood in the trenches, they stood in the mud, they lived in the mud, they died in the mud.

They were in the mud in a foreign land out of loyalty to us; they were there out of love for us, their friends and their families. 1-in-5 Canadians never did return to experience the warmth and love of their home. In the Alberni Valley, of the only 1 600 people who lived here in 1914, 116 signed up to go overseas in just the first few months of the war alone. Many of them never did return home.

To put this in perspective, many of us know someone who has died in the current pandemic that is tragically sweeping our world and our country. 29 022 people out of our current population of 38 million Canadians have died of Covid-19; In World War II, when Canada had only 11 million people 45 400 of them died in that war and in World War I, when our population was a just more than 7 million people, 61 000 Canadians gave their lives. If you were alive then, someone you knew and probably someone you loved, died in the mud and in the rain and in the war. We are here to remember them today.

This July it is 100 years since the Great War Veterans Association (one of the forerunners of our Royal Canadian Legion) adopted the Poppy as our flower, our symbol of Remembrance.

The symbol comes from Lt.-Col John McCrae’s now famous poem, “In Flanders Fields”. Lt.-Col John McCrae served in World War I. He treated the wounded during the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915 when his friend, Lt. Alexis Helmer, was killed in battle. Lt. Helmer’s burial inspired the poem, "In Flanders Fields", written on May 3, 1915. Less than 3 years later, on January 28, 1918, while commanding No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill) in France, Lt.-Col. McCrae died of pneumonia he caught while serving in weather much more miserable than today: serving in the trenches, serving in the weather; He died in part from the weather and entirely due to the war. McCrae’s legacy has lived on from his poem and today as we wear our poppies, let us remember all of those who have laid down their lives for us. Let us not forget. We will remember them.

In the Christian faith, of which I am a pastor, we have a hope for a future where there will be no more wars, no more death, and no more sorrow – only peace. May that day come soon! And let us always remember all those who have lived and died so that you and I may have a chance, even now, to live out our lives in peace and security. Let us remember.

 

We will remember them.

 

11. LAYING OF THE WREATHES

 

12.  BENEDICTION: Almighty God, as You have gathered your people together this day in hallowed remembrance, we give You thanks for all who laid down their lives for our sake, and whom You have gathered from the storm of war into the peace of Your presence. Let the memory of their devotion ever be an example to us, that we at the last. Being faithful unto death, may receive with them the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

13. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

 

First Nations Graves

 

O Almighty God, the great Ruler and architect of the Universe, we offer thanks for the life of those who have gone on before and we ask your divine help for the future. We desire your presence with us this day and may your guiding light penetrate the hearts of all assembled here. We pray you at this time to cherish the mothers, the widow and the fatherless of our brave men and women who made the supreme sacrifice. Give them strength to overcome. Be near them in their solitude and give us all the will to be an inspiration to all the world that the peace of God which passeth all understanding may be with us now for all eternity.

 

O God of peace, may the memory of wars strengthen our efforts for peace.

 

O Father of souls, may the memory of those who died inspire our service to the living.

 

O Builder of the Kingdom  of Love, may the memory of past destruction move us to build for the future.

 

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Exodus 12:24-27 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26: Lest We Forget

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries by Captain Michael Ramsay (Padre, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293), 07 November 2021

The Exodus passage that we read from today references the Passover. The Passover was deliverance that God brought to His people through some terrible times. We have been struggling through the plague of Covid-19 since about March of 2020. The Passover occurred after the people had suffered through, not one plague (like we are struggling to do now) but 9 plagues. Can you imagine? Can you imagine if when we get through our current plague there are 8 more of these things waiting to greet us? …Each arguably worse than its predecessor? The Israelites suffered not one plague of Covid-19 but 9 plagues of various kinds: 

1. The Nile River turns to blood (7:14–25)

2. Plague of frogs (7:25–8:11)

3. Plague of gnats (8:12–15)

4. Plague of flies (8:20–32)

5. Plague on the livestalk (9:1–7)

6. Plague of boils (9:8–12)

7. Plague of hail (9:13-35)

8. Plague of locusts (10:1–20)

9. Plague of darkness (10:21–29) 

It was after the Ninth plague, when I am sure that everyone is completed exhausted from it all, that the Passover happens: the Angel of Death comes and kills the eldest child of every person and animal in a household, in a family – unless they were fully prepared. God saved the Hebrews. The Angel of Death passed over them. This salvation was so important that God instructed those who lived through the Passover to never forget it. They were to have a ceremony that they practiced annually down through the generations. Exodus 12:24-27a again

“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”

The ancient Israelites were asked to never forget the trials and tribulations that their forebearers suffered through hoping that future generations would never suffer in that way. They shall remember, lest they forget. 

