Marking Remembrance Day at John McCrae Secondary School in Ottawa

Outside John McRae Secondary School, dozens gathered and watched as a parade of soldiers marched towards memories of the past to remember the lives of those who served Canada and the many lives lost to war, a reality close to home for Charlotte McLean Cox. I am the mother of a deceased veteran, Warrant Officer John J. Cox, C.D. The son Charlotte remembers a quiet man who she described as more a peacekeeper than a soldier. He served on three deployments and later struggled with the weight of his experiences. Lots like my son, their injuries were not physical. They were, you know, they were within themselves and caused their death way too soon. That suffering, something others at the ceremony also cast their minds back to as they lay wreaths atop a memorial. For me, remembering those that fell during the war, it's so important. It's close to my heart. Angèle Guy's husband, Stéphane, was with the Canadian Armed Forces for 35 years. I went into combat. I went into positions where I was a flyer. Our aircraft were locked up by missiles a couple of times. So, of course, I reflect on the stress that I had to suffer through. Those memories flooding back to him as he thinks about others, including the soldiers he knew and those that came before him. I think about the history behind me. I think about what I've lived through. But it's a somber moment. And that's mostly what it goes through in my mind at this time. As wreaths and poppies get packed away this Remembrance Day, those reflecting hoping the memories of those that served our country live on. Jody Applewhite, CBC News, Ottawa.