Proud to be Canadian

[Marcarl]

Thanks to Run-n-bare for sharing this with us:

 

British news paper salutes Canada . . . this is a good read. It is funny how it took someone in England to put it into words... Sunday Telegraph Article the UK wires:

 

Salute to a brave and modest nation - Kevin Myers, 'The Sunday Telegraph' LONDON :

 

 

Until the deaths of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan , probably almost no one outside their home country had been aware that Canadian troops are deployed in the region. And as always, Canada will bury its dead, just as the rest of the world, as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does.. It seems that Canada 's historic mission is to come to the selfless aid both of its friends and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored.

 

 

Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once helped Glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her yet again.

 

 

That is the price Canada pays for sharing the North American continent with the United States , and for being a selfless friend of Britain in two global conflicts.

 

 

For much of the 20th century, Canada was torn in two different directions: It seemed to be a part of the old world, yet had an address in the new one, and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the gratitude it deserved. Yet it's purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom in two world wars was perhaps the greatest of any democracy.Almost 10% of Canada 's entire population of seven million people served in the armed forces during the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers in the entire British order of battle.

 

 

Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright neglect, it's unique contribution to victory being absorbed into the popular Memory as somehow or other the work of the 'British.'

 

The Second World War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy began the war with a half dozen vessels, and ended up policing nearly half of the Atlantic against U-boat attack. More than 120 Canadian warships participated in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went ashore on D-Day alone.

 

 

Canada finished the war with the third-largest navy and the fourth largest air force in the world. The world thanked Canada with the same sublime indifference as it had the previous time.

 

Canadian participation in the war was acknowledged in film only if it was necessary to give an American actor a part in a campaign in which the United States had clearly not participated - a touching scrupulousness which, of course, Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has any notion of a separate Canadian identity.

 

 

So it is a general rule that actors and filmmakers arriving in Hollywood keep their nationality - unless, that is, they are Canadian. Thus Mary Pickford, Walter Huston, Donald Sutherland, Michael J. Fox, William Shatner, Norman Jewison, David Cronenberg, Alex Trebek, Art Linkletter and Dan Aykroyd have in the popular perception become American, and Christopher Plummer, British.

 

It is as if, in the very act of becoming famous, a Canadian ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who is as unshakably Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom Canada has proved quite unable to find any takers.

 

 

Moreover, Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the achievements of its sons and daughters as the rest of the world is completely unaware of them. The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and are unheard by anyone else - that 1% of the world's population has provided 10% of the world's peacekeeping forces. Canadian soldiers in the past half century have been the greatest peacekeepers on Earth - in 39 missions on UN mandates, and six on non-UN peacekeeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor, from Sinai to Bosnia.

 

 

Yet the only foreign engagement that has entered the popular non-Canadian imagination was the sorry affair in Somalia , in which out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators. Their regiment was then disbanded in disgrace - a uniquely Canadian act of self-abasement for which, naturally, the Canadians received no international credit.

 

 

So who today in the United States knows about the stoic and selfless friendship its northern neighbour has given it in Afghanistan ?

 

 

Rather like Cyrano de Bergerac , Canada repeatedly does honourable things for honourable motives, but instead of being thanked for it, it remains something of a figure of fun. It is the Canadian way, for which Canadians should be proud, yet such honour comes at a high cost. This past year more grieving Canadian families knew that cost all too tragically well.

 

 

Lest we forget.

[Gary N.]

Thanks Carl,

A very appropriate message today. Thanks to all our veterans.

[crockettrider]

What part of Texas is Canada in?

 

Just kidding! I lived in northern Ontario (Elliot Lake) for a few years. My Dad was an electrician in the plutonium mines (helps me be seen at night).

 

Canadas a great place with great people and deserves more than dollar jokes:thumbsup2:

[Black Owl]

And another little known fact.

 

Over 30,000 Canadians served in the US forces in Vietnam. Seven are listed on the wall. Three are still MIA, and one (from Ontario) won the Congressional Medal of Honor.

 

It wasn't quite a one for one exchange for the draft dodgers who ran off the Canada... but came darn close. But then, with the excahnge rate back then, one Canadian fighter was worth two dodgers.

 

[CrazyHorse]

That article couldn't be truer. You dont hear about Canada's sacrifices. In Afghanistan you guys have carried a large brunt of the combat unlike some of our other "allies" (not including the British they have been there when needed). Those same "allies" that wanted us to carry the brunt of work in Bosnia because they don't have the stomach to fight but want to have a say in our presidential elections. I for one truely appreciate Canada's sacrifices and salute you fine folks. Thank you. Jim

Edited November 11, 2008 by CrazyHorse

[frogmaster]

I served with the Canadian's Army in Afghanistan 2003 / 2004 I could always count on them to hold their own and cover my backside when needed.

