Vimy Ridge

Heroes Remember

Vimy Ridge

Transcript

Canadians today make a huge sacrifice. Canadians of yesterday made a, an enormous sacrifice. I was in Europe, and I went to Vimy Ridge. And you go to a place like that, and I remember driving a bus, and the bus... We were entering the area of Vimy Ridge, and the tour guide just kind of allowed the bus to be quiet, and we're amongst all these trees, and we're driving through this forest and after a few minutes I got on this bus, the tour guide said this. He said, "Just to let you know, the French government, this forest that you're in, the French government planted a tree for every Canadian that died." And then the bus went even quieter. And you were in this forest, you quantify, we're talking thousands and tens of thousands of people. You're realizing, you're trying to look at all the trees, and there were thousands of them, that's a life, and that's a life, and that, that's a life. You come out of this a different person. Because you're just quantifying how many people, like you and I, have given up their life to defend for many good reasons, their, why ever or whatever their reason they joined the military, they were defending that, and they gave up their life. And that was when it becomes...., because when you say eighty thousand, what does that mean? But when you're in a forest and each, the government planted a tree for every Canadian that died, and it happened to be a maple tree, which is of course the symbol to Canada. In that very quick time, my life changed.

Description

Mr. O’Loan speaks about his experience visiting Vimy Ridge for the first time.

Timothy O’Loan

Mr. O'Loan was born in Edmonton in 1965. He grew up in a military family as his father, mother and brother all served in the Canadian Forces. Growing up in a military family he moved quite frequently but says his roots are in the north. At the age of sixteen he decided he was going to keep up the family tradition and join the services. He signed up when he was seventeen and served for 10 years. After leaving the forces he moved back to the north where he now works with the government on Aboriginal events.

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