Photo by Stephen Drygas, Flickr

Sung Hak Kim has lived in Canada for three years since coming from South Korea. Kim, executive secretary of the Korean Society of BC, remembers the public and government officials meeting in the national cemetery in Seoul with the format similar to Canada’s events – military bands, gun salutes and the placing of wreaths at the base of monuments.

“Although it is not a national holiday, June 6 is Memorial Day and is held to commemorate the men and women who died while serving in the Korean War,” Kim explains.

After the ceremony is finished, government officials go back to work while the public visit their family’s tombs. Then, families have lunch in their homes and share stories of the bravery of family members who died in the wars. A bow is made in acknowledgement to each deceased person.

“After [that], we all watched special movies on television including war movies,” Kim remembers.

Countries outside of the commonwealth conduct memorials for wars and events on dates that are unique to their country’s history. June 25, Kim explains, marks the day the Korean War started, resulting in over 2 million civilian casualties. Both Korean and Canadian war veterans in Canada recognize this date with a joint ceremony held in Burnaby Park.

“A lot of South Koreans visit Tofino’s Radar Hill on Vancouver Island where a radar station was located during World War II. The Kap’yong Memorial commemorates the involvement of the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, during the Korean War,” Kim states proudly.

Italian Traditions

For the past 62 years, Italy has conducted a ceremonial laying of a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Rome’s Vittoriano monument, the site of official military ceremonies. But this event is commonly regarded by residents and tourists as neither aesthetically pleasing nor inviting enough to attend in great numbers.

“We didn’t have anything like Victory Square in Italy, as we were on the wrong side during the war – we had nothing to celebrate,” says Edda Onesti, who came from Pisa, Italy 10 years ago.

Onesti, a school administrator at the Italian Cultural Centre Society, states that in Italy the Festa della Repubblica is a bigger, more popular ceremony. The festival, held on June 2, pays tribute to the Italian people’s vote for a republic government after the Second World War and the fall of fascism.

The event is so popular it’s even held in other cities such as New York, where celebrations are an all day event. Onesti is greatly involved in the cultural centre’s June 2 celebrations, with approximately 300 people attending each year. But she still remembers her mother’s only thoughts of the war – the violence and the poor.

Iranian Views

Bardi Hakimi, who came to Canada 22 years ago from Iran, didn’t attend any of the military parades to show off Iran’s defense.

“I sympathize with the young men who have nothing to do with war but get called into it. Nothing has changed there all these years,” he states.

Each September, Iran commemorates Sacred Defense Week to acknowledge the beginning of the Iran-Iraq war, commonly known as the First Persian Gulf War. It’s a parade to acknowledge the strength of the military forces rather than remember the fallen soldiers and civilians.

Hakimi goes back frequently for business and feels deeply when still seeing people who were gassed and have missing limbs.

“When walking down the streets, it’s always in your face.”

He doesn’t go to the Vancouver memorials, but he always wears a poppy and contributes to the veteran’s fund.

Canadian celebrations

Cameron Cathcart, Chairman of the Vancouver Remembrance Day Committee, states that ceremonies have been a tradition since 1924 at Victory Square.

He says that there has been a spike in Vancouver’s attendance since 2004, which is two years after the Canadian military got involved in Afghanistan.

“The fatalities of our soldiers started people thinking about our involvement in past and present wars,” says Cathcart.

Remembrance Day on November 11 is acknowledged in Commonwealth countries and their allied countries during the wars. According to Statistisc Canada, 2011, the median age in Canada is 40.6 years, and prior to Cathcart’s observations in 2004 it seemed less people were able to relate to the two world wars and the Korean War, which ended in 1953. However the tide appears to be turning as now, in greater numbers, we remember our past and present soldiers during Remembrance Day.

Hopefully the spike of people attending ceremonies will continue, as well as the number of countries that participate. If the number of countries Cathcart describes represented at Victory Square are any indication, it will.

“There are approximately 35 consular representatives and 12 other countries that attend the ceremony. That and 6,000 to 8,000 people with young families attending makes me feel proud.”

He encourages everyone to contribute to the Veteran’s Fund, purchase a poppy, wear it proudly and attend a Remembrance Day event near you.