Catpaw - diary of an angry cat

Two Canadian soldiers and their interpretor were killed in the early hours of the morning today. While we slept soundly here in Canada, Corp. Nicolas Raymond Beauchamp of the 5th Field Ambulance in Valcartier and Pte. Michel Levesque of the Royal 22nd were killed when their light armoured vehicle hit an IED. Three other soldiers were wounded, but thankfully they will recover.

We have lost 73 soldiers in the past five years. Yes, it has been that long. Hard to believe that while we sit in our homes, with hardly a thought to what is going on a world away, the fight is continuing unabated. I have my own opinions about the wars and conflicts going on around the globe - and not all of these thoughts are polite or politically correct or will endure me to my readers. Today is not the time to debate the rights or wrongs of Iraq and other battles. But when it comes to the battle with the Taliban, I’m not torn at all. This vile group of misogynistic knuckle draggers have caused too much pain and devastation. They want to pull the world - and women in particular - into the dark ages of repression, violence and abject poverty, all in the misguided name of god. I think it is at times like this that god must weep at the hatred spewn in his name.

The soldiers in Afghanistan have said over and over, they believe they are doing the right thing - they believe they are helping the Afghan people fight a reprehensible enemy. Many of the soldiers have fallen in love with the people and country they are trying to help. Last week for Remembrance Day family members of a couple of the fallen soldiers were flown to Afghanistan to be with the serving troops during the services. One parent said it was special being so close to the soil her son died on, gave his life for. I’m sure more than one parent took home some sand from the parched landscape.

Remembrance Day is the day Canada stops to remember those fallen in all wars and peace keeping actions. On the 11 minute of the 11 day of the 11 month - 1918 signalled the end of the Great War, or the War to End All Wars. We simply refer to it as the First World War. Ironic isn’t it, the War to End All Wars is now the starting point for a century + of unrelenting carnage. Since 1919, this day has been kept as our national day of Remembrance. For years, while I was growing up, the crowds at the cenotaphs grew smaller, but in the last 2 years there has been a reversal. The Canadian public has woken up to the dangers and heartbreak of war. Years and decades went by when our Peacekeepers died without much more than a small article in the newspapers - 186 died. Now, Canadians are remembering.

It saddens me to think of the new generation Silver Cross mothers being created. Silver cross mothers are women who have been given a silver cross when their child dies in battle. This year’s mother, chosen to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa was Mrs. Wilhelmina Beerenfenger-Koehler of Embrun, Ontario. Her son, Corporal Robbie Christopher Beerenfenger, was killed near Kabul by a land mind in 2003. Robbie left behind his wife Tina and three children, Matthew, Kristopher and Madison. One Silver Cross is poor compensation.

Canadians have reacted in a typically Canadian fashion to the deaths. While our politicians twiddle their thumbs and ho hum about the tragedy of the deaths, we have created our own impromptu memorial or road of honour. When the soldiers are sent home, they arrive at Trenton Air Base and make the journey to Toronto’s Centre for Forensic Sciences and then returned to their families. They travel along Highway 401 - the main traffic artery that spans the country - which has been unofficially renamed Highway of Heroes. When a soldier makes this last journey, Canadians line the road and overpasses and silently stand as guards for their final trip home. For 172 kilometers from Trenton to Toronto, since 2002, people stand and salute these fallen Canadians.

Its not a glorification of war - its a brief second when the public feels a connection to the families that are now suffering such a horrible lose. It is the one point in the war, that regardless of your political beliefs, you stand with the families and soldiers and say “I’m sorry.”

No rhetoric, no speeches, no politicians, just citizens lining a long stretch of road saying goodbye and we’ll remember.

Stumble it!