News & Events - News Room

By MWO Normand Marion, 16 Wing

Each year, on or around Remembrance Day, most members of 16 Wing take part in a ceremony of some sort, whether as spectator or on parade, in the Borden area or in their hometown.  But for Sergeant John Davidson, an Aviation Systems Technician at the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering (CFSATE), Remembrance Day means reaching out to younger people to try to make them understand what this special day is all about.
 
"I've done many Remembrance Day presentations in schools while I was serving down East, he explains.  "But being from Toronto, I was thrilled this year to visit schools in the area where I grew up."  Indeed, Sergeant Davidson and another member of CFSATE, Master Corporal Todd Gillard, took the time to visit the students of St. Jane Frances School in Toronto, and St.Patrick in Shomberg.

"I told them the story of Ernest 'Smokey' Smith," said Sgt Davidson, "and what he did to be awarded the Victoria Cross, and the fact that he was the last living VC recipient.  During the discussion, the kids came up with the word "sacrifice".  I didn't use that word.  The kids themselves came up with the word "sacrifice".  That tells me that they've got the message of Remembrance Day."

To help getting the kids attention, Sgt Davidson likes to bring along a few samples of military uniforms and dress-up a few students.  This year, a young girl representing the Navy dressed up in flash gear.  She read out loud the names of the ships that went down during the Second World War and rang the bell twice after each name, a procedure that is often done at Battle of the Atlantic commemoration ceremonies.

"The students had never seen anything like that," explains Sgt Davidson.  "So, at the beginning, some of them clapped after the bell rang.  But once the students were explained that those ships and crew did not come back from patrol, the room turned silent."

"They've got the message," he concludes.