[BradT]

Interesting note, which I never knew.

 

I also found this an interesting article in this post which sure makes you wonder what a single person is capable of.

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28659

 

Article Link

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/10/18/7131506-cp.html

[hipshot]

CARL! you mean Canadian soldiers, and AMERICAN soldiers, are two separate GROUPS???

i always thought that "north american armed forces" included yanks, AND canadians!

learn sumpin" new everday!

just jt

[Oldseadog]

Amen, Brother

I'm speachless after reading that article.

[Marcarl]

Interesting note, which I never knew.

 

I also found this an interesting article in this post which sure makes you wonder what a single person is capable of.

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=28659

 

Article Link

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2008/10/18/7131506-cp.html

Interesting how he single handily liberated Zwolle, that's where my dad was born in 1906, kind of brings things a little closer to home. I never knew that,,, now I see what friends are for,,, thanks Brad.

Carl

[Yammer Dan]

Thanks to our friends up North!!

 

 

 

Now if you would just close that door a little bit. Getting chilly down here!!

[Grandpagak]

that was a great read.. thanx Carl.. and canada!!!!!!!!:clap2:

[PBJ]

Thanks Carl Canada has always held a warm place in my heart . Strength, warmth and an open hand of friendship have always been extended when i'm in Ontario and I can't wait to get back. Thanks for the article . Its about time Canada gets the recognition from the rest of the world that it truly deserves.

[autopilot]

Re: the article, some things can neither be taught nor learned, only aspired to. Regardless of nationality, he was and is an inspiration to all who love freedom.

 

Canadian......American......He was HUMAN and a pretty, darn, good one at that!

[loehring]

Thanks Carl. I'm an American but I grew up in London Ont. I now travel to Canada on a regular basis working for an airline. Canada is a great country and I was very pleased a couple years ago when Canadian Missions were posted to the Patriot Guard website. Anyone who is willing to risk their lives so others in the world can understand the dream of freedom should be honored and never forgotten.

 

Thank you to all my Canadian brothers for your steadfast belief and willingness to sacrifice to make this world a better place for all.

[dr_bar]

For those who have doubts as to Canadian ability, see the movie Pashendale. It is a story set against one of the worst battles of WWI.

[Snarley Bill]

Thanks to Run-n-bare for sharing this with us:

 

British news paper salutes Canada . . . this is a good read. It is funny how it took someone in England to put it into words... Sunday Telegraph Article the UK wires:

 

Salute to a brave and modest nation - Kevin Myers, 'The Sunday Telegraph' LONDON :

 

 

Until the deaths of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan , probably almost no one outside their home country had been aware that Canadian troops are deployed in the region. And as always, Canada will bury its dead, just as the rest of the world, as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does.. It seems that Canada 's historic mission is to come to the selfless aid both of its friends and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored.

 

 

Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once helped Glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her yet again.

 

 

That is the price Canada pays for sharing the North American continent with the United States , and for being a selfless friend of Britain in two global conflicts.

 

 

For much of the 20th century, Canada was torn in two different directions: It seemed to be a part of the old world, yet had an address in the new one, and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the gratitude it deserved. Yet it's purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom in two world wars was perhaps the greatest of any democracy.Almost 10% of Canada 's entire population of seven million people served in the armed forces during the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers in the entire British order of battle.

 

 

Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright neglect, it's unique contribution to victory being absorbed into the popular Memory as somehow or other the work of the 'British.'

 

The Second World War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy began the war with a half dozen vessels, and ended up policing nearly half of the Atlantic against U-boat attack. More than 120 Canadian warships participated in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went ashore on D-Day alone.

 

 

Canada finished the war with the third-largest navy and the fourth largest air force in the world. The world thanked Canada with the same sublime indifference as it had the previous time.

 

Canadian participation in the war was acknowledged in film only if it was necessary to give an American actor a part in a campaign in which the United States had clearly not participated - a touching scrupulousness which, of course, Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has any notion of a separate Canadian identity.

 

 

So it is a general rule that actors and filmmakers arriving in Hollywood keep their nationality - unless, that is, they are Canadian. Thus Mary Pickford, Walter Huston, Donald Sutherland, Michael J. Fox, William Shatner, Norman Jewison, David Cronenberg, Alex Trebek, Art Linkletter and Dan Aykroyd have in the popular perception become American, and Christopher Plummer, British.

