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Ad Rates / Articles / Classified Ads / Editorial / Home / Links / Showtime   Remembering our war casualties   List Roy Bassett Next   A Day of Remembrance - November 11, 2008   By Roy Bassett When you consider the number of Canadian men and women who have fought in world conflicts, devoting two minutes of your time to remember them on Remembrance Day isn't too much to ask.   A Veterans Affairs Canada booklet published a few years ago says more than 1.5 million Canadians served overseas in WW1, WW2 and the Korean War and more than 100,000 died in those 12 years of conflict.   But there are more casualties to remember decades after the Korean War - the Canadian military personnel who have served as peacekeepers on distant soil and the men and women now serving in Afghanistan.   They too are being killed and wounded.   The Canadian government is now recognizing Canadian Forces personnel active in post-Korea duties by awarding Canadian peacekeeping medals.   The peacekeeping medals give medal collectors a fresh new source for additions to their collections, but with the recipients being younger, they might not appear on the market for years to come.   Remembrance Day parades across Canadian this year will be populated by all but WW1 veterans. John Babcock, 108, the last known surviving Canadian WW1 vet, now lives in the United States under recently renewed dual citizenship.   Veterans of later wars, conflicts and peacekeeping missions will be wearing medals, along with the traditional poppy, emblematic of the sacrifices of all soldiers. It is a great opportunity to ask about their medals and why they were awarded.   I know they will be only too pleased to inform you about their military service. With reference to medals, did you know Canada now has its own Victoria Cross?   Established on Feb. 2, 1993, it is identical to the British V.C. except the words "For Valour" have been changed to the Latin "Pro Valore."   The Canadian Victoria Cross, made in Canada by the Royal Canadian Mint and Natural Resources Canada, is cast, as opposed to being die struck, and is composed of a variety of metals common in all parts of Canada, plus a small portion of the bronze cannon captured during the Crimean war.   In 2004, Canada Post issued postage stamps depicting both Canadian and British Crosses and in the centre of a full sheet are the names of the almost 100 Canadians who were awarded the British Victoria Cross.   Two years later, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a 25-cent coin depicting the Medal of Military Valour and a silver dollar coin depicting the Canadian Victoria Cross.   As of this year, no veterans have been awarded or nominated for the Canadian Victoria Cross. A proposal to have Queen Elizabeth present the award to Prime Minister Stephen Harper in memory of the "Canadian Unknown Soldier" was quietly dropped.   The Royal Canadian Legion and the Canadian Forces felt that the "Unknown Soldier" should not be elevated above his fallen comrades.   The British Victoria Cross, in use from the 1800s to 1993, is named after Queen Victoria (1819-1901) and was created in 1856. The medals were made from melted bronze cannons captured during the Crimean war in 1854.   The first Canadian to be awarded the British Victoria Cross was Lt. Alexander Roberts Dunn, who took part in the famous Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854 during the Crimean War.   Another early and very interesting winner of the British Victorian Cross was William Hall, who won his during the Indian Mutiny in 1857.   William Hall, the son of a slave, was born and lived in Hantsport, Nova Scotia. He enlisted in the Royal Navy and was involved in the short, but fierce, revolt against British rule in India. During his service with the navy, he was awarded three campaign medals.   There are no living Canadian recipients of the British Victoria Cross. The last one was Ernest Alvia "Smokey" Smith, a WW2 Seaforth Highlanders of Canada hero, who died Aug. 3, 2005, in Vancouver, B.C. He was 91.   While you may not see a Canadian Victoria Cross being worn in parades, you are sure to many of the other "Canadian" medals, such as those awarded for peacekeeping duties and even some of the new bravery and campaign medals.   They include the Star of Courage, Meritorious Service Cross, Medal of Bravery, Meritorious Service Medal, Korean Medal, Gulf and Kuwait Medal, Somalia Medal, General Service Medal, General Campaign Star, Special Service Medal, Canadian Centennial Medal etc.   So during this brief period of remembrance, you will not only be honouring the memory of those who gave their lives, but those still alive who gave up part of their lives for the freedom we now enjoy and are still doing so. .   And those Remembrance Day poppies for sale by Royal Canadian Legion members? Disabled soldiers in vet craft shops and Red Cross workshops first made them in 1922.   Poppy donation proceeds assist veterans who have fallen upon hard times.   Wearing one can be your own personal medal for taking the time to remember.   Roy Bassett is a veteran of the British Army (1950s) and a retired Toronto policeman. He can be reached at ninelancer@sympatico.ca       Return to top of page   This Is Livin' Publishing © 2008 581 8th Line West, RR1 Hastings, ON, K0L 1Y0 Phone/Fax: 705-696-1833   webmaster