Counter-plan for Vimy

By John Boileau

 

     While I wholeheartedly support Jack Wilcox’s aim of increasing Canadians’ awareness of the Vimy Ridge memorial and, by extension, the part Canada played in two World Wars (The Chronicle Herald, April 14), I do not agree with the practicality of his suggestion.  He would have a second “Vimy colossus” built, only this time in Canada, at a place “where all citizens can plan an affordable visit.” 

     He favours Halifax for this monument, based on the city’s role as the main departure point for personnel and materials destined for the battlefront, and because it overlooks the “largest battleground of all time, the North Atlantic Ocean.”

     There are problems with this suggestion.  For one, Halifax is closer to Vimy Ridge geographically than many parts of Canada are to Halifax, making a visit to the port city no more affordable than a trip to France for many Canadians.

     The real problem with Wilcox’s idea is his belief that a second Vimy Ridge memorial, located in Canada, would somehow be equal to the one in France.  I do not believe this would be the case. 

     While we may not have such an inspiring monument as Vimy’s soaring towers anywhere in Canada, we already have hundreds of war memorials and cenotaphs in virtually every town and city in this country, within easy reach of the vast majority of Canadians.  Much of Vimy’s appeal is not simply the monument; it’s the setting on the actual battlefield, with hundreds of Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries in the nearby countryside. 

     So, if we don’t bring Vimy to Canadians, why not bring Canadians to Vimy?

     I believe that the federal government should establish a program to take every Canadian when they reach a certain age, say 15 or 16, to the memorials, battlefields and cemeteries of France and Belgium as an essential part of their education and their citizenship.  In this surprisingly small area, Canada fought virtually all of her First World War battles, as well as many of the major ones of the Second World War.

     A trip to Vimy would be combined with visits to other sites.  Places that have become an indelible part of our history--such as Ypres, Beaumont Hamel, Passchendaele, Arras, Courcelette, Amiens and Cambrai from the First World War; as well as Dieppe, Juno Beach, Caen, Falaise and the Scheldt from the Second, plus several others--are all with a few hundred kilometres of each other.

     I have visited each of these locations and the cemeteries associated with them.  As I wrote in an article in this newspaper for Remembrance Day 2002, “A visit to a First World War Canadian cemetery may be the most emotional and poignant journey any Canadian can ever make.  It is a sobering experience and no one who undertakes such a trip can fail to be moved by it.”

     I believe if the young men and women of this country made such a journey, they would better understand and appreciate the sacrifices of other young people--many of them not much older than they are--who lie at rest forever in the beautiful gardens that dot the now-peaceful countryside of France and Flanders. 

     I believe it would make them more ready to assume the responsibilities of citizenship.  In addition, I hope it would make them grow up to be less a nation of whiners than we have become, and able to separate the really important from so much hot air.  But that is probably hoping for too much.    

     Many will no doubt decry such a trip as an unnecessary expense, and one cutting into an educational system already under fire for not turning out young people ready to take their places as full citizens of this great country.  I disagree, and believe these journeys would go a long way towards the education of the whole person. 

     The expenses for these trips could easily be covered by some form of (dare I say it?) sponsorship program, partnering the federal government with firms that already support youth, as well as with service organizations with similar interests, such as the Royal Canadian Legion.

     No doubt, some of the more narrow-minded among us will see such visits as glorifying war.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I do not believe anyone who makes such a journey could possibly feel that way.

     So, why not set up a system to take all young Canadians to the hallowed ground of Vimy Ridge and several other battlefields?  Why not teach them first-hand what happened there?  And why not let them walk the rows upon rows of simple white headstones--many without names, but each adorned with a Maple Leaf, as they contemplate their fast-approaching adulthood and their responsibilities as full citizens of this wonderful country?

     Just asking. 

 

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