Remembrance Day came about as a result of the need to commemorate the fallen in the First World War. The death toll from that conflict was high, taking away a large swath of young men. The day of remembrance has since become a time to remember the fallen from other conflicts. There have been many.
My recent travels took me to a few of the monuments to past conflicts and the men who fought. My exploration took me to Canadian sites, like the Fortress of Louisberg, a French stronghold when that nation held power in the New World. And, while in Quebec City, I toured the Plains of Abraham which were the scene of a battle that figured strongly in the founding of Canada.
Also on November 11, the USA holds a day to remember the veterans of their wars which they call Veterans Day. My recent travel also took in American sites which were also heavily weighted towards military conflicts, a natural result of tourism geared towards the founding of the US as a nation. I viewed the various sites that figure in the story of American Independence with great interest but the memorial that struck me as the most poignant was the statute of a Civil War soldier in a Bar Harbor churchyard, a reminder of the reach of that conflict.
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