{"id":1840,"date":"2014-11-10T08:17:45","date_gmt":"2014-11-10T16:17:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1840"},"modified":"2014-11-10T08:17:45","modified_gmt":"2014-11-10T16:17:45","slug":"freedom-is-not-free-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2014\/life\/freedom-is-not-free-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom Is Not Free"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"cirillo3\"<\/a>

Corporal Nathan Cirillo<\/p><\/div>\n

Given the recent events in Ottawa, where an Islamic jihadist shot unarmed reservist, Corporal Nathan Cirillo<\/a><\/strong>, in the back at the Tomb for the Unknown Soldier, and that Nov. 11th is Remembrance Day<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in Canada and others in the \u00a0Commonwealth,\u00a0I thought it fitting that I re-post my thoughts with some revisions from a year ago. It’s the day\u00a0 we honor our veterans and those we’ve lost.<\/p>\n

We in Canada were shocked and deeply saddened to hear of Cirillo’s untimely death and to also discover that we had been harboring someone (unnamed here deliberately) who did not value what we value as Canadians. A terrorist who had no right to live in our beautiful land. He had lost that right when he adopted his jihadist thinking.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_3112\"<\/p>\n

We, in Canada and the USA, pride ourselves in sharing the belief that we can all live together in harmony, regardless of cultural and religious differences. And to a great degree, we have succeeded. We have also as nations fought and died for the right of others to live in this way. That’s what we commemorate on Remembrance Day.<\/p>\n

In the fall of 2013, my husband and I visited the National Mall<\/a>,<\/strong> in Washington, D.C., an almost two mile long public space incorporating a reflecting pool and major war monuments<\/strong>. To stand there and look down that mall\u2014the Capital at one end, the Lincoln monument at the other\u2014is an unbelievable experience. The magnificence of the design in that open space underlines the strength and beauty of America.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_3089\"<\/a>

World War II Memorial<\/p><\/div>\n

The war monuments are of such grandeur that you can\u2019t walk by them without thinking of the human tragedy of war. Lives lost and spirits crushed. Dreams dashed. Families broken. It\u2019s stunning to read how many tens of thousands have died for their country.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it\u2019s a universal story. Every country has lost sons and daughters to war.<\/p>\n

We first stopped at the relatively new World War II Memorial<\/a><\/strong>. What\u2019s striking about it are the bronze reliefs on it, depicting scenes from that time.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_3074\"<\/a>

One of the bronze scenes at the WWII memorial<\/p><\/div>\n

I had three uncles in that war. They were from a small town in Manitoba; they came from a poor family. War was adventure, a steady pay check, and a call of duty. One was in the air force, two in the army. They all came home, but were forever scarred by what they\u2019d seen.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_3158\"<\/a>

Korean War Veterans Memorial<\/p><\/div>\n

The Korean War Veterans Memorial<\/a> <\/strong>commemorates another one where Canadians,\u00a0 Americans, and their allies fought side by side.<\/p>\n

Another war that grabbed its young, and those who made it back were older before their time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"IMG_3135\"<\/a>

They Come to Honor The Fallen<\/p><\/div>\n

The last one we visited was the Vietnam War Memorial<\/a>. <\/strong>A massive dark stone wall with the names of Americans who didn\u2019t return.<\/p>\n

Canadians didn’t fight in Vietnam<\/a>, but we know the story<\/a>. The horrors, the sacrifices, and the madness of war played out daily on our TV screens in the 60s and early 70s.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"IMG_3151\"<\/a>

Bronze Soldiers look on the Vietnam Memorial<\/p><\/div>\n

The Vietnam memorial touched my husband and I the most. Partly because it was the freshest war, the one in our lifetime with no easy answers. And partly, because there are still plenty of survivors and family members who visit and pay their respects.<\/p>\n

There, I witnessed a father looking for his son\u2019s name on the stone.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_3148\"<\/a>

A volunteer tries to ease the pain.<\/p><\/div>\n

I saw a former soldier cry when a volunteer made a rubbing of his friend\u2019s name, or maybe it was his brother’s, and a man shake with sorrow as he ran his fingers over the engraved letters.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t lose anyone in this war, but just seeing all the dead listed and the tears around me,\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t help but feel some of the pain of those who did.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, I was left with this thought, etched on a stone near the Korean Veterans Memorial. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE.<\/p>\n

\"Freedom<\/a>

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Given the recent events in Ottawa, where an Islamic jihadist shot unarmed reservist, Corporal Nathan Cirillo, in the back at the Tomb for the Unknown Soldier, and that Nov. 11th… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[88],"tags":[78,664,660,662,659,559,203,663,661],"class_list":["post-1840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","tag-diana-stevan","tag-freedom","tag-jihadist","tag-korean-veterans-memorial","tag-nathan-cirillo","tag-national-mall","tag-remembrance-day","tag-vietnam-memorial","tag-war-memorial"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-tG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2935,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2016\/uncategorized\/freedom-is-what-our-veterans-fought-for\/","url_meta":{"origin":1840,"position":0},"title":"Freedom Is What Our Veterans Fought For","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"10 \u041b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0430, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Freedom is what our veterans fought for. The American election reminded us, that in a democracy, we have the right to vote and choose our own leaders. Whether we like the results or not, it's an example of democracy in action. Some didn't like who came out on top, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3158.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1502,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/uncategorized\/freedom-is-not-free\/","url_meta":{"origin":1840,"position":1},"title":"Freedom Is Not Free","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"8 \u041b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0430, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Nov. 11th is Remembrance Day in Canada and others in the Commonwealth. It's the day\u00a0 we honor our veterans and those we lost. It seems fitting then to tell you of my recent experience on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., an almost two mile long public space incorporating a\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_3112","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_3112-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4920,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2020\/uncategorized\/a-day-to-remember\/","url_meta":{"origin":1840,"position":2},"title":"A Day to Remember","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"11 \u041b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0430, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Remembrance Day in Canada is a day to remember those who've fallen in service to our country. We also remember those who've sacrificed the lives they knew and returned from battle, weary and forever scarred. In Canada, we wear a poppy in honour of those who served. Read the amazing\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"a day to remember","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_0371.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_0371.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_0371.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_0371.jpeg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1111,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/life\/my-american-neighbours\/","url_meta":{"origin":1840,"position":3},"title":"My American Neighbours","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"12 \u0416\u043e\u0432\u0442\u043d\u044f, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I wrote about my American neighbours, after a visit to #NYC and the #9\/11 memorial. And at the time of another #election. What I wrote then still fits today.\u00a0 Friendly Americans With the American election fever riding high, I can\u2019t help but think of all the wonderful Americans I've met.\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Life"","block_context":{"text":"Life","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/P11302761-300x252.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":748,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/uncategorized\/deaths-many-faces\/","url_meta":{"origin":1840,"position":4},"title":"Death’s Many Faces","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"16 \u041b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0430, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"My tears now come at unexpected times, like a rogue wave. I buried my mother on Nov. 10th. The funeral went well but I worried about my grandchildren\u2014her great-grandchildren\u2014\u2014ages 10-15, seeing an open coffin for the first time. They managed. The youngest even touched my mother\u2019s stone cold forehead. One\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 \"Boardwalk Empire\"","block_context":{"text":"Boardwalk Empire","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/tag\/boardwalk-empire\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/bi-300x183.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":544,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/uncategorized\/scrapping-the-prologue\/","url_meta":{"origin":1840,"position":5},"title":"Scrapping The Prologue","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"7 \u0421\u0435\u0440\u043f\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"While travelling down to L.A., I fussed about my novel, A CALL FROM THE DEEP, which I'm hoping to get published in the near future. 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