Oliver Legion member Amy Encina learned a great deal during the Pilgrimage Tour, in which she visited various battlefields and monuments. Photo by Eric Harris/Legion Magazine
As I gazed across a sea of white gravestone markers, all to the unknown Canadian soldier, my heart wept within me. Thousands of men whose families knew not where their loved ones were laid to rest. How did that affect their families’ lives? What sacrifices did those men ultimately make in order to serve our country? It’s that sacrifice and the value we place on our freedom and the freedom of the people in the towns and villages that our Canadian troops fought to liberate that we remember.
As we drove through those villages it was amazing to see the Canadian flag flying proud and strong. A sure sign that the people in those villages have not forgotten the bravery of our soldiers that enabled their lives to be lived in freedom and not in oppression.
The Legion Pilgrimage tour is a two week tour into the war torn areas of the First and Second World War. We travelled through France, Belgium and into Netherlands. Each location; whether a knoll on a wheat field, bank of a canal, a rocky beach; these places tell their own stories. Stories of bravery, sacrifice, and sometimes just the everyday challenges.
We travelled to many places off the beaten trail and were able to have a first hand look upon the landscape of the challenges our men faced – faced and overcame against all odds. Our Canadian soldiers were often awarded the most difficult of missions as a result of their boldly courageous efforts. They are remembered for their bravery.
Time and time again our Canadian pilgrims on this tour were approached by heartfelt warmth and gratitude by the people. After all these years – they remember. Children write notes to our lost soldiers, Canadian flags are flown from household windows – these acts are clear indicators showing their gratitude and that they remember with fondness the Canadian soldiers that came into their villages and not only fought for their freedom but showed them kindness as well.
That is how our Canadian soldiers are remembered by those that were caught in the turmoil of the First and Second World War. To remember the lives of those who chose to give of themselves, and for their families who also sacrificed much, it is for us to honour them that we pause to remember our brave Canadian soldiers who died that others might enjoy life lived in freedom.
By Amy Encina
