文章索引


这是加拿大在1968年发行的一张邮票,上面用John McCrae头像以及这首诗的前两句来纪念John McCrae逝世50周年。

第一次世界大战(1914-1918)

在第一次世界大战中,加拿大曾派出超过六十万志愿人士奔赴海外作战。他们参与了在Vimy Ridge、Hill 70、Bourlon Wood、Mons、Passchendaele以及Ypres等多场战役,其中在Ypres一役,加军虽然受到德军的毒气袭击,但面对死亡仍士气高昂奋战不懈,他们的勇敢和顽强抗敌的精神受全球敬仰。第一次世界大战结束后,加国军队中六万九千名战士阵亡,伤兵十七万二千多人。直至2004年11月,有八名健在,其中一名为女性,他们的平均年龄为103岁。

第二次世界大战(1939-1945)

在第二次世界大战中,一百万加拿大海陆空军人参与了Dieppe、Normandy、North Atlantic、保卫香港、解放意大利以及很多重要的战役,有四万七千多名加国军人阵亡,其中在对德作战的著名的诺曼坻战役中,牺牲的加国军人为5021人,伤兵为18,444人。在2004年的D-Day和诺曼第战争六十周年,加拿大还举行了纪念活动。同年11月,退伍军人中有268,110名健在,他们的平均年龄为82岁。

朝鲜战争(1950-1953)

在朝鲜战争中,加拿大曾派出26,791名军人参与韩战,其中516人阵亡。2003年《韩战休战条约》签订五十周年,渥太华联邦公园竖立了一个纪念碑,碑上题字为“我们永远怀念加国英雄儿女”,碑上还刻有516名为持维和平而牺牲的军人名字。

正值11月11日的国殇日,让我们用著名歌星Bryan Adams演唱的《Remembrance Day》来纪念为国捐躯先烈,并时刻牢记战争为人类所带来的巨大灾难和破坏,为人类的和平、国家的昌盛和社会进步付出自己的一份力量。

REMEMBRANCE DAY

For our king and our country, and the promise of glory
We came from Kingston and Brighton to fight on the front lines
Just lads from the farms and boys from the cities
Not meant to be soldiers, we lay in the trenches
We'd face the fighting with a smile ... or so we said
If only we had known what danger lay ahead

The sky turned to grey as we went into battle
On the fields of Europe young men were fallin'
I'll be back for you someday - it won't be long
If I can just hold on `til the bloody war is over

The guns will be silent - on Remembrance Day
There'll be no more fighting - on Remembrance Day

By October of `18 Cambrai had fallen
Soon the war would be over and we'd be returning
Don't forget me while I'm gone far away
Well, it won't be long `til I'm back there in your arms again

The guns will be silent - on Remembrance Day
There'll be no more fighting - on Remembrance Day

One day soon I don't know when
You know we'll all be free and the bells of peace will ring again
The time will come for you and me
We'll be going home when this bloody war has ended

The guns will be silent - on Remembrance Day
We'll all say a prayer - on Remembrance Day
... on Remembrance Day ...
... say a little prayer ...
... on Remembrance Day ...

Well, the guns will be silent
There'll be no more fighting
We'll lay down our weapons
On Remembrance Day
... on Remembrance Day ...

(Bryan Adams, "Into the Fire", A&M 1987)