This is Remembrance Sunday in the Church. In Canada we are asked never to forget what our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents went through in the World and other Wars. It is important that we remember so that we don’t have to live through those times ever again. I can’t imagine what Reinhart and Christa lived through with bombs dropping on their town and near their home. I can’t imagine what it is like to see a soldier attacking your town. I can’t imagine what Kirk, who is a member of our group here is going through right now even. As we speak he is back east getting treatment for PTSD brought on by some of the things he has seen in wartime and some of the things he has done. We are asked to remember our veterans and we are asked to remember the horror and sorrow of war so that future generations never need to live through what others experienced.

Just like with the World Wars and the Passover, Jesus and his disciples tell us that we are never to forget what Jesus has done for us between the cross and the empty tomb. Just like we have ceremonies here on Remembrance Day and the Israelites commemorated the Passover we are told in the Gospels and 1 Corinthians here to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Paul says:

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Some denominations may take communion every day, every week, or every month to remember Christ’s death. Sundays are traditionally in the Church a time when we come together to remember Jesus’ resurrection; when people take communion they do so in remembrance of Christ’s death and resurrection. Just like the ancient Hebrews remembered the Passover in a ceremony every year, Good Friday, even to this day, is a time when we in the Church gather to remember Jesus’ death and Easter Sunday is a time when we gather to remember his resurrection and look forward to his return. We will remember Him. Lest We Forget.

Just like on this Thursday upcoming we will gather in the cemetery to remember our service people, who offered their lives so that we may one day see an end to war; Easter, every Sunday and every day we have an opportunity and a responsibility to remember Christ who died and rose again so that we can all live forever more (if we so choose) and so that there may one day be an end to all war and a future time and place, a future realm of peace when even we ‘ain’t gonna study war no more’.

Let us pray

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1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:18-20: In Remembrance.

Presented to Alberni Valley Ministries of The Salvation Army, 15 November 2020 by Captain Michael Ramsay, Padre Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293

 

1 Corinthians 11:23-25: “…the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

 

Remembrance: Wednesday was Remembrance Day in Canada: a day to remember the ‘great’ and subsequent wars. As I have been privileged to do many times before, I was invited to address our community as the Legion Padre. It was very different this year than past Remembrance Day ceremonies. There were only 50 of us allowed instead of the typical nearly one thousand and we had to be outside, masked and social distanced, of course.

 

Covid-19 has affected every aspect of our lives – separating us from friends and family. People have not been able to be with loved ones as they passed on from this life to the next one. People are dying. We hear of outbreaks in different cities and other places where our family is and we worry and we wonder. Rebecca is on the mainland working with vulnerable people and so we follow reports closely. This I think can be a small reminder, a real life object lesson of the large sense of worry and loss and grief and fear that gripped our world, our country, our Island and even our Valley here more than 100 years ago and more than 75 years ago in the world wars. The Second World War ended 75 years ago this year.

 

Lest we Forget. We will remember. Why do we have Remembrance Day? What are we supposed to remember? We remember the people who served. When World War One broke out Canada was a country of just over 7 million people. 619 000 Canadians served in WWI and 66 976 never returned. That was almost 1-out-of-every-5 boys aged 16-24. There were 1 million Canadians who served and the 45 000 lost their lives in the Second World War. We are to remember the people who served and the people who died; why?

 

We are to remember this so that we do not repeat it. We are to remember this so that our children and grandchildren don’t go marching into foreign lands risking both losing their lives and risking taking someone else’s life.

