Remembrance Day holds an important place in my heart. From an early age I’ve attended Cenotaph ceremonies and into adult hood, I don’t see Remembrance Day as a “holiday” like Labour Day or Canada Day. To me, this day is always a somber one, one that deserves at the minimum, a moment of silence but at the most it easily deserves the entire day for reflection.
I think of my Baba & Gigi(Grandmother and Grandfather in Ukranian) during Remembrance Day. My entire life, there was a photograph hung in my grandparents living room of a handsome young man in uniform. It was a photo of my Gigi, Frank Proracki. He was born in Tarnopol Poland and served in the Polish Army during World War 2. Following that he and my Baba, Katarzyna, came to Canada in August 1949 and lived and farmed in the Waterford area. Gigi never talked much about his time in the army. I know he was a prisoner of war and that what he went through in the labour camps was terrible. We are not a Jewish family, so on one hand he was spared those horrors, but he certainly served and saw enough that he didn’t feel he wanted to talk about it to his grandchildren. My mother told me that on the day he left for war, the last day he saw his mother, my Gigi found a picture on the rail tracks of Poland of a child with a lamb. He kept that photo with him until he passed away at the age of 98. It reminded him of his mother, and I think it reminded him of all he had left behind when he served his country.
My Baba was not immune to war either. She was forced to work on a German farm. She told me on rare occasions of what was expected of her and it broke my heart. She worked so hard. On one occasion she was injured in the barn – a large metal chain had hit her in the head and she asked to be taken to the doctor. Repeatedly she was told no, or “later”. I’ve never met a harder working woman then my Baba.
I’m thankful for the life my Baba & Gigi had in Canada. It wasn’t an easy one, but it was far better then what was left for them in Poland or Ukraine. They wrote letters to family and sent packages back to “the old country”. I know I have family there that I’ve never met and someday I’d like to go with my mother and see where it is my grandparents came from. It’s sure to be a trip that is both very emotional and eye opening.
Today I hope you’ll watch a Remembrance Day service. Whether it’s a live stream, a clip on the news or the audio we’ll broadcast here on Y95. Or maybe you’ll sit down with a parent or grandparent and ask to hear the stories. At the very least take two minutes and reflect. On lives lost, on lives changed and on the life you’ve been allowed to live. Your life in Canada is thanks to generations gone by. For me, I promise I will never, ever let November 11th go by without remembering.
– Candice