Remembrance Day guest speaker discusses importance of service

By Rob Vogt

Being a member of the Canadian Armed Forces can be hard, but it is a rewarding experience.
That was just part of the message delivered by the guest speaker at Willow Creek Composite High School’s Remembrance Day service on Thursday, Nov. 7.
Corporal Brittany Gallaway of the 20th Independent Field Battery Artillery Unit in Lethbridge, and a member of the high school’s graduating class of 2012, was the guest speaker, discussing the importance of service and more.
“I am part of the next generation doing our part to make the world a safer place,” she said.
They are sworn to protect this country, and deployed overseas to build a brighter world for others.
Claresholm also has a long history of service.
During the Second World War, one of 17 bases that made up the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan was located here.
“Claresholm was an ideal place,” Gallaway said.
There were clear skies, wide open spaces, and Claresholm is conveniently located between Lethbridge and Calgary.
More than 1,800 pilots were trained at the Claresholm base, before it closed after the war. It was re-opened by NATO and continued to operate until 1958.
Gallaway said being a member of the armed forces can be hard, because they always have to be ready to step up any time. They are a source of light in the darkness and hope for the hopeless.
She then talked about Canada’s role in the world over the years.
The Second World War began in 1939 and lasted until 1945. More than one million Canadians served at home and abroad, and more than 44,000 did not make it home.
A pivotal battle fought 80 years ago, was the Battle of Normandy on June 6, 1944, when Allied forces crossed the English Channel into mainland Europe. They fought 11 weeks and, against huge odds, won the battle.
From 2001 to 2014, more than 40,000 Canadians served in Afghanistan, while from 2018 to 2023 more than 2,500 Canadians were deployed to Mali to support peacekeeping after a civil war.
Gallaway said Canadian forces also trained more than 44,000 Ukrainians to fight the Russian aggression into their country.
She noted Remembrance Day is a time to remember those who have been lost as well as the current generation, and everyone has to try and keep those memories alive.
This can take the form of wearing a poppy, going to a Remembrance Day service, or observing moments of silence.
“Their stories are ours, they belong to all of us,” Gallaway said. “By sharing them, we keep the memories alive.
“Lest we forget.”