I never thought I would ever see this place again.
***
Walking along a pathway on the top of the ridge that ran parallel to the memorial grounds, an acute sense of Canadian pride welled up through every bone and cell of my body.
“Charlotte, hold my arm please…tightly. I feel faint. I may fall.”
As we walked along the main pathway toward the back end of the memorial, my emotions began to flood over me. The feeling was overwhelming. I began to hyperventilate. Not out of fear but out of immense pride and sense of patriotism that a young country like Canada could construct such a beautiful tribute to all our countrymen who fought here and died here and have no known graves. It is hard for me to describe but the memorial that is in front of me is unbelievably beautiful.
Ahead of us, two marble pylons rise out of the ashes of this death ridge to grace the heavens. They represent Canada and France, they tell me, reflecting a bond between our two nations of the sacrifices and the hardships experienced during the war. From my vantage point I could already see the plinths that grace the monument: individual carvings of white marble, stone, and steel. From the pamphlet we received they represent shared values of justice, peace, honour, truth, knowledge, and hope. I could almost visualize in my mind an inverted cross that was conceived by the architect in the construction and the situation of the two pylons on a flat extensive and massive base of the memorial itself. I am not sure if that was the intent of the design by the architect but that is what it said to me.
The scene before me took me aback. I did not expect this reaction. The beauty of the monument, the fine lines chiseled forms of the statues caused me to break down and cry with a mixture of tears of joy for the magnificence set before me, but of sorrow and pride for what this represents. Each teardrop symbolizes a friend, or a comrade, a winger perhaps but all soldiers who are not coming home. Friends and colleagues of mine. From all parts of our beautiful country.
And we have only touched upon the entranceway of the monument. I somehow fear how I will react when I see the entire scene.
“Dad, are you okay? You look faint. Do you want to sit down.?”
“No, I am fine sweetie. I will be all right. It is just…it is just…just so emotional for me. I should not have come here.”
Silence between us. I am sure she saw the tear tracks on my flushed face. She held my arm tight.
“I am so proud of you dad. And this place is so powerful in its symbolism. It is so beautiful here yet intensely sacred ground.”
“France gave this land to Canada Charlotte.” I said my voice shaking with emotion that I could barely get out the words. “For us, our nation Charlotte…Canada in perpetuity…forever. I can’t believe it.” I can barely hold back my tears. Looking around I could see veterans of the war fighting back their emotions on seeing this magnificent testimonial to all our comrades who died here and in France and in Belgium.
We climbed the limestone steps and found ourselves on the massive stone and marble base of the monument. Here there were hundreds of people with us, mingling and stopping at various points of observation.
“Look, look over there. At the top Henry.” I heard someone say.
And another: This is unbelievable. Fantastic. The folks back home should see this.”
“The ceremony is being broadcast” I heard another exclaim.
Walking slowly amongst the crowd toward the front of the monument, I could see the broad Douai Plain ahead of us beginning at the bottom of the sloped terrain. At the front side, the Eastern side of the monument, the stone carvings really come to life. They are situated and enmeshed within the marble grain at the top of the twin spires. They represent the values that we fought for: honour, sacrifice, faith, hope. Personally, for me, I never thought of it in those terms. Nor did the lads that signed up with me to go to war. We felt that it was going to be the great adventure of our lives; excitement that we wanted to be part of. Nothing more, nothing less. A great adventure in a country that we never gave much thought to.
