Storming the Field | Remembrance

Thanking their own

Soldiers pay their respects at the Agira Canadian War Cemetery in Italy.

Firing into the Distance

"Soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment demonstrate the firing of a Carl Gustav recoilless rifle to the students of the Canadian Forces College and civilian guests as part of Collaborative Spirit 2013." Courtesy Canadian Forces Flickr.

Helping at Home

Canadian soldiers aid Albertans during flooding in 2013. Courtesy Canadian Forces Flickr.

Aim and Fire

Canadian military practice precision as a team building exercise. Courtesy Canadian Forces Flickr.

Heading Overseas

Canadian Forces members board a plane in Virginia, USA bound for Afghanistan in 2011. Courtesy Canadian Forces Flickr.

Braving the Cold

Canadian Forces help bring aid to secluded sections of Nunavut. Courtesy Canadian Forces Flickr.

war, the closure of Veterans Affairs offices and resources, to a media frenzy surrounding the lack of effective PTSD treatment for Veterans of all wars and military operations.

Social media especially has given us the power to storm the field, creating large online communities who have to do little more than click a button to show their support or disdain. Corporations have lent their influence as well, through donations, Hire a Veteran programs, and one day sales; though there are arguments and concerns around the effectiveness of both social media and corporate approaches.

Storming the field is about more than jumping on social media bandwagon, attending a ceremony or having an opinion. It's about having a chance to affect the course of history, to shape how you and others remember our military, our losses, and our heritage. Why you should participate is clear: remembrance is only effective when it matters to you. This is your chance to make it matter.

While we may not be shooting guns into the distance, loading cannons or driving tanks, the negotiation which surrounds remembrance and collective memory is very much a battle. It comes in waves; droves of people rise to the occasion at the right time, often following the orders of the prior generation. People are certainly harnessing the available weapons: the media, our Twitter and Facebook accounts, and individual passions to discover and embrace our familial and national histories.

The idea of Remembrance as a negotiation is by no means new, and it is a war that is still on-going, fought in the texts of our history books, the narratives of our museums, monuments and ceremonies, down to the discussion at our dinner tables about whether Canada should have entered the Afghanistan War and how new veterans deserve to be treated.

While there may not be consensus, there has been discussion. From ponderings following the Second World War over whether Remembrance Day should be changed—after all, June 6th would be much fairer weather than November 11th—to recent lack of public consensus surrounding the nobility of veterans of the Afghanistan