Canadians reflect on horror of First World War amid worries of today, tomorrow
OTTAWA — Spiritual leaders reflected on the horrors of the First World War while calling for a world of tolerance and peace on Sunday as thousands of Canadians braved the biting cold to remember and honour those who fought to defend such ideals.
While the sun shone down on those assembled around the National War Memorial under a brilliant blue sky, thoughts and memories of the War to End All Wars — which ended exactly 100 years earlier — hung heavy over the annual ceremony.
“We gather on this hallowed ground, on which is interred Canada’s unknown soldiers, to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” Maj.-Gen. Guy Chapdelaine, the military’s most senior chaplain, intoned as the crowd stood silently.
“On the centenary of the signing of the armistice, we honour those whose names we know — and those whose names are known to God alone.”