Written by Andy MacCulloch

Every year at the end of the autumn season we remember those who have fallen and think of those who have fallen. We all experience Remembrance Day and an appreciation of what has gone before in our own way. As the last wave of WWII veterans pass, fewer people have direct experience with veterans from that era, and many of those that do often prefer to keep their thoughts private. So how we can ensure the memories are lasting, the gratitude real? We can continue to thank our veterans of the past, and of the present. Thousands of other veterans have served in many other missions and conflicts since the “Great Wars.” Some of them have also given their lives. Stories and symbols of all kinds help us remember and learn about service and sacrifice. Many of us in Canada have direct links to military service.

My father Colin MacCulloch was in the RCAF Coastal Command in WWII. He enlisted with his best friend and our “uncle” Bob Ledingham in Weston Ontario. Fifty-five years later they could both be found together, two old men listening to jazz in the veterans’ wing of Sunnybrook Hospital, in Toronto. Neither of them ever spoke of their service. It was personal. On his passing his will referred me to Reverend Keith Kiddell who was pastor of my Scottish grandmother Amy (nee Harding) in Weston. The Reverend told me that he knew my father and grandmother well. He recounted how Granny sat in the first pew in church every Sunday, and demonstratedly removed her hearing aid above her head whenever he said something she did not like. I thus left it to the Reverend to prepare his own last stories about my father. He spoke of family and achievements but to my great surprise he ended his remarks by saying how much being a Veteran and serving meant to my Dad. He placed a poppy on the casket to honour him just as the Pipes and Drums started in on Amazing Grace. It is a symbol and a moment I will never forget. One that I am reminded of every November 11, and every time I see a poppy.

Last summer I was working the booth for the Scottish Society of at the Glengarry Highland Games. A gentleman approached and introduced himself as Harold Lowe, a Veteran from central Alberta. He joined the Canadian Armed Forces as a reservist in the early 1990's in Red Deer, Alberta and served over 20 years. He reached the rank of Captain and was Commanding Officer of 1390 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps retiring in 2012. One thing that always stood out to him was how much "pride" the troops displayed in their service, especially when discussing their role in the unit. Not only their own personal pride but pride for the unit and the other members in it. He was searching for “something” to represent "us" as veterans with Scottish roots. Although proud of his Scottish ancestry he was not in a regiment that wore a tartan. While researching his own Wallace clan history he hit on the idea to develop a tartan to honour our Veterans of Scottish descent. Pride of service was top of mind when designing the tartan. Dark blue for Royal Canadian Navy. Dark green for Canadian Army. Light blue for Royal Canadian Air Force. Black for those who have passed.

Once the Canadian Veterans’ tartan was completed and registered with the Scottish Registry of Tartans, Veterans embraced the idea. His first client was a young reservist from Ontario who had been searching for a tartan to tailor his wedding kilt. He was able to display his pride of service in a unique way during a very special event in his life. A retired Canadian Forces member who sails the Great Lakes as an officer aboard a laker also wears the tartan. Another Veteran volunteers at his local museum wearing his Canadian Veteran tartan kilt proudly explaining the colours and pattern to visitors. These personal stories embrace the idea of the tartan as symbol of their pride of service. For more information on the Canadian Veterans tartan contact: Harold Lowe CD CRMC cvtartan@gmail.com

Finally, I was at the Leafs game with my daughter Chip in early November. Halfway though the first period a Veteran was honoured in a brief ceremony. The whole crowd rose to give him a standing ovation. It is a great gesture and tradition that is tied to our national pastime and one of our favorite teams. (A team that on some nights could benefit from learning a little more about discipline, service and sacrifice, but I digress). The Veteran was clearly moved and so too some of the fans. But for many it was a perfunctory exercise. What was really missing in the connection was the background, the story. As the crowd took their place my focus turned to the video running on the scoreboard at centre ice talking about poppies! Poppies this year can be scanned to reveal stories about Veterans. The Royal Canadian Legion calls the campaign Poppy Stories. Scanning the poppies via PoppyStories.ca lets people know that the people behind the poppies were real people, with real families and real losses. It's a way that we can read a little bit about them. I thought that’s amazing. Perhaps more so because my daughter said wow poppies with stories how cool is that. I want a poppy. So now a poppy will remind me of my Dad but of others too. A tartan, poppy or another symbol or tradition helps us all to remember the stories that have touched us and now some new ones too. Lest we forget.

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