a guide to Visit our Web site : vac-acc.gc.ca Introduction This package contains information that may be of assistance when n planning a commemorative ceremony. Holding ceremonies, and passing on the traditions of remembrance, is one of the important ways we have of showing our appreciation to the Veterans of Canada, and their families, for o the losses and sacrifices they have endured. This booklet covers the basic i steps of a ceremony, however, organizers should decide what to include to t best meet their needs. c Organizers may wish to include vigil sentries. The vigil sentries are in place before the March on the Colours and stand sentry at the four corners of the cenotaph or memorial. These sentries take post prior to the u commencement of the Commemorative Service and remain in position until dismissed, after the Colours are marched off. d The vigil sentries usually represent the three services and the RCMP. If o Regular or Reserve Force Service personnel are not available, the positions may be filled by Sea, Army and Air Cadets. In some instances, unarmed r scouts and guides may serve as vigil sentries. In all instances, however, t each sentry must be dressed in full uniform appropriate to their service of organization and medals are worn. n If the National Flag is flown from a flag pole at the cenotaph or memorial, I it is lowered to the half-mast position, during the playing of the Last Post. Then, it is smartly returned to the erect position during the playing of the Reveille. A ceremony generally begins with an address or opening remarks. This is then followed by Prayers and the *Act of Remembrance. Following the Act of Remembrance a bugler will sound the Last Post, this will be followed by two minutes of silence and the sounding of the Reveille. Once the Reveille has been sounded a piper will play the Lament, (this is generally played to commemorate highland regiments). Following the Lament the Wreath laying takes place. Once the wreath laying is concluded it is then followed by a Blessing which is then followed by the playing of the National Anthem(s). * The Act of Remembrance is a stanza from a poem written by Laurence Binyon, Entitled "For the Fallen". A Suggested Service of Remembrance e c n Address or Opening Remarks a r Poem (Optional) b m Prayers e Act of Remembrance m e R Last Post (Bugler) f o Silence (Two minutes) e c Reveille (Bugler) i v r Lament (Piper) (Optional) e S Wreath Laying - (as an option a hymn can be d e performed during the wreath t laying) s e g g Blessing u S National Anthems A National Anthem m O Canada e h t n A l a n o i t a N Opening Remarks Commemorative ceremonies are solemn in nature. Opening remarks is s a time to set the tone of the event. It is also a good time to welcome everyone, introduce special guests and thank those who should be k acknowledged for their contributions. r The Story of Remembrance a Following the opening remarks, someone may be invited to speak about remembrance and why it is so important. Inviting a local Veteran is m always a good idea. There are some fact sheets included in the appendices that may be of assistance. e Across Canada, and in many other countries, people gather on November 11 to honour the courage and devotion of brave men and women who R made the supreme sacrifice of dying for their country. The hostilities of the First World War ceased on November 11, 1918, at 11:00 a.m. - the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The following g year marked the first observance of a day to remember and honour those who died, as well as to give thanks for the sacrifices of those who came n back from serving their country. Since then, Canadians have fought other i wars and many have given their lives so that we might enjoy freedom today. They too should be remembered. n e p O In Flanders Fields s In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky d The larks, still bravely singing, fly l Scarce heard amid the guns below. e We are the Dead. Short days ago i We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie F In Flanders Fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw s The torch; be yours to hold it high. r If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders Fields. e John McCrae d n A Short Biography of Dr. John McCrae a In April 1915, one of Dr. John McCrae's closest friends and comrades was l killed in the trenches near Ypres, Belgium. He was buried in a humble grave with a simple wooden cross. Wild poppies bloomed between the crosses marking the many graves. The next day, unable to help his friend F or any of the others who had died, Dr. McCrae gave them a voice through this poem. n On January 28, 1918, John McCrae succumbed to pneumonia and I meningitis. He died not knowing the outcome of the war, but with a full understanding of the cost of it. Before he died, Dr. McCrae had the satisfaction of knowing that his poem had been a success. Soon after its publication, it became the most popular poem on the First World War. It was translated into many languages and used on billboards advertising the sale of first Victory Loan Bonds in Canada in 1917. In part because of the poem's popularity, the poppy was adopted as the Flower of Remembrance. The symbolic poppy and John McCrae's poems are still linked, and the voices of those who have died in war continue to be heard each Remembrance Day. For the Fallen With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, n England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, e Fallen in the cause of the free. l Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal l Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres, There is music in the midst of desolation a And a glory that shines upon our tears. F They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted; e They fell with their faces to the foe. They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old: h Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. t At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. r They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home; o They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; F They sleep beyond England's foam. But where our desires are and our hopes profound, Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight, To the innermost heart of their own land they are known As the stars are known to the Night; As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain; As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end, they remain. Laurence Binyon (1869 - 1943) September 1914 High Flight Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth t And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth h Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung g High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, i I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung l My eager craft through footless halls of air... Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue F I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, or even eagle flew - And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod h The high untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand and touched the face of God. g Officer John G. Magee, Jr. i November, 1941 H A Short Biography of John Gillespie Magee, Jr. John Gillespie Magee, Jr. was born in Shanghai, China 9 June 1922. As he reached high school age, he played rugby in England and spent three years there. Meanwhile, his parents had returned to the United States and his father, Reverend Magee, became a chaplain at Yale University. John Magee Jr. returned to the United States in 1939 to attend Yale. The Second World War began September 1939. In October, 1940, at age 18, John Magee Jr. went to Canada and enrolled in the RCAF. After his flight training, he went back to England a commissioned pilot officer. In the course of his training in the spitfire, he was assigned to make a high altitude flight "into the stratosphere". On landing, he went to his quarters and there wrote his now famous sonnet on the back of a letter to his mother. Why Wear a Poppy? ? "Please wear a poppy," the lady said, His letters told of the awful fight And held one forth, but I shook my head. (I can see it still in my dreams at night), y Then I stopped and watched as she offered With the tanks and guns and cruel barbed them there, wire, p And her face was old and lined with care; And the mines and bullets, the bombs and fire.