KABUL, Afghanistan — On November 11, 2007, I got out of bed at around 0630 hrs, just like every other morning since the beginning of my mission. I left my room to take a shower. It was as if the sun was trying to hide behind a cloud or some dust so that it couldn't be seen. You can never really know!
Remembrance Day is a special day. It's the day when we take the time to think about those who have been injured or killed during the Afghanistan mission. We also think about all of those who sacrificed their lives in the past during other conflicts or peace missions.
The day began as usual, with a meeting between all the section leaders and the detachment officer in order to plan the day's activities. I joked with my colleagues, coffee in hand, while the sergeant laid out the plans for the convoys for the day. The first convoy was the one that had to travel to the Canadian Embassy for the Remembrance Day parade.
I never would have imagined that so many thoughts would be spinning through my head during that parade, in which I was standing on post representing the Army. To my left stood the RCMP representative and behind me, the Air Force representative. To his right stood another colleague representing the Navy.
"Everyone in place for the vigil," shouted the Major.
I rested the barrel of my weapon on the toe of my boot, and it was during the parade and speeches that I daydreamed. Throughout this time, my eyes were fixed on a rock that was right in front of my feet. There was a lot of movement while the participants took their places. After a few minutes, everyone was quiet and in place, and we waited for the official beginning of the parade.
While I listened to the people going up to the microphone to name the people who had lost their lives here in Afghanistan, I was suddenly overcome by very strong emotions. At that moment, I began to think of my family: my parents, my daughter and my partner, whose father had passed away the week before.
On Remembrance Day, we sometimes forget all the sacrifices that our families make, in addition to those made by the soldiers who are killed or injured in combat. It is our families who are back home alone, taking care of the household problems. Our families are the ones who support us and boost our spirits with parcels, like Christmas gifts, with little surprises inside. They are the ones who are left behind when a loved one leaves to defend a just cause and does not return from a mission. Our families are the ones who have to deal with the physical and mental wounds of those who do return, plagued with the questions, "Why him? Why me?"
Therefore, on this Remembrance Day in Afghanistan, not only did I think of the people in uniform who had died or been injured, but I also thought of the people who would never see their loved ones again, or who would find themselves reunited with someone unrecognizable, unlike the person who left. I thought of the people who quietly support us, who do not appear on the news reports, who applaud us on our return and experience the mission as intensely as we do. They will still be there on our return, to welcome us and take us back no matter who we've become.
At the end of the ceremony, when everything was over, I went back to my regular work, thinking about all the people who have left much behind in Afghanistan. Here's hoping that those who follow in our footsteps will remember our families and friends, and all that they did to support the military, the mission in Afghanistan and their country.
Article by Master Corporal Daniel Roy Photos by MCpl Ken Fenner and courtesy of the Department of National Defence
|