At sea, on ice and in the desert, members of the Canadian military on base and on mission pause to pay tribute today to those who fought before for freedom.
About 80 members of the company aboard the HMCS Fredericton will gather at the Malta Memorial in Valletta, where the names of 285 fallen Canadians are etched on a monument dedicated to Commonwealth military. The ship, temporarily docked to mark Remembrance Day, is headed to the Arabian Sea.
Cmdr. Steven Waddell said the service on foreign soil will include traditional bagpipes, prayers and wreath-laying.
"The fact we mark Remembrance Day never changes no matter where we are," he said. "Many times in my career I have been at sea and what we routinely do is have a service on the deck of the ship while the ship is in transit on the ocean. For us it doesn't matter whether we're at sea or at home, it's a mark of respect and remembrance."
Capt. Cynthia Larue will take part in a ceremony with the provincial reconstruction team in Kandahar. Today has personal significance for her after recent deaths of two comrades.
"It is fresh," she said. "That makes you think it could be me, it could be a friend or someone very close to me. I want to take this time to reflect more, maybe even more than in the past."
