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Remembrance Day and Vietnam Vets
12 November 2005
[indent]On Remembrance Day, this year, I read a story about how Canadian veterans of the Vietnam War were not made to feel welcome at the National War Memorial on Remembrance Day. The reporter seemd to think this was inappropriate:
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According to the reporter, 20,000 Canadians served with the US in Nam, and 103 died there. I find that number suspiciously high. The site Veterans With a Mission says 12,000 Canadians served, while this 1992 article in the Peace and Environment News estimates about 10,000.
The question is, rather than how many served or died in Nam, but about the purpose of Remembrance Day. Officially it is a day of remembrance for those who died in the service of their country. And it's to recognize those who came back after fighting for our country. So their sacrifice is never forgotten.
Serving under another flag, no matter what the reason, doesn't qualify. Bravery, conviction, idealism are not measured.
What about the Canadians who served on the Communist side in the Spanish Civil War? About 1,500 went to war against the fascists, many forming the Mackenzie-Papineau battalion. They fought against Franco who was backed by Hitler and the Nazi war machine, years before WWII began. Seven hundred and twenty one Canadians died in that war, but their sacrifice is not recognized on Remembrance Day, either.
About 250 Canadians served with the Israeli army and air force in the 1947-48 War of Independence. Even West Point held a ceremony to recognize the 1,200 Canadian and American volunteers in that war. But they're not part of Remembrance Day. Nor are the Canadians who volunteered their service with Israel in the 1967 and 1973 wars.
If we extend an official hand to Canadian veterans of the war in Vietnam, should we not also extend the same respect to, say Canadians who fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan? Or Canadians who are currently serving in the ranks of al-Queda or the Iraqi resistance? Where do we draw the line? You can't say one cause is right or wrong - millions of Canadians saw the Vietnam War as immoral and colonial.
Is simply running around with a gun shooting at people sufficient reason for official recognition? Does simply serving under any nation's military banner qualify? Is the cause itself relevant? In that case, why don't we invite German veterans to lay wreaths on Remembrance Day? Because it's a day for those who served Canada, not simply for people who chose a side and fought for it.
Sure, many Canadians agreed with the US and wanted to side with our neighbours by sending troops into Vietnam. But many others were opposed and protested the war, supporting tens of thousands of American draft dodgers who fled to Canada during the conflict. Canada had an official policy that said for Canada to join in a military effort:
Canada has a law - the Foreign Enlistment Act, dating back to 1937 and updated as recently as 2004 - that makes it an offence to join a foreign armed service. It says:
Serving in Vietnam against the North Vietnamese, with whom Canada retained friendly ties, was in Canadian law, illegal. The Canadian government could have had the returning vets arrested and charged, had it so desired. However, that might have exposed Canada's secret involvement in the Vietnam war - selling arms, food and supplies to the US army, allowing the CIA to run free in Canada to target protestors and draft dodgers - and made the government complicit in the crime. But that strays from the argument.
Should we recognize the FLQ on Remembrance Day too? After all, they served and fought for - even killed for a cause they believed in. Where does the line get drawn?
We cannot separate those who volunteer in other nations' armies by cause because it's simply too subjective. Is it moral to serve in the Israeli Army but not the Palestinian resistance? Is it moral to fight Americans in Iraq or to serve in the American Army? The answer always depends on where you stand, politically, socially, or religiously.
So should we recognize Vietnam vets officially on Remembrance Day? Sorry, no. On Remembrance Day, I think of my father, who served as a roof-top bomb spotter during the Blitz in England. Or my uncles who served in the Navy escorting supply convoys past the U-boats in the North Atlantic - one never came home. I think of my mother who served as a WREN in Halifax, and my mother-in-law who worked in the War office in London during the Blitz. I think of my father-in-law who served as an aircraft mechanic during the Battle of Britain, and later in France. I think of my grandfather who served in the Navy on Canada's first cruiser during WWI. I think of the family members who volunteered, who fought, who lived through the hardships because their country called on them to fight for a cause they knew was good and just. And those who never came home.
When Canadians have gone to fight in other wars for other nations, they may have gone believing they fought for a good reason, but they went outside Canada, Canadian law and Canadian foreign policy. Some of their causes we may sympathize with, others we detest. But they all have one thing in common: they were not serving their country and Remembrance Day is about serving Canada.
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Quote
Canada is not honouring, and has not respected, the thousands of young Canadians who crossed the border to sign up for the Vietnam War wearing the uniform of the United States of America
According to the reporter, 20,000 Canadians served with the US in Nam, and 103 died there. I find that number suspiciously high. The site Veterans With a Mission says 12,000 Canadians served, while this 1992 article in the Peace and Environment News estimates about 10,000.
