Not Forgotten

August, 1942:  on a starless midnight 

Depleted and disoriented 

Defeated and enraged

Teardrops mixed with the salt of the sea

Huddled at the back of the retreating ship, I shiver.

Fourteen hours ago, the battle of Dieppe had commenced.

The Calgary Highlanders and the Toronto Scottish Regiment embarked from their ships

Little did I know... they were welcomed with a hail of unrelenting bullets

Six hundred of us, huddled together, awaited our orders to advance as the third wave

Artillery bombarded our ship, waves crashed on our heads.

A nearby boat burst into flames, men cried in agony as they jumped off.

Little did I know... my mates were already being tormented on the beach.

“Surely, by now the first two waves have breached the sea wall,” I thought.

The constant machine gun fire was getting closer as our boat came to a sudden stop.

The door opened, waves of bullets showered us, fire-pebbles bounced on our helmets.

Nowhere to advance, we were pinned from every angle.

I huddled at the back of our attacking ship; time has not been able to erase what met my eyes.

Not a single man made it off my boat, their bodies piled up, scorched with blood,

Not a single tank could grip the pebbled beach, and were detonated on the spot.

Little did I know... it was near impossible to gain territory here.

My soul was stained scarlet for years to come.

Now, with fields of green stretching before me, an azure sky freeing my mind,

A fragrant summer breeze opens my eyes to the blooming flowers planted at Hautôt-sur-Mer.

I see the names of my old friends engraved on stone under a maple leaf and above a cross.

Little did I know... that I would be the only one alive to stand here today.

Recalling the faces that defined Canadian history, I whisper, “I will never forget.”

So wear a poppy though the guns have been silenced, and the stains of war have faded.

Bow your heads for those ‘Known Unto God’ and appreciate a veteran for their service.

On November eleventh, take time out for remembrance,

So the names of our heroes and the battles they faced will not be forgotten.