CHAPTER 41

Original: 2005-12-1

Rewritten: 2025-4-23

In this new school year, the very shy little brother resolutely joined the Army Cadet Corps.

Canada's Remembrance Day is celebrated on November 11th of each year and is a statutory holiday. The weather for Memorial Day this year (2005) was cold but better than expected, with cloudy skies, heavy rain and strong winds forecast. In fact, the anniversary falls at the end of autumn and the beginning of winter, and the weather is usually not good. It seems like God is reminding the people that peace is hard-won and was purchased with the blood of soldiers.

I attended the memorial ceremony this year and last year, and last year my younger son stood next to me and watched the ceremony. This year he wore a neat uniform and lined up with other members of the Scottish Highland Army Cadet Corps (abbreviated as the Cadet Corps) to officially attend the commemoration ceremony.

My younger son is twelve years old this year. One of his classmates joined the youth group last year and recommended it to him. He enjoys reading history and military books and information, which has helped him develop a respect for veterans. So every late fall, he would remind both of us to buy commemorative corsages to support veterans. Whenever he saw a car with veterans plates, he would ask me to take a look.

In this new school year, my very shy younger son resolutely joined the Cadet Corps. It happened that I had a liver cancer removal surgery at the end of September and he had to miss two weeks of activities. Since then, he has been attending without interruption. There are meetings two nights a week for a total of six hours. Special activities are arranged every two weeks, such as volunteer work, fundraising, field training and hosting visiting youth groups from other districts.

He was very serious and took the initiative to practice marching exercises by stepping back and forth at home, in parking lots and in open spaces; he ironed his uniform perfectly; and he attended rallies on time. He started to develop a belly since he was in grade six. In order to be able to wear an ill-fitting uniform and take photos, he lost weight successfully within three weeks and has been maintaining his diet ever since.

At 9:00 a.m. on the anniversary day, I sent my younger son to the square. He joined the team to rehearse the marching drill first. After I went home for a short rest, I arrived at 11:00 a.m. to watch the ceremony. The population of Port Coquitlam is 50,000. The square is not big, but there are hundreds of people crowded around it. The ceremony was simple. First, the names of the city’s soldiers who died in World War I, World War II and the Korean War were read out, followed by the names of the officials and groups present. The representatives then saluted, and finally the ceremony ended with the singing of the national anthem. The crowd placed the bright red poppies on their collars next to the monument and then dispersed.

I saw him from the crowd, standing quietly in line throughout the whole process, regardless of wind and rain, and standing upright until the end of the ceremony. He then followed the team back to the legion headquarters. He was focused, attentive, trying his best, and looked satisfied. I followed behind, feeling inexplicably moved and proud.