last word As November approaches, I cannot help but have my thoughts turn to my grandfather, now five years passed. I wanted to write a column that would share some memories of him with Seaside readers, but when I look back at a similar Last Word I wrote four years ago, it touched me deeply so I thought I'd run it again for those of you who may not have read it, in the hopes that it may touch you as well. Remembrance Day has always been important to my family, being the children and grandchildren of veterans of the First and Second World Wars. However, since the death of my grandpa, November 11th has taken on new significance for me: a special day to honour the wonderful grandfather I lost. My grandpa, a veteran of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, never missed a Remembrance Day parade, marching with great dignity and looking incredibly dashing in his uniform. He was so proud when his grandson Drew, an RCMP officer, marched with him one year. He was a man who loved his family very much. One Christmas, he gave my mom and her three sisters a framed poem titled "A Father's Love." He wasn't a very demonstrative man, finding it hard to share his feelings, but he'd been carrying the poem in his wallet for many years and finally figured out a way to share its sentiment with his daughters. My grandpa was a great man who touched many lives, and there was a large turnout at his funeral, held at the Gibsons Legion, Branch 109. There were many veterans at the service, all turned out in their finest, in uniform to honour the man who had been one of them. At the front was a small display: a picture of my grandpa, one of his ever-present golf caps and a small wreath. At the end of the service, the veterans lined the centre aisle and, one at a time, approached the front. Each of them stood for a moment, saluted my grandfather's picture, then removed a poppy from their lapel and placed it on the wreath. This Remembrance Day I'll be remembering my grandpa and the special ceremony at his service that touched me so deeply. The veterans honoured my grandfather the way we should honour all veterans, men and women who fought to protect our country, our rights and our way of life. Lest we forget.
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