WARMINGTIN: We remembered 100 years ago, we will remember in 100 years

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We have not forgotten.

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Exactly 100 years from this November 11, it will be interesting for future generations to see how Remembrance Day 2122 in Toronto will be observed.

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And what will they remember?

If it looks like the way it was done in 2022, it will suit what has become a proud tradition in Toronto and across Canada.

As Mayor John Tory so poignantly recalled from the cenotaph at Old City Hall on Friday, a century may pass, but people’s respect for those who fight for us does not disappear.

Tory told veterans, politicians and citizens that “100 years ago, in this very place, Canadians came here to remember those who fell in the Great War.

As he told the blockaded area along Queen St. W., and later to myself and photographer Jack Boland, the people who came out in 1922 would have ‘never known what awaited them’. . They were unaware of the coming Great Depression or any other”deadly world war.

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Or that in 2022 people would observe two minutes of silence and reflect on those who died to give us a good life. But after 1922, a lot of things happened, including the Korean War, peacekeeping missions, the Cold War, combat missions in the Balkans, Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan.

« It’s that perspective that I think is important for us to remember today, » Tory said, adding that we shouldn’t « forget » or « assume » the challenges that will arise in the future.

But the Canadian tradition of Remembrance Day has stood the test of time.

« There was a wooden memorial here at the old town hall, which was replaced by the one that’s here now, » Tory said.

When you saw all those people laying those wreaths yesterday – including Toronto Sun editor and military veteran Adrienne Batra – you couldn’t help but think of the thousands of Canadians who sacrificed their lives for the free and prosperous life which we enjoy today. .

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So many people from different times and from different conflicts have sacrificed themselves for this freedom.

Lieutenant Colonel James Stocker is an example of today’s soldier who has had several wartime deployments, including tours in Afghanistan and working in the Middle East in the battle to eliminate ISIS.

He tells me November 11 we “definitely reflect” on these experiences and we never forget those who served and those who were lost. He has all these medals on his chest, but it is the heart and soul he gave for our country that is honored on this day. It was such a privilege to meet him and WWII veterans like the 101-year-old soldier. Tony Mastromatteo.

After the service, at the Royal Canadian Military Institute on University Avenue, there was a gathering of people from all branches of the Canadian Armed Forces and from all generations and conflicts.

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There were also civilians like Gertrude Kearns who, as a war artist, was in Afghanistan and captured many aspects of the battles there and the people who participated in them. I will soon be writing a full column about her, but in chatting with her, the Member of the Order of Canada shared her extreme pride in being in the theater with these brave men and women who serve the country as the troops through the generations.

They all have one thing in common. They love their country. It was constant in 1922 and again in 2022.

It’s hard to know what things will look like in 2122, but Tory said looking at this crowd 100 years from a similar crowd that stood there in the same place a century earlier, he’s optimistic for the future. .

« I’m encouraged, » Tory said.

Let’s not forget that.

jwarmington@postmedia.com