The address by the Padre, Rev. Kevin Moratz at the Remembrance Day ceremony in Beachburg Sunday afternoon.
The event was hosted by the Beachburg Lions Club.
Prior to Rev. Moratz address, several wreaths were laid at the cenotaph in front of a crowd of people.
If you look at the back right-hand side of a Canadian $10 bill, you will see an old veteran standing at attention near the Ottawa War Memorial. His name is Robert Metcalfe and he died in April of 2008 at the age of 90.
That he managed to live to that age is remarkable, given what happened in the Second World War. Born in England, he was one of the 400,000 members of the British Expeditionary Force sent to the mainland where they found themselves facing the new German warfare technique — the blitzkrieg.
He was treating a wounded comrade when he was hit in the legs by shrapnel. En route to hospital, his ambulance came under fire from a German tank, which then miraculously ceased fire. Evacuated from Dunkirk on the HMS Grenade, two of the sister ships with them were sunk.
Recovered, he was sent to allied campaigns in North Africa and Italy. En route, his ship was chased by the German battleship the Bismarck.
In North Africa, he served under General Montgomery against the Desert Fox, Rommel.
Sent into the Italian campaign, he met his future wife, a lieutenant and physiotherapist in a Canadian hospital. They were married in the morning by the mayor of the Italian town, and again in the afternoon by a British padre.
After the war, they settled in Chatham, Ontario, where he went into politics and became the warden of the county, and on his retirement he and his wife moved to Ottawa. At the age of 80 he wrote a book about his experiences.
One day out of the blue he received a call from a government official asking him to go downtown for a photo op. He wasn’t told what the photo was for, or why those chose him. He had no idea he would be on the bill, his daughter said.
This veteran, Robert Metcalfe, the veteran on the $10 bill, brings to life the story of every person who has fought for freedom, who went to war for the love of country and fellow man and who has reminded us not to take our freedom for granted. He witnessed many life stories that were cut short on the battlefield and knew that the reason he was able to stand and gaze upon the cenotaph was because of the ultimate sacrifice of his comrades. We too, who stand here today and gaze in humble gratitude upon this cenotaph, know that is not of our own doing but because of the commitment of the men and women who have laid down their lives for us.
I’m sure that on this day each one of us holds a special memory of someone who has served in one of the many conflicts. From a grandparent in WW1 to maybe a parent in WW2; to a brother, sister, uncle or aunt who may have served in places like Cyprus, the Golan heights or Afghanistan. For me I reflect upon the memory of my father who was a paratrooper in WW2 who landed behind enemy lines in the dead of night on June 6, 1944, D-Day with a 70lb pack and a rifle to secure a foothold for those who stormed the beaches. Our remembering becomes just a bit more real when the story is about someone we know and love.
We have come to this place with the commitment to honour the bravery of those who went to war and especially to honour those who did not return home. In death we take hope in the words of Job, a man from the Old Testament, who was no stranger to hardship when he said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand up on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes.”
Until that time, when each one of us will come face to face with the God of truth and justice, may our actions be worthy of the sacrifices that have been made for us. May we have the strength to stand up for justice, not just for our friends but for those in this country and all over the world whose voices are seldom heard.
As we honour the past, we put our faith in our future; knowing that the ultimate Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, our source of life and hope, has given us His peace and asks each one of us to love one another. And now, as we prepare to go back into our every day lives may we never forget the cost that has already been paid.
May the remembering we have done here today re-awaken and strengthen our commitment to work for peace, a true peace from the depth of our hearts as we hear the call of Jesus to be peacemakers at home and abroad and in so doing we shall truly be blessed.
