It was seven years ago that Steve and I lived in Belgium; it was my first year in Europe and Steve's second, and everything about the town we lived in in West Flanders (Roeselare) was great (waffles, the people, beer, volleyball - the list goes on). Some of the most significant, lasting and profound memories I (we) have of living there is the time we spent visiting war memorials and towns: Ypres and Menin Gate, Tyne Cot, and Vimy Ridge are the first to come to mind. Vimy Ridge is huge, impressive and beautiful; an amazing monument to Canadian troops and to what might have been the turning point in WW1... at a cost of more than 20,000 Canadian casualties. Tyne Cot was also beautiful (a very sad, peaceful beauty), but Menin Gate and the Last Post ceremony was, for me, the most memorable of them all. The structure, while not as big or, I don't know, intimidating (?) as Vimy Ridge... in a sort of muted and understated way, it conveyed the overwhelming heaviness of war. The names of 54,896 British and Commonwealth soldiers that have no known grave cover the walls of the arch - an entirely beautiful and enormously sad thing. The most moving part of our visit there (and of our visit to any war and all memorials) was the daily 8:00 Last Post ceremony, in which traffic through the arch was brought to stop, and local buglers sounded the last post. I have to say that in all of our travels in Europe, it was one of the most memorable experiences - so real and full of meaning... a must see/must do if ever in the area (or if not... in the area). A few years ago I happened to be at home in West Vancouver for the Remembrance Day ceremony there, and it was just as moving as that day in Ypres... the memories and meaning carry so much and, as we pass from one generation to another to another, I sincerely hope that we never forget.
No comments:
Post a Comment