While Canadians coast to coast read and listen to the never-ending nonsense from Ottawa about the Senate expense scandals, and more recently, the tale of woe from Toronto about Mayor Rob Ford's alleged crack cocaine escapades, we can take solace knowing we are entering a week of heroes.
Sure, the shenanigans of Ford, Pamela Wallin, Patrick Brazeau and Mike Duffy make great copy and headlines, but compared to everything that Remembrance Day stands for their stories are at the very bottom of the pecking order of what is really important.
Last weekend, hours before the season's first big snowstorm hit, I took a small road trip southeast of Innisfail to look at a once abandoned gravesite, one that had been largely forgotten for nine decades.
This tranquil spot, in a small forest overlooking a creek valley, is the final resting place of Lance-Cpl. Edgar Medley. Once a prominent citizen who was a vice-president of the Innisfail Agriculture Society, Medley joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force's 31st Battalion in the First World War. He was a decorated soldier and badly wounded in combat while serving with the army in France. Medley came home but died from his wounds on May 27, 1918. He left behind his wife Maude and daughters Catherine and Eileen.
His gravesite, the only one at the isolated location, is commemorated with a huge ornate headstone. Maude died in 1970 and her ashes were spread at the site. The property, meanwhile, changed hands many times. It is possible some of the owners over the years never knew about the gravesite. Certainly, the Canadian government did not know, nor did the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, an organization created by Royal Charter after the First World War to ensure worthy veterans were and still are properly commemorated.
But three years ago both organizations received a tip about Lance-Cpl. Medley and his gravesite. He has since been properly commemorated as a war casualty in the Canadian Book of Remembrance and the Canadian Virtual War Museum. He is the last Alberta soldier from the First World War to receive this honour. He is certainly a true hero.
But there is more. Last Friday I had the honour of attending the seventh annual Royal Canadian Legion Innisfail Branch 104 Veterans Supper. It began with a moving performance by the Innisfail Legion Pipe Band, and was followed by an awards presentation to four deserving young men from Penhold Air Cadet Squadron #7.
It was made possible by Korean War vet Doug Whorrall and his lovely wife Joyce. Four years ago the couple created a bursary for worthy cadets. Each year they give away $3,000 to young men and women who prove themselves to be the best of the best in the cadet corps.
Doug, who served in the Royal Canadian Signal Corp in Korea in 1951 and 1952, was a hero then, and 60 years later he is still a hero to many, many people for his ongoing commitment to the legion, the third-largest in Canada in terms of its membership numbers, and today's youth.
When Nov. 11 rolls around I will think of my grandfather – a First World War vet, and my father who served in the Second World War. But I am also going to reserve a few thoughts for Lance-Cpl. Edgar Medley and Doug Whorrall. They don't get headlines like Ford, Wallin, Brazeau and Duffy but they should, and much more. They have made this year's Remembrance Day extra special.
