Remembrance Day Importance to Youth

Heroes Remember

Remembrance Day Importance to Youth

Transcript

At Remembrance Day, people so interested nowadays, unbelievable you know. We go to lots of schools before Remembrance Day, old folks home, different towns, give speeches to the high school kids. They're really asking lots of questions, you know. Very interested, you know. Every year we go and do that, you know. I say, you guys can still talk so many years, I said, what can we do? I have to tell you guys. When you grow up, you'll know who your parents were, who your friends was, when we're gone so you'll know how to preach to other people. Think back you know about your, some of your pals. Never could see the world again and left their lives there, you know and you've saved, trying to save their lives but couldn't do it. But you came back. Something like, lots, like we go to funerals. We have these ceremony funerals. People say, well how you guys do that, you give such a nice service for our buddies that died, or mother or father or whatever. He said, “It's one of our guys. We fought together so we got to pay respect to them, so that parents, brother, sister would know that we still care for them.”

Description

Mr. Zayachkowski reflects on the recent increase of interest in Remembrance Day, and offers some thoughts on those veterans who are no longer alive.

Michael Zayachkowski

Michael Zayachkowski was born in St. Julien, Saskatchewan on September 10, 1923. He was one of ten children. As a youth growing up in the Depression, Mr. Zayachkowski attended school, worked on the farm and helped in the woods. He enlisted in late 1941, and after a stint as a physical training instructor at Shilo, was deployed overseas. During his years abroad, Mr. Zayachkowski served in North Africa, Italy and D-Day through to Holland as a front line medical technician. Following the war, and after farming for a while, he joined the RCMP, where he served twenty-five years.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 1:49
Person Interviewed:: Michael Zayachkowski
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Royal Canadian Artillery
Rank:: Sergeant-Major

Language selection

Remembrance Day Importance to Youth

Heroes Remember