Veterans’ Week Message from the Garrison Petawawa Commander and Garrison Chief Warrant Officer

Each year during Veterans Week the soldiers and civilians from Garrison Petawawa spread out in communities across the Ottawa Valley and Pontiac, Quebec in support of services that reflect and commemorate the tremendous sacrifices of those who came before us.

In light of COVID-19, this year’s program will look a little different. Veterans’ Week activities, like many other events are impacted by the pandemic, but it is no less important that we continue to be present in our communities to honour our past. It is important that our message of Remembrance be shared and that we continue relationships. We must continue to tell our stories with our communities and help them understand the breadth of how Canadian veterans, past and present, have served our country.

While we may not be gathered this year in large numbers at cenotaphs, schools, legions and municipal offices to recognize with our fellow citizens the 11th day of the 11th month on the 11th hour, we will join our communities, and country virtually and embrace this year for what it is. A different time, but certainly not any more difficult than what our ancestors have experienced before us.

We at Garrison Petawawa know all too well how significant this week is and we will embrace it with the same courage, commitment and honour we always have. It is important that we never stop remembering the thousands of Canadian soldiers, sailors, aircrew and merchant seamen who died in two World Wars, that we continue to remember the more than 500 soldiers who died while serving in Korea, that we never forget the more than 100 soldiers who died on peace support missions since 1945 and we remember the 158 soldiers and two civilians who have died in recent years in Afghanistan and the wounded and injured veterans as they continue their struggle and recovery.

Remembrance Day should also be a time for us to remember how fortunate we are to live in the greatest country in the world, thanks in large part to those brave Canadians who fought to uphold our values. Please join us this year in virtual presence as we gather to pay tribute to our lost brothers and sisters. Stand beside us as we stand alongside our families, our honoured veterans and our communities. Remember we are all in this together!

Colonel John Vass
Commander
Garrison Petawawa

CWO Jack Durnford
Chief Warrant Officer
Garrison Petawawa