 

It is as if, in the very act of becoming famous, a Canadian ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who is as unshakably Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom Canada has proved quite unable to find any takers.

 

 

Moreover, Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the achievements of its sons and daughters as the rest of the world is completely unaware of them. The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and are unheard by anyone else - that 1% of the world's population has provided 10% of the world's peacekeeping forces. Canadian soldiers in the past half century have been the greatest peacekeepers on Earth - in 39 missions on UN mandates, and six on non-UN peacekeeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor, from Sinai to Bosnia.

 

 

Yet the only foreign engagement that has entered the popular non-Canadian imagination was the sorry affair in Somalia , in which out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators. Their regiment was then disbanded in disgrace - a uniquely Canadian act of self-abasement for which, naturally, the Canadians received no international credit.

 

 

So who today in the United States knows about the stoic and selfless friendship its northern neighbour has given it in Afghanistan ?

 

 

Rather like Cyrano de Bergerac , Canada repeatedly does honourable things for honourable motives, but instead of being thanked for it, it remains something of a figure of fun. It is the Canadian way, for which Canadians should be proud, yet such honour comes at a high cost. This past year more grieving Canadian families knew that cost all too tragically well.

 

 

Lest we forget.

carl ,i am proud that you are a canadian and part of this forum. and i am proud to be an american even though we have people trying to tear our country apart. i just hope we still have enough real americans left to save my country. kudo's to you, and i really mean that. bill :clap2:

[ibents]

Good article Marcarl, I have seen that before or one like it and it never ceases to amaze me that a good portion of the world takes us for granted and sees us as a passive and a strickly peace keeping nation. What they don't realize is,... though our armed forces may not be very big,.... when the cause is just we can fight like the devil, which is being proven in Afghanistan as we speak and the big majority of Canadians are behind our troops %100, this was shown in our city when one of our soldiers was buried recently, thousands lined the funneral route to pay respect to him.

 

As Black owl mentioned many Canadians fought in Vietnam, and I believe that Windsor is the only city in Canada that has a monument to honor the memory of those that didn't come back, it was erected by a group of Americans who wanted to show their appreciation for the sacrifices made by men who didn't have to become involved in their countries war.

 

I believe every Canadian is proud of the past and present sacrifices that have been made for the freedoms which we take for granted and hope the younger generations carry on the memories.

 

 

Ian

Edited November 13, 2008 by ibents

[Celt]

Well this ex pat Scot appreciates our Canadian troops and all they have done and do . i wear a yellow ribbon/maple leaf pin on my vest to show my support for them.

[dr_bar]

That we are passive and a strickly peace keeping nation.

 

Ian

 

 

Regrettably, with our mission in Afghanistan, we are no longer strictly peace keeping in nature. With this mission, we have taken a combat stance in that particular theatre. I believe that's what upsets most Canadians about our presence there. I give my support to our troops despite the reason they're where they are.

[ibents]

Regrettably, with our mission in Afghanistan, we are no longer strictly peace keeping in nature. With this mission, we have taken a combat stance in that particular theatre. I believe that's what upsets most Canadians about our presence there. I give my support to our troops despite the reason they're where they are.

 

 

dr bar,

I can see what you're saying but unfortunately you have to have a peace to keep and I certainly wish that was the case. You cannot build roads, schools and basic infrastructure when you have an enemy that has no regard for human life. I'm sure all the ally's have strict rules of engagement. The Taliban have no rules whatsoever.

It comes down to do we fight them over there, or on the streets of our cities. Because of our lax immigration polices, you can bet there are already some over here.

 

Ian

[dr_bar]

Don't get me wrong, I'm just saying that this is the first "Combat" role for Canada since I believe the Korean war where we were a part of the Commonwealth forces.

[ibents]

dr bar,

I see how you took my comment on my original post and I re-read what I had written and it gave the wrong impression, so I edited the one sentence that you quoted, to what I meant to say.

 

Sorry if it was misleading.

 

Ian

[mraf]

dr bar,

I can see what you're saying but unfortunately you have to have a peace to keep and I certainly wish that was the case. You cannot build roads, schools and basic infrastructure when you have an enemy that has no regard for human life. I'm sure all the ally's have strict rules of engagement. The Taliban have no rules whatsoever.

It comes down to do we fight them over there, or on the streets of our cities. Because of our lax immigration polices, you can bet there are already some over here.

 

Ian

 

AMEN TO THAT!

[Yammer Dan]

We have to abide by rules and they have none!! That brings back some things! Remember Call for permisson to return fire?? We know how that went. These are our troops, American is best title for them? From Canada or U.S.