Retired Warrant Officer Gordon Edwards felt compelled to read a poem by Charles M. Province about the value of the soldier. He felt it was the right thing to read to the crowd of close to 2,000 at North Bay Memorial Gardens as part of the Remembrance Day event Monday morning.
It is the Soldier, not the minister, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.
Edwards, who referred to a flag burning in Vancouver during the reading, joined the military at 16 years old as a soldier apprentice in Kingston.
"The soldier is everybody, It doesn't necessarily mean you have to be in uniform. The soldiers are the people who work for peace," he said after Monday's ceremony.
Colonel Joseph Oldford, the new 22 Wing Commander says he is celebrating his 30th year in uniform this year.
"This day is always so emotional for a lot of people for a lot of different reasons. For me it is a time to reflect on some family that I have had that have been in the service and of course my service and my wife's service as she is also a member of the RCAF so it is an emotional day and it stirs up a lot of thought - the world how it is today and has been for a while, and we have a lot of hope for the future so we can keep all the rights and freedoms that we enjoy today."
Colonel Oldford notes that North Bay is the centre of air defence for the entire country every single day as more than 500 personnel work at the local base.
"So those men and women on top of the hill are doing that on behalf of all Canadians every day, 24/7 and never stops and in today's political environment around the world and I don't think I am wrong in saying the world has not been this unstable for a long time," he said.
"So the things we do every day are super important every day and only getting more important."
