British Newspaper Salutes Canada

[JerzeeGirl]

This isn't a recent article (it originally appeared in the April 21, 2002 edition of the Sunday Telegraph) but I just had it sent to me again by a friend and it still seems applicable as we see and hear of young Canadians still fighting and dying in Afghanistan and elsewhere. I hope it's not a fata (I searched for it) but if it is, it's the right kind of fata imho....

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 italways 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 its 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 it's 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'speacekeeping 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 on-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.

Please pass this on to any of your friends or relatives who served in
the Canadian Forces or anyone who is proud to be Canadian; it is a
wonderful tribute to those who choose to serve their country and the
world in our quiet Canadian way

[Locke]

Thats really quite good. Very succinct and to the point. I like it.

Locke.

[Ford Prefect]

I remember seeing that when it was first written. Thanks for reposting it. Dad was a Second War veteran. It was the defining time of his life, for better or worse. Our soldiers deserve more recognition than they've ever received, whether a person agrees with war or not.

[Igottago]

Excellent article, and very true.

[Aeneas]

Too true. There are so many history books that will tell you Vimy was won by British soldiers. Perhaps that is literally true, but not fair. It was amazing the percentage of Canadians who served. Next time you drive through small town Alberta, have a closer look at the war memorials. Count the sacrifice made and research the population at the time. We should all be proud.
As to living in the shadow of a superpower and being forgotten; I remember a quote by a British author (I do not remember his name, nor where I read it, so I cannot recall exactly):

There is no difference between an American and a Canadian.
To find the difference, tell a Canadian there is no difference.

[JerzeeGirl]

Originally Posted by Aeneas

As to living in the shadow of a superpower and being forgotten; I remember a quote by a British author (I do not remember his name, nor where I read it, so I cannot recall exactly):

There is no difference between an American and a Canadian.
To find the difference, tell a Canadian there is no difference.

That's funny - I was watching Letterman many years ago and he had Martin Short on as a guest. Dave asked Marty what the difference was between Canadians & Americans and he replied something similar to that quote which rang as true then as the above does now.

Short said something along the lines of:
Americans live what they see on TV, Canadians just watch it.

As I recall, Dave didn't really know where to go with that reply...

[Azure]

And Donald Sutherland has a son who does Ford Commercials for Canada, and is involved in many NHL marketing ploys, geared towards Canada. Strange that they forgot to mention him.

Just asking some of the guys serving in Afghanistan(not Canadian troops)....many of them have said that the Canadian troops they served with, worked with, fought beside, are some of the greatest people they will meet, both as a friend, and as a professional.

And while Canada may not get world-wide fame throughout the media....everyone serving in Afghanistan and throughout the world in those 39 peacekeeping missions...knows who Canada is, and knows what we CAN and HAVE contributed.

But I don't want that world-wide fame. I know that our military does their job, and they are the best at what they do. Nothing else matters.

[SoulOfTheFlame]

Great article!

[Superflyer]

That was a great article. It is so true that have done so much in our short history but because we share the continent with the U.S. we are forgotten.
I am OK with that in most ways as I do not want all the attention that the U.S. gets. But I hate being told that we are America Jr. That really gets me. We are a great country of our own. As the great Molson commercials of old, I am proud to sew the Canadian flag on my backpack because I am Canadian, and it is because of the things that were written above that I am.

[Bobblehead]

That was the first time I read that article. Thank you for posting it.

I'm not sure if it is telling that is was written by a Brit, or that this type of article could only be written from an outside point of view.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

I was travelling through Belgium not long ago. Whenever I mentioned I was Canadian, people's eyes would often light up and they would talk about how Canadians are loved for the sacrifice they made during the Great War and how we were pivotal in the victories during the mustard gas sieges. I was very proud to be Canadian when I was in Belgium

[GoinAllTheWay]

Canada finished the war with the
third largest navy and the fourth largest air force in the world.

Every time I read this fact, it blows my mind.

How the mighty have fallen.....

[habernac]

I hadn't read that, thanks for posting.

My grandfather was one of the men defending against the U boats and was extremely proud to be a veteran of the RCAF. I have terrific pictures of he and his crew in Scotland in 1944, they are among my most prized possesions.

WW2 is also indirectly responsible for my wife being here. Her grandfather and grandmother met in Britain, he was Canadian, she was in the British army. He served in both great wars, lying about his age to fight in WW1. Sadly, he died fairly young and never had a chance to see his grandchildren.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Every time I read this fact, it blows my mind.

How the mighty have fallen.....

Having such a large army and navy in this day and age would only be a waste of money.

Although it would be nice if the equipment our troops DO HAVE, would actually work.

I.E. Sea Kings.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Azure

Having such a large army and navy in this day and age would only be a waste of money.

Although it would be nice if the equipment our troops DO HAVE, would actually work.

I.E. Sea Kings.

I agree completley but to go from a very well respected military to one that is such a shadow of it's former self is the part that always gets me. Your example is one of many. It's not so much the downsizing but the lack of quality equipment we provided our forces. The clincher for me was sending them off to a desert campaign with green camo.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Azure

Having such a large army and navy in this day and age would only be a waste of money.

Although it would be nice if the equipment our troops DO HAVE, would actually work.

I.E. Sea Kings.

###. too many people simply think that more funding for the military only means it gets larger, thus they don't see the point. but the real reason for the desperate need in increased funding is to give the men & women that are serving proper equipment