November: A time for remembrance - w(ar)t

Thirty days ago, I started a month long remembrance tribute to profile the war art that I have come across in public spaces - both domestic and international.   I personally call all this stuff w(ar)t.   

During this daily post tribute, I learned a great deal about Canada's military history, and the conflicts it has participated in to ultimately advance the tenets of peace.  Through war art, my blogs profile different "lest we forget" perspectives to honour all the past and present people who serve(d) to protect others, as well as our way of life and the ideals we stand for.   

For my last w(ar)t blog entry this year, I would like to pay tribute to Canada's National War Memorial.   This monument is located in Ottawa, Ontario, and represents all facets of the Canadian Armed Forces.   Over time, this monument has taken on ever greater meanings.  I visit it every year on Remembrance Day - often with my grandma, who sadly was not able to join me this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and her now living in a long-term-care nursing home with Alzheimer's disease.   My grandma was nine years old when WWII started, and some of her older brothers served in war effort.                   

A plaque nearby reads, "Canada's National War Memorial commemorates all those who served Canada in times of war.   An international competition held in 1925 for the design of a national war memorial resulted in the selection of a model by Vernon March of England called, "The Response".   Initially constructed to commemorate the response of Canadians to the First World War.   It was unveiled in 1939 by His Majesty King George VI.    In 1982 the dates 1939-1945 and 1950-53 were added and the memorial was rededicated to those who served Canada in the Second World War and the Korean War."  Composite image by Jeffrey Meyer