Below is a copy of the speech that I gave at Port Coquitlam's 2009 Remembrance Day Service on November 11, 2009 at Wilson Centre.

Attending Church, a stroll on PoCo Trail, City Council, school, Vancouver Canucks, walking home from school, library, free speech?? It is the freedom we enjoy and take for granted.

For many of us we have never, thankfully, been to a country that does not enjoy this freedom and is in war. We must take time throughout the year to reflect, to pray and to say THANK YOU.

It was 65 years ago on June 6, 1944, in the cover of darkness that allied paratroopers, including approximately 450 Canadians, landed behind enemy lines to start the invasion of Normandy under the code name Operation Overload.

Over the next two months our Canadian soldiers, along side British and American forces took control, which marked the beginning of the end.

The summer of ‘44 was overwhelming for our troops; the numbers are staggering, we shall never forget the loss, the sacrifice and the heroes that fought on our behalf and on behalf of generations to come.

That summer 1 out of every 12 Canadians were active in the armed forces.  Over 100,000 Canadians were actively involved in the prep for D-Day.  At the end of the summer 18,444 Canadian were either dead or wounded.  In fact 5,021 Canadian lost their lives that summer. We must NEVER forget.

Today is an important day for Canadians, and here in Port Coquitlam there is no exception.

In 1923, the City paid tribute to the men it lost in World War I with the construction of a cenotaph that was inscribed with their names and placed it in McMitchell Park.  On November 7, 1968, they added the names of those that were lost in World War II and moved it to what is now Veterans’ Park at City Hall; a plaque commemorating the Korean War is also affixed to the cenotaph’s base.

By placing this monument to honour our veterans in the most prominent location in our community is a testament of how our community views our veterans now and into the future, and all of these contributors are an excellent daily reminder to our community of our heroes.

As we look back we must not forget about the current Canadian Soldiers who serve our country in Afghanistan.  Specifically, we are proud of three Port Coquitlam men who are representing our country and our community.

Trevor Street, Kyle Yorston, and Justin Litzenberger have all been deployed to Afghanistan; they are all under 25 years old; all graduated from Terry Fox Secondary, and are all part of the same platoon.

Madison Story

The men are not only representing our community, they are representing Canada and all of the things we take for granted.  They have a great sense of Port Coquitlam pride. They are proudly hanging the City of Port Coquitlam flag at their barracks in Afghanistan.  I am proud of these young men and they represent the best of what there is about a free democratic society.

Please take a moment over the coming weeks to reflect on how thankful and lucky we are for people like Trevor, Kyle and Justin.  Our thoughts and prayers are with them and I am sure our community is looking forward to welcoming them home.

To everyone here today who has taken part in our armed forces, and who have supported our troops at home – on behalf of all of us residing in Port Coquitlam I say Thank You – you are in our thoughts and prayers.

God Bless You.