Remembrance Day commemorates the soldiers and veterans who risked their lives on the battlefield to fight for their country’s freedom.
On the morning of Nov. 11, Durham College and Ontario Tech University hosted their Remembrance Day ceremony at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre. Students from both campuses were invited to attend and pay their respects to those who fell in the line of duty.
Richard O’Connor, a retired veteran officer and decorated peacekeeper who spoke at the assembly, shared a personal story of a friend who lost his life during a mission in Afghanistan.
“He was clearing a path for armoured carriers to go down,” O’Connor said. “They had plastic and wooden-cased mines, so sometimes the detectors don’t detect them.”
He recounted how his friend’s carrier unknowingly hit a mine as he was clearing the area, blowing him out into a minefield. Despite his friend’s tragic end, O’Connor keeps his memory alive.
“His name is Mark Robert Isfeld. If I mention him, he still lives in our hearts.”
Cole MacKinnon, a Durham College student who served in the military for three years, spoke about the importance of understanding how actions in the past shape the present.
“Even here at home in our homelands, freedom is important for us all,” MacKinnon said after the ceremony.
While Remembrance Day is observed annually to honour those who died or suffered while serving in wars, conflicts and peace operations, some participants raised concerns that its significance has diminished over time.
Sarah Whitehouse, a Durham College Student Association member who helped organize the event, noted a decline in students wearing poppies.
“For me, it’s a very simple way to say thank you,” she said. “I feel that this year I haven’t noticed them quite as much, especially around the school.”
Whitehouse stressed the importance of involving everyone including students from both campuses, in recognizing this day.
“I wouldn’t be the same without the people who fought for our country to be this way,” she said. “It makes me think about how privileged I am to live in a country that cares about its people and the veterans who fought.”
Durham College president Elaine Popp reflected on the significance of Remembrance Day in a statement to The Chronicle, emphasizing its lessons of, “peace, resilience and unity.”
“Having grown up here in Canada, during times of relative peace, this day offers time to reflect on the peace, freedoms and stability we can sometimes take for granted,” she wrote. “It challenges us to remember that a free and safe society doesn’t happen on its own, it takes hard work.”
The annual ceremony reminds us of the importance of preserving these stories, ensuring future generations continue to understand and honour the sacrifices of those who came before them.
“What happens when freedom is under threat?” said MacKinnon. “It’s important to recognize how that starts, grows, manifests and be able to stop at its core.”