I'll add one other thing.
Last year I was fortunate enough to be at Juno Beach for the 60th anniversary of D-Day (it was the day after Game 6 of the finals and I was wearing a Flames jersey at the beach...I swear I was asked, "Did Calgary win the Stanley Cup last night?" about 800 times. I wish I could have answered that question differently
).
Paul Martin and the Governor General were present to give speeches. The leaders of every opposition party were also invited, but they all gave up their spots and sent a veteran in their place. That was a very classy move, and I give full credit to Harper, Layton, and Duceppe for that. The political shenanigans that have surrounded the V-E Day ceremonies are just shameful though. If there's one thing I think all Canadians -- regardless of political affiliation -- can agree upon, it's that our veterans deserve the utmost of respect, and to play dirty politics with them like this is terrible.