IN A solemn like atmosphere, Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke yesterday led a contingent of dignitaries who laid wreaths at the cenotaph for soldiers who died in the two world wars at the National Day of Remembrance ceremony at the National Heroes Park in Kingston, yesterday.
But as much as the ceremony, held annually, was considered to be meaningful, some ex-soldiers said that they were not satisfied with the level of appreciation shown by the wider population towards them, nor were they comfortable with the level of respect for the memory of those who fell in the great wars which lasted from 1914-1918 and 1939-1945.
SACRIFICES
Retired soldier, Major Stoel Foster, 77, was an administrative clerk in the Royal Air Force in Filey, England at the time of the second war. "The populace is not educated in that line to see where the servicemen and women made sacrifices," he told The Gleaner.
Major Foster, who served for 34 1/2 years as a member of the Royal Air Force and the Local Army, said that more emphasis should be placed on the life and work of the soldiers who fought in the wars and that their contributions should be promoted as integral parts of our history.
WIDESPREAD UNAWARENESS
According to him, the widespread unawareness about their contributions to the wars and the level of respect that was meted out to ex-servicemen raised concerns whether "it was a wasted effort". He also said that many destitute ex-servicemen were almost forgotten as they received little welfare and other forms of assistance from the Government.
Evelyn Smith, 87, the only female ex-soldier who was on parade during the ceremony, said she too would like more recognition for ex-servicemen. "I don't think the old people are treated as well as they should," she said. Smith, who went to the first war as a nurse, said that caretakers at Curphey Home in Manchester where several old soldiers now reside have been doing providing remarkable assistance but the Government "does not pay enough attention to them."
