Editor: I am in favour of having the Highway of Heroes sign restored on Highway 1.
The freeway will always be known as the Number One, or Trans-Canada Highway, but the sign reminds everyone that men and women died for our freedom.
My mother was born in Holland in 1940, and my father was born in England in 1937. I know all too well the ugliness of war.
The things the Germans did to my mother were sickening. Both my grandfathers fought to keep Europe free from the Germans. The soldiers who defended those nations, and the Canadian and American soldiers who stormed beaches when it looked like there was no way to succeed, should be remembered.
People get too comfortable and it is easy to forget that people gave up their lives for me, for us, to have our freedom. This sign represents more than soldiers in Afghanistan. I am thankful for their dedication to this country. If not for these courageous men and women, we would certainly live in a different world.
This sign should be a constant reminder that we are lucky to have what we have. I will gladly, with my own money, contribute to having the sign re-erected to display the courageous actions of people from the 1940s into the present.
Defending our freedom against those who would take it away because they do not understand it, or have a belief other than ours, is worth the fight. Too many people are in a slumbering state and have no idea what is happening around them. Wake up — or when you do it will be too late.
We need to do more for our soldiers. With Remembrance Day fast approaching, everyone should get out of their comfy, warm homes and participate in a ceremony at a local Legion or cenotaph, rain or shine.
Rob Gaw,
Langley
