State Funeral- Lest We Forget

[Law]

With this being the week leading up to Remembrance Day, a petition is being passed around regarding the State Funeral for the family of the last surviving vet from the Great War. I think this is an excellent idea and have signed the petition. I have included the link to the website, if you would like to sign it, please do. Lest We Forget.

http://www.dominion.ca/petition/

[Go_Leafs_Go]

I signed this yesterday as well. I feel it is the least we can do to thank a generation of men who willingly laid down there lives for the freedoms that we now know and enjoy.

[jonf]

great idea

[mcgoo]

I signed.

[Hacker]

Thanks for passing that on

[jeffc]

got this today...


State funeral for last war vet wins approval
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, ONLINE EDITION - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21
BY SCOTT DEVEAU
The last remaining Canadian First World War veteran will be laid to rest at a
state funeral, after Ottawa voted unanimously Tuesday in favour an NDP motion to
bestow the honour, which is normally reserved for former heads of government.
Just three Canadian first World War veterans are believed to be still alive -
the oldest being 106 years old.
While state funerals in Canada are normally reserved former Governors-General
and Prime Ministers, there has been an enormous groundswell of support in recent
weeks for honouring the passing of the last remaining First World War veteran
with such a ceremony.
The campaign was launched by the Dominion Institute in the build up to
Remembrance Day, and in just a few weeks drew more than 90,000 signatures from
Canadians across the country on a petition in support of the initiative.
NDP critic for Veterans Affairs Peter Stoffer picked up the cause Tuesday by
introducing a motion in the House, which required the consent of all four
federal parties before a state funeral could be awarded. The motion received
unanimous support Tuesday morning.
"Canada's veterans are our greatest heroes and our country's greatest
volunteers," Mr. Stoffer said Tuesday. "Offering a state funeral for the last
Canadian veteran of the First World War is a fitting and symbolic tribute to
recognize the great personal sacrifices of those who have served and who are
currently serving our country."
The move mirrors an Australian initiative that saw that country's last veteran
buried in a state funeral in 2005.
In Canada, during a state funeral, the body arrives at Parliament Hill by
hearse, where the deceased is brought to the centre block for a simple ceremony.
After lying guarded in state for two days, the body is escorted to Christ Church
Cathedral in Ottawa, where the funeral service is held.
More than 60,000 Canadians died in the fighting between 1914 and 1918.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl.../National/home

[Shivas Irons]

It would be nice except this guy never actually fought in the war and has been an American citizen for 60 years. Typical NDP grandstanding without having a clue about the facts.

[sharkshooter]

None of the 3 remaining did...

Unlike hundreds of thousands of other young Canadians of his generation, Jack Babcock never got the chance to go “over the top” in France during the terrible four years of the First World War.
Lucky him. Mr. Babcock was under age when he arrived in Britain with the Royal Canadian Regiment, and was deemed too young to be shot at. Superiors kept him far from the front.

But try as he might, Lloyd Clemett never made it to the battlefield. Like B.C.'s Duke Procter, who died only last year at 105, Mr. Clemett was sent to northern England to cut trees for the trenches as part of the Canadian Forestry Corps.
When some Canadian loggers, including Mr. Clemett, did make it to France, they were kept well behind the front lines. In late 1918, however, some spots at the front finally opened up and Mr. Clemett volunteered.
In hindsight, one could certainly say his good fortune held. The day he and his mates were to march to the front was Nov. 11. The guns stopped.

Percy Dwight Wilson
On arrival in England, Mr. Wilson's youth was quickly discovered and he never came close to the battlefield, before being returned to Canada in 1917.
But Dwight Wilson was a determined young man. He enlisted again, winding up once more at Camp Petawawa for military training.
The war ended before Mr. Wilson got a second chance to head overseas.
Yet the spirit of patriotism never left him. Shortly after the Second World War began, the Bell Telephone employee enlisted for a third time.
Instead of being too young, Mr. Wilson was now too old, and he spent the second war of his long lifetime as a captain in the Perth County Reserves.
Perhaps because he did not see combat, Mr. Wilson has not opened up much about his First World War experience, although his son Paul recalls an unexploded German artillery shell from those far off days was used as a doorstop in the family home for years.

You know, I think it would be more fitting if it was someone who actully saw combat, but I cannot imagine the political fallout of voting against such a motion.

[Shivas Irons]

I cannot imagine the political fallout of voting against such a motion.

That's for sure, even if a state funeral was not warranted nobody in public office is about to come out and say it. Much like everyone falling all over themselves to point out how much they support our troops. I think the only one who didn't want the state funeral was Michael Richards.

[jonf]

The point of it isn't to honour the individual though, its to honour all Canadians who fought in the war, so it really doesn't matter if they never saw front-line action. The whole point of it is to say thank you to all the veterans, and this is a fitting tribute.

[sharkshooter]

The point of it isn't to honour the individual though, its to honour all Canadians who fought in the war, so it really doesn't matter if they never saw front-line action. The whole point of it is to say thank you to all the veterans, and this is a fitting tribute.

I agree with the idea. I disagree that a state funeral is the way to do it. They should be honoured, but not in a way which is specifically disigned for another purpose.

Just like I disagree that lowering the flag for soldiers killed in Afganistan is not the right way to appreciate their service.

[larry]

The point of it isn't to honour the individual though, its to honour all Canadians who fought in the war, so it really doesn't matter if they never saw front-line action. The whole point of it is to say thank you to all the veterans, and this is a fitting tribute.

Exactly

[Shivas Irons]

The point of it isn't to honour the individual though, its to honour all Canadians who fought in the war, so it really doesn't matter if they never saw front-line action. The whole point of it is to say thank you to all the veterans, and this is a fitting tribute.

So on Rememberance Day we are only honouring the soldiers who were killed in the war? I always thought it was to honour everyone who served.

[jonf]

I didn't say anything about remembrance day, and didn't mean to imply anything of the sort. I'm just syaing this is a nice additional way of honouring vets.