Honouring those who have served their country

“Lest we forget” is a term connected with Remembrance Day, so we tend to think of people who gave the ultimate sacrifice: life itself.

But beyond Red Fridays, November 11^th is also a time to honour all the men and women who serve their country in wartime, peacekeeping missions and emergency situations in Canada.

For me, Remembrance Day always means thanking the heavens that my grandfather, Sgt. Harold C. Lampman (a.k.a. Dad Lampman), made it home to Canada from World War II.

Dad and his war bride, Betty (Mom-Mom)

Dad was a self-professed pacifist, family man and keen student, so going to war wasn’t something to which he aspired. When he was young, his love of music and interest in signaling were what he enjoyed in the cadet corps and the Oxford Rifles band.

Atrocities overseas eventually drove Dad to sign up for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). As he put it, he and others were “forced by circumstances and people like Hitler and the Japanese Emperor to take a stand.”  

I cannot fathom how tough it was to serve between 1941 and 1945. Anyone who knew Dad knows that while he rose to the occasion for his country, he stayed as true to himself as possible and his post-war years were very much a return to family, learning, music, a zest for life and a new-found love of flying.

Dad’s transition from carpenter and student of architectural engineering to the RCAF kick-started with a radio program at the University of Toronto. Dad was among the first group of graduates to sail from Halifax to Liverpool for radar training with England’s Royal Air Force, where he would become one of Canada’s earliest radar technicians.

After Dad’s arrival in the UK, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (who most of us eventually knew as the Queen Mum) came out to inspect Dominion and Allied Air Forces. Dad was among those being inspected, along with his 400 to 500 fellow Canadian radar mechanics. Newspaper and radio accounts didn’t identify them as such, because “for a long time radar was a trade not talked about.” As someone who grew up during the Depression, Dad was suitably impressed with the Royal showing, although he admitted that he was sitting on a curb and smoking when the Royals arrived late.  

Canadian radar mechanics would spend most of their time with the British RAF. Dad started out with 29 Squadron in Kent, where they flew Beaufighters at night. As Dad moved around Europe, his radar work shifted from the Beaus to Hudsons, Liberators (B24s), Wellingtons, Warwicks…

The image below is a simplistic view of Dad’s war journeys, which cannot do justice to the battles, losses, fear, cold and everything else he endured. Pausing his life plans and risking it all to serve his country took Dad far away from his comfort zone and pushed his beliefs, but he was Dad through and through. I think of him often and miss him dearly, but I’m so thankful that after his RCAF days he returned to Canada to live a long and full life, one that he fittingly exited in his 80s dancing to music at a New Year’s Eve party.  

Even if you don’t have a personal connection to a fallen soldier or a veteran, I encourage you to take in a public Remembrance Day service or pay your respects in a private way (via web streaming or TV). If this morning doesn’t work, here are 50 different ways Veterans Affairs suggests you can mark today.

Don a poppy. Celebrate everyone who has served our country and fought for freedom…for those women and men are

      AWESOME!