When memories can be marked, they should be: The impact of remembrance
Last week on Thursday, June 6, I woke up spontaneously at 3:15am my time and I got up and stayed up when I realized that I could watch the events marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day as they were happening on the coast of Normandy and being streamed live by CBC. This is not the first time I have gotten up early to watch something happening in a European time zone in real time — the funeral of Queen Elizabeth and the coronation of King Charles being the two most recent. I like seeing the event unfold in real time (and then seeing what is captured by the media as 'news'). I found the coverage of Operation Overlord unexpectedly moving, especially the first-hand stories told by the handful of Canadian veterans attending the events. Old men now, their emotions remain vivid of that day and the weeks and months that followed; their commitment to attend the commemoration, to be present and to remember the experience and their comrades who died moved me deeply. Tears fell into my t...