CSS Remembrance Day Speech as given to Clearwater Secondary students, staff and honoured guests for the Remembrance ceremony at the high school on Nov. 10 by Reid Muddiman, Student Speaker.
For me, Remembrance Day is an opportunity to commemorate our fallen soldiers, and to honour their contributions that have granted us the privilege to live such tranquil lives; far removed from the horrors and bloodshed of war.
I stand before you today having not sacrificed anything to be here. I have not sacrificed for my education, nor have I for my freedom. Instead, freedom has been bestowed upon me by the immense bravery of the over one-and-a-half million Canadians who have risked their lives, serving in the Canadian Armed Forces. While Canada has fought many battles, our direct freedom has not been challenged to the extent that once-occupied countries have faced during times of war. In battles such as the liberation of the Netherlands, Canadian troops not only set out to protect their families, friends and neighbours back home but also the citizens of far-off countries. An epitaph by John Maxwell Edmonds reads, “When you go home, tell them of us and say, for their tomorrow, we gave our today.”
Remembrance Day serves as a powerful reminder to us to reflect upon the privilege that has been hard-earned by sacrifice and to honour the selfless acts of the men and women who have served our country. It is only because of their bravery that I speak freely before you today.
I ask you all to consider the sacrifice that others before you have made as we make decisions that will shape both our own lives and the future of our country.