The veteran has finished speaking. He’s told his life story. A young cub scout stands and asks a question.
“Mr. Lightstone why should we care about all of this stuff,” he asked.
Capt. Lightstone gets up from his chair and smiles at the young scout and said, “Because in Canada we are very lucky to live in a country where we have freedom and privileges. … That’s why Remembrance Day is important.”
On one of the last pages of his father’s old pilot’s logbook, Dave Ward Jr. saw his own name written down. Dave Sr. often took Dave Jr. up for casual flights at the Brampton Flying Club well after his time in the armed services. “I never knew that he had kept track of all of our flights together,” Ward Jr. said. “That’s pretty cool.” During the Korean War, Flying Officer David Ward logged over 1,148 hours teaching pilot recruits of the Royal Canadian Air Force how to survive in the sky.
For Joon Young Kim, war and remembrance go back half a century and halfway around the world. “My family was in Seoul (South Korea) and we fled for refuge,” Kim said.
Darleen Aguiar recalled an incident a few years ago. Her boss came into her office carrying a small container of shoe polish. He couldn’t open it and asked for help. Aguiar managed to get it open, but she cried the whole time. The smell, she said, reminded her or her father who kept his boots and shoes shining at all times.
The coming of Remembrance Day sparked some controversy in Toronto’s Chinese community this year. For the fifth year, the Jubilee Centre for Christian Social Action (JCCSA) held the “Salute Canada” ceremony to observe Nov. 11…