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I hope everyone had the opportunity to salute those who fought, and are still fighting for our freedom yesterday. Each year when Remembrance Day (I’m Canadian) comes around, I think of my grandpa who fought for Britain in World War II. He was a member of the RAF (Royal Air Force) and fought alongside many brave men and women during the 5 years he served. During such a traumatic time he found happiness when he met his future wife, a member of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAFFs). When the war ended, they married and two years later my mum came along. They immigrated to Canada when my mum was five and my grandpa settled in teaching shop class at the high school I would just so happen to attend many years later.

Sadly, he passed away when I was only four years old so I never had the opportunity to hear about the war from him. Growing up I’d look through his old photos and try to imagine what fighting in such a devastating war must have been like; the physical and mental toll that it took on the soldiers is something that few of us can even begin to imagine. My favorite photo of my grandpa isn’t really a photo at all, it’s a sketch of him in his uniform that was drawn by a fellow soldier; it’s framed and sits on my mum’s dresser and is probably one of my favorite things at my parent’s house. Over the course of my life, I’ve spent many hours wishing I could talk to him because I know I would have enjoyed listening to him tell me stories about the war if he were still alive today.

I’m so thankful for people like my grandpa who put their lives on the line for our freedom. I think we should remember them every day because without them I don’t want to imagine what our world would have been like.