My cousin recently posted pictures of my mom’s older brothers and sisters who served in the military.  I am extremely proud of their service.

 

Left to Right… Uncle Jack, Aunt Myrt, Uncle Jim, and Aunt Mary

Their oldest brother, my uncle Bert Doonan, was a member of the Royal Regiment of Canada. He died at Dieppe on August 19, 1942. In 1979 I found his grave in France. A Nova Scotian musician named David Stone wrote a song about my experience. I’ve shared the song and some pictures every year since he recorded it in 2005. Click here to watch.

I wear a poppy to remember their sacrifice. I do not wear it to glorify war. Wars are fought mainly because of policies based on greed, racism or religious belief. Most of those policies were/are developed by old guys like me. It still saddens me that Uncle Bert, a young man who probably didn’t know or care about the difference between Beaverlodge and Berlin was probably killed by a young man from Germany who probably didn’t know or care about the difference between Beaverlodge and Berlin.

I believe strongly that armies worldwide should not be able to enlist soldiers who are under the age of 55. I think that would help.