“. . . I think it’s necessary to remember...”

I, I still go to Remembrance Day ceremonies. I, I go to downtown or else I go to, to Harbour House, where I'm on the board there. I don't know. That, that... It's such a short time. People, people should give... You know, I find that lately, and maybe it's because it's brought to the attention of, of more people, but I find that, that lately, people have, have attended that November the 11th ceremony and participated, and kids, high school kids have contributed and so on, and you know that it, not only did it make you feel better, but I think it's necessary. I think it's necessary for mankind. I think it, I think it's necessary to remember. I think it's necessary to remember what you've been through and those who didn't come back. But especially those who didn't make it. You know, when you go through those graves, places like Groesbeek and Bergen -op-Zoom, and you just look at the ages... my God. They lived and they died on the battlefield. 18, 19, 21, 22, an old man would be 30, you know. No, it's, it's, it's, it's very, very important. I think it's necessary. I think November the 11th is a period, is a, is, is something that everybody should remember. We... the, the, the message... I, I keep getting back to the same thing, I think the message that we must give is freedom is not free. Freedom does not... it, it isn't something that's handed to you, it's something that must be earned. And as long as we remember that, and we remember the, the, the... people have died. All kinds of people have died for the freedom that we've, that, that, that that, that, that we enjoy and we cherish. It's important. That's the message that I would, that's the message that I would like to leave with, with, with young people.

Mr. Pochailo reflects on November 11

Philip Pochailo

Philip Pochailo was born in Rainy River, Ontario, on November 19, 1920. After finishing his education, he worked several years in lumber camps, and finally enlisted in the RCAF in 1942. He went overseas in 1943. After advanced training as a bomb aimer in Great Britain, he was assigned to a British crew in No.1 Bomber Command in April 1944. His aircraft was shot down over the Netherlands and only he and the aircraft's pilot survived. Mr. Pochailo evaded capture and joined the Dutch Resistance Movement where he lived and worked for the next 12 months. He was liberated by Canadian troops in Rotterdam in 1945. Mr. Pochailo returned to Canada after the war and now resides in Ottawa, Ontario.