2009-09-03

Canadian Cross Of Sacrifice At Arlington National Cemetery

When I was in Washington this past summer, I couldn't get to Arlington unfortunately but plan to make it a priority next time I visit.

With all this talk about Kennedy getting a burial there (scratches head), I perused the ANC website and came across this.

I didn't know Canada was honored there. Canada has a proud military heritage. Which makes it all the more sad to see it in its weakened present state.

From the site:

Few countries enjoy the bonds of goodwill and friendship that the United States and Canada share. Our common border remains the longest unguarded frontier on earth, and our nations have shared triumphs and tragedies throughout history. It was in this spirit of friendship that in 1925 Canadian Prime Minister MacKenzie King first proposed a memorial to the large number of United States citizens who enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces, and lost their lives during World War I. Because the Canadians entered the war long before the United States, many Americans enlisted in Canada to join the fighting in Europe.

On June 12, 1925, President Calvin Coolidge approved the request, and on Armistice Day 1927 the monument near the Memorial Amphitheater was dedicated. Designed by Canadian architect Sir Reginald Bloomfield, the monument consists of a bronze sword adorning a 24-foot gray granite cross.

The inscription on the cross reaffirms the sentiment expressed by Prime Minister King regarding Americans who served in the Canadian Armed Forces. Following World War II and the Korean War, similar inscriptions on other faces of the monument were dedicated to the Americans who served in those conflicts.

3 comments:

  1. "I didn' know Canada was honored there (Arlington)".
    My dear fellow if I read and understand English well enough, at least I think I do, that cross does not honor Canada. It was set up by Canada to honor Americans who served in the Canadian army. Reread the quotation you have put in your post.
    Canada is a country full of paradox, we seem to attract the bellicose and the pacifist Americans in equal numbers and we honor both it seems.

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  2. No. Your English is fine. It IS as you interpret it and how I did.

    I just failed to articulate it. My bad. Sorry.

    Nonetheless, it still has a strong Canadian angle I believe.

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