2003 Remembrance Day Poster

This year, as part of a year of remembrance marking the 50^th Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, the 2003 poster commemorates Canadian sacrifice and achievement during the Korean War. The poster features the Monument to Canadian Fallen located in Busan, South Korea. The Monument was erected due to the efforts of the Canadian Veterans Korean War Commemoration Committee and was unveiled at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery in Busan in 2001 and dedicated and consecrated in 2002. The monument design concept calls to mind the sacrifice of Canada and Canadian soldiers. It was designed by Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Korean War Veteran Vincent Courtenay, who managed the fund raising effort from Korea and also supervised sculpting, casting and siting of the Monument. A replica of the Monument is currently located in Windsor, Ontario and will be relocated to Ottawa and dedicated in September, 2003.

The monument shows an unarmed Canadian soldier holding a young Korean girl and guiding a Korean boy. The children represent the generations of Koreans who live in freedom thanks to those who served and those who made the supreme sacrifice. The girl is holding a bouquet of 21 maple leaves, representing the 16 Canadians with no known grave and the five Canadian sailors lost at sea. The boy is holding a bouquet in which maple leaves are mixed with roses of Sharon, the national flower of Korea, as a symbol of the friendship between the two countries. The monument bears the inscription: "We’ll never forget you brave sons of Canada" in English, French and Korean, along with the names of the 516 Canadian soldiers who died serving in the Korean War. The design also conveys the message of peace, the goal of all who served in Korea. There are no weapons or symbols of war depicted.

Also featured on the poster is a pewter pin created to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice as well as two poppies.

As Canadians, we have been handed a rich legacy of peace, freedom and identity - it is now up to us to preserve and pass on this legacy to future generations. Canadians have and continue to put themselves in harm’s way, often willing to offer their lives, in the quest for peace, freedom and the preservation of human values worldwide.