The question is, rather than how many served or died in Nam, but about the purpose of Remembrance Day. Officially it is a day of remembrance for those who died in the service of their country. And it's to recognize those who came back after fighting for our country. So their sacrifice is never forgotten.
Serving under another flag, no matter what the reason, doesn't qualify. Bravery, conviction, idealism are not measured.
What about the Canadians who served on the Communist side in the Spanish Civil War? About 1,500 went to war against the fascists, many forming the Mackenzie-Papineau battalion. They fought against Franco who was backed by Hitler and the Nazi war machine, years before WWII began. Seven hundred and twenty one Canadians died in that war, but their sacrifice is not recognized on Remembrance Day, either.
About 250 Canadians served with the Israeli army and air force in the 1947-48 War of Independence. Even West Point held a ceremony to recognize the 1,200 Canadian and American volunteers in that war. But they're not part of Remembrance Day. Nor are the Canadians who volunteered their service with Israel in the 1967 and 1973 wars.
If we extend an official hand to Canadian veterans of the war in Vietnam, should we not also extend the same respect to, say Canadians who fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan? Or Canadians who are currently serving in the ranks of al-Queda or the Iraqi resistance? Where do we draw the line? You can't say one cause is right or wrong - millions of Canadians saw the Vietnam War as immoral and colonial.
Is simply running around with a gun shooting at people sufficient reason for official recognition? Does simply serving under any nation's military banner qualify? Is the cause itself relevant? In that case, why don't we invite German veterans to lay wreaths on Remembrance Day? Because it's a day for those who served Canada, not simply for people who chose a side and fought for it.
Sure, many Canadians agreed with the US and wanted to side with our neighbours by sending troops into Vietnam. But many others were opposed and protested the war, supporting tens of thousands of American draft dodgers who fled to Canada during the conflict. Canada had an official policy that said for Canada to join in a military effort:
Quote
- It had to be more than a military alliance, also involve cultural and trade ties.
- It had to demonstrably meet the will of the people in the countries involved
- Other free Asian states had to support it directly or in principle
- France had to refer the conflict to United Nations
- Any multilateral action must conform to the UN charter
- Any action had to be divorced from all elements of colonialism
Canada has a law - the Foreign Enlistment Act, dating back to 1937 and updated as recently as 2004 - that makes it an offence to join a foreign armed service. It says:
Quote
Any person who, being a Canadian national, within or outside Canada, voluntarily accepts or agrees to accept any commission or engagement in the armed forces of any foreign state at war with any friendly foreign state or, whether a Canadian national or not, within Canada, induces any other person to accept or agree to accept any commission or engagement in any such armed forces is guilty of an offence.
Serving in Vietnam against the North Vietnamese, with whom Canada retained friendly ties, was in Canadian law, illegal. The Canadian government could have had the returning vets arrested and charged, had it so desired. However, that might have exposed Canada's secret involvement in the Vietnam war - selling arms, food and supplies to the US army, allowing the CIA to run free in Canada to target protestors and draft dodgers - and made the government complicit in the crime. But that strays from the argument.
Should we recognize the FLQ on Remembrance Day too? After all, they served and fought for - even killed for a cause they believed in. Where does the line get drawn?
We cannot separate those who volunteer in other nations' armies by cause because it's simply too subjective. Is it moral to serve in the Israeli Army but not the Palestinian resistance? Is it moral to fight Americans in Iraq or to serve in the American Army? The answer always depends on where you stand, politically, socially, or religiously.
So should we recognize Vietnam vets officially on Remembrance Day? Sorry, no. On Remembrance Day, I think of my father, who served as a roof-top bomb spotter during the Blitz in England. Or my uncles who served in the Navy escorting supply convoys past the U-boats in the North Atlantic - one never came home. I think of my mother who served as a WREN in Halifax, and my mother-in-law who worked in the War office in London during the Blitz. I think of my father-in-law who served as an aircraft mechanic during the Battle of Britain, and later in France. I think of my grandfather who served in the Navy on Canada's first cruiser during WWI. I think of the family members who volunteered, who fought, who lived through the hardships because their country called on them to fight for a cause they knew was good and just. And those who never came home.
When Canadians have gone to fight in other wars for other nations, they may have gone believing they fought for a good reason, but they went outside Canada, Canadian law and Canadian foreign policy. Some of their causes we may sympathize with, others we detest. But they all have one thing in common: they were not serving their country and Remembrance Day is about serving Canada.
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