Nov 11, 1998, 2:15pm

Second year for this, so you could call it a tradition.

Today is November 11th. A very important day in Canadian history. It's a Day of Remembrance.

It's a day we give thanks to those who lost their lives in the defence of our country, other countries, and other human beings, rights and freedoms. More importantly to me, I remember, not so much for victories and losses in war, but because of the lessons learned.

War is a horrible, terrible thing and because young men, many in their teens, gave their lives, we have to remember them with honour. But we also have to remember that war is the ultimate sin - it's carnage is absolute. I don't glamorize war, but I do recognize the sacrifices that people have made for me, someone they didn't even know would exist.

Wars are (and have always been) the playthings of nations and leaders. Battles on the other hand, belong to the soldiers. At your worst moments you find out who you are, what you're made of, and you either walk proud or you shrink away. Though they couldn't have known it back then, the actions of a lot of Canadian soldiers helped to mould Canada's defining moments on the world stage. This is my little story on how that happened.

On April 10th, 1917, a former colony became a nation.

Canada officially became it's own country within the newly formed British Commonwealth on July 1, 1867, but that title - "country" - was just lip service. While the right to create all our own laws, collect our own taxes, and administer our own land and have free democratic votes were all finally our own rights, the right to represent ourselves on the world scene was not, at least not in reality.

From the date of Confederation in 1867 to that faithful day in 1917, we were still very much the property of the British Empire when it came to world politics, and war. April 10th changed all that.

The battle is now called Vimy Ridge. For the rest of the world, if they even remember it, it was just a part of the British Battles of Arras.

I wrote an essay on this Battle back in my University days, and I'm proud to say I won the top award for writing in the History department for it. I'm not proud because *I* won it per se, but proud because I felt it was an essay that should be read by many, and by winning the award, my essay was published in the student revue giving many people the chance to read it. This is not ego speaking here, nor is it vanity - I felt it needed to be read because of an interview that became integral to the essay.

I was very privileged to be able to interview an actual Vimy Ridge veteran for this paper. At first, the man turned me down, saying he didn't remember much of the battle, but later on, he confessed that even to the day of my interview with him (back in 1992) it was still painful to discuss. Eventually, with my deadline looming, he accepted.

His name was George Francis, and at the time he was 95 years old, very frail, and living in a veterans home. He was pretty much confined to a bed, with tubes coming out of him all over, but on the day of my interview, Mr. Francis was dressed up in his old tunic, with his row of medals, shiny and looking as new as the day he got them, on his breast. This for me, a lowly university student who wanted to get a few words from him.

Mr. Francis was bitter about a lot of things, I guess he had a hard life, I'm not sure, as I didn't get into that. When recounting his role in World War I (the "Great War") his vitriol at times was directed toward the youth of several recent generations who, in his own words, "don't give a damn that so many of their grandfathers, great grandfathers, great uncles and such died. Died for them! Died so they could prosper!"

But nothing could hide his pride over the success he and his 'lads' had that day, that day on April 10th, 1917. My notes show that at one point, Mr. Francis was very silent for a long time, then he broke his silence and said, "you know... that day... we were the kings. We were the generals... we ... we did what no one else could do. I still remember standing on that (ridge), the next morning, staring out... I still remember how beautiful the day was, which was queer... there... there was death everywhere... my mates were dead. the fritz were dead. plenty of nuns and stretchies (stretcher bearers) were out that day, taking care of the sick... but it was a beautiful day. we were the top."

Mr. Francis never fully realized what that victory was to mean for Canada and Canadians. Even during my interview with him, I don't think he knew the way it changed our country into a nation.

After my paper was handed in and awarded by the History department, I brought a copy of it to Mr. Francis, who was very, very ill. I wanted to sit and read it to him, but I was told this wouldn't be possible. I left the copy with his grandson who was at the facility.

A few days later, I got a call from Jerry, the grandson. He told me he read the essay to Mr. Francis, and the old veteran was beaming by the end of it. Whether it was the conclusion I wrote, or the fact that at least some young Canadians understand the sacrifice he and his "mates" made, I'll never know.

George Francis, Private of the 7th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, First Division, died a couple of months later. With his death, one of only six surviving Vimy veterans left us. His sacrifice, his efforts, along with those of hundreds and thousands of others, will not be forgotten. That is what this day is all about.

Take time now to read the essay. Keep in mind it is a scholarly essay, not a "novellete" kind of thing (though I have edited it for better flow). The first page will take a bit of time to load (it's 85Kb) but it is worth it.

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