November 16, 2022

Today in Canada (Remembrance Day) and the United States (Veterans Day) is a day that has been set aside to honor those who have served and are serving in our respective armed forces – it is their collective bravery that has given our 2 great nations the freedoms that we enjoy and often take for granted. Recently and over the decades, many of our soldiers have come home with all sorts of scars – physical scars, emotional scars, and mental scars. Others have not walked off the plane onto North American soil but rather have been carried off in flag-covered coffins. They have paid the ultimate price. They have given their lives for freedom.

The other common name for this day of course is Armistice Day which marks the date and time when armies stopped fighting World War I on November 11th at 11:00 am in 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). Ten million combatants would die, including 60,000 Canadians and 116,000 Americans, before the “Great War” ended with Germany’s defeat on this day 102 years ago. The last 100 days of that war was an epic Canada-dominated finale that began with an all-out attack on German positions on August 8, 1918, a major turning point for the allies.

Here at BMR we hope that you will join us as we remember and honor our men and women who have served and who are serving in our armed forces, protecting our continent and standing up for freedom and liberty throughout a world that is more dangerous than ever. We are truly grateful for their bravery and sacrifices.

May God continue to protect and bless our 2 nations at this critical time in history. Freedom, in all of its forms and manifestations as we have been reminded over the past couple of years, should never be taken for granted.

In Flanders Fields

By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead: Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Lest We Forget