 

I have spoken to veterans who served during D-Day. I remember one fellow when asked if he ever killed anyone, answered, “I don’t know”. He just ran when they said “run” and when he was in a trench or a hole he would just fire his gun without sticking his head up. (Apparently most people just wind up shooting into the air. We seem to have this instinct not to take life but rather to save it). I remember hearing stories of this same person ducking in his trench as a tank passed safely over his head – it was an American tank that almost killed him.

 

I have spoken to veterans, even of our more recent wars, who still have horrible flashbacks and PTSD directly related to not only what they saw and had done to them but also from what they have done. I can’t tell you the number of times people have asked me whether they can be forgiven for what they have done. They can. There are no good guys and bad guys in the trenches, for the most part, just people trying to stay alive.

 

Reinhardt’s father was a prisoner –of-war in England in WW1. I heard stories from American veterans of how they were told to bayonet people rather than take them prisoner. My grandmother’s brother never spoke of what happened the day that he and his comrades were surrounded by the enemy. War is terrible. War is terrifying.

 

If we forget the horrors of war we are more likely to repeat them.[1] If hate is stronger than a desire for peace than we will walk down this road again and again and again... If the population of a country cannot forgive, it is easy for their politicians to throw their people into a position where they either kill someone else’s children or they send their own children to be killed.

 

This is important. In the Legion Chaplain’s manual of which I have become quite familiar over the years are prayers such as this:

O God our Father, we thank you for those valiant hearts, who at the call of Sovereign and country laid down their lives for our cause. We pray that we may uphold the torch entrusted to us. So that their sacrifice may not have been in vain, unite all the peace loving peoples of our world in one holy purpose to defend the peace won and the comradery for which these valiant hearts lived and died. Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me. In the Name of the great Prince of peace we pray. Amen.[2]

·         God of peace, may the memory of wars strengthen our efforts for peace.

·         Father of souls, may the memory of those who died inspire our service to the living.

·         Builder of the Kingdom of Love, may the memory of past destruction move us to build for the future.[3]

We are to remember the horrors of war so that we do not need to repeat them.

 

Susan, the girls and I have been reading Exodus lately as a family. In the Bible the Israelites and Judeans are called frequently to remember the Passover. There is quite a lot of symbolism – which we won’t look at today – that they are supposed to return to once a year in remembrance how God kept His promise – which he made hundreds of years earlier -  to bring His people out of Egypt (Genesis 15).

 

As the Israelite families were sitting in their houses awaiting the impending visit by the Angel of Death, God told Moses that they were never to forget this day.[4] They are to remember it forever. God told them, Exodus 12:24-27:

“Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

 

They are supposed to remember this terrible cost. Moses later put Aaron’s staff and some manna into the Ark of the Covenant with the stone tablets so that people wouldn’t forget, not only how God brought the people from Egypt but also how He sustained them in the desert (Hebrews 9:4). But you know what the Israelites and the Judeans did? Just like we have done with war in many cases – at various times in their history – they seemed to forget.

 

The British Empire, of which Canada was an integral part, instituted Remembrance Day to remember WW1 but we then added a remembrance of WW2 and subsequently applied it to our own peacekeeping efforts and continuing military engagements. Jesus, in the Gospels is shown to open up the Passover (and in 1 Corinthians possibly even every meal that the saints have together[5]) to not only remember how God, through the Angel of Death and the fire-y pillar of cloud, delivered His people into the Promised Land; but to also remember how God through Jesus’ death and resurrection delivered us, His people from our sins into eternal life.[6]

 

Jesus at the Passover Meal uttered the very important words, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Mark 14:22-25,Luke 22:18-20,1 Corinthians 11:23-25).[7] This is, I think, a big reason why God wanted the Passover ceremony etched so deeply in the minds of humanity for so long because just as when the Egyptians gave up their firstborn sons, God saved His people through the blood of the Passover lamb; so when God gave up His firstborn son –Jesus Christ – He also saved us; His people, all His people, He saves through the Blood of the Lamb.[8]

 

This is the most important event in the whole history of the world: the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God, through the giving of His only begotten son has made it – just like with Exodus and the Angel of Death – so that none of us need to perish but all of us can have Salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is important to remember.

 

In the Christian Church we have Good Friday and Easter where we are supposed to remember how Jesus through his death and resurrection provided for us to be a part of His Kingdom of Forgiveness and Peace both for now and forever more. And each Sunday we are supposed to remember Jesus’ resurrection celebrating the fact that now we can all pass from the darkness of hate, sin, and death into the light of forgiveness and eternal life. Even during Lent, when some Christians still fast, did you know that traditionally you are not supposed to fast on Sundays? It is because Sunday is a feast day! Sundays are a celebration! Sundays we remember Jesus’ resurrection and our opportunity to be a part of His Kingdom of Peace!

 

This is why we come to church, this is why we go to Bible studies, this is why we pray and this is why we read our Bibles; this is why we have our Mercy Seat at the corps and this is why we commemorate Good Friday and Easter Sunday/Monday every year. That is why we are here today: because just as God offered salvation to all His children from the passing over of the Angel of Death and the preceding plagues; so too He offers salvation to all of us, this very day, from Sin and Death and from everything that is plaguing us.

 

We remember our service people on Remembrance Day by wearing poppies and we are thankful that people loved us so much that they were willing, as called upon, to lay down their lives for us – as the Chaplain's manual says, not for war but for Peace.

 

Today, a few days after Remembrance Day, and a few days before we enter into the Advent Season, I implore us to remember not only our service people but also let us not forget what our Saviour has done for us. Let us not forget how he delivered us from our sins. Let us not forget – as we said the other week – that He has declared us to be holy saints and let us not forget that He has forgiven us so we now have the ability to be released from the power of hate, sin, and death by forgiving others. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and He lived, died and rose from the grave so that we can live in Peace with Him, each other, ourselves, and the whole world forever more.

 

It is my hope that if there are any of us who have not yet entered His peace yet that we will do so today and -that as we do- we will always remember what He has done for us.

 

Lest we forget.

Let us pray.

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[1] George Santayana, Reason in Common Sense, (The Life of Reason, Vol. 1: 1905). “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

[2] Rev Norman McMillan, Padre Legion Br 514 Caledonia ON, in Chaplain's Manuel of The Royal Canadian Legion

[3] Bishop George Appleton, General Editor, The Oxford Book of Prayer, (Oxford, Oxford UP, 1985), p. 367 in Chaplain's Manuel of The Royal Canadian Legion

[4] Thomas W. Mann, “Passover: The Time of Our Lives.” Interpretation 50, no. 3 (July 1, 1996): 240-250. ATLASerials, Religion Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed June 28, 2012), 241-242: The Passover narrative is arguably the most important section of the entire book because it is primarily here that the experience of exodus is communicated not simply as a moment in historical time (in the past) but as a perennially recurring moment in the present life of those for whom the story is sacred.

[5] W. Harold Mare, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:1 Corinthians/Exposition of 1 Corinthians/VII. Paul's Answers to Questions Raised by the Church (7:1-14:40)/C. Worship in the Church (11:2-14:40)/2. The Lord's Supper (11:17-34), Book Version: 4.0.2

[6] Cf. NT Wright, Paul for Everyone: 1 Corinthians (Louisville, Kentucky, USA:WJK, 2004), 128 and Simon J. Kistemaker, 1 Corinthians (NTC: Grad Raoids Michigan: Baker Academic, 2007), 149: 1 Corinthians is probably the oldest record of the observance of this memorial

[7] cf. J. Paul Sampley, 1 Corinthians, (NIB: Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2002), 935 for a very good discussion of the intentionality of the use of the phrase,' do this in remembrance of me."

[8] Norman Theiss, "The Passover Feast of the New Covenant." Interpretation 48, no. 1 (January 1, 1994): 17-35. ATLASerials, Religion Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed June 28, 2012), 17: In the eyes of the first three evangelists and Paul, Jesus construed his last supper with the twelve disciples as the fulfillment of God's plan to inaugurate a new Passover meal. In this new meal, Jesus interpreted his death as a new Exodus in which the new people of God were liberated from all that enslaves them and freed to serve God in holy living.