Message by The Governor General of Canada Julie Payette on Remembrance Day 2020
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/10141.html
Every year, on Remembrance Day, we pause to honour the sacrifice, the courage and the extraordinary service of our veterans. We pause to say thank you, for what they have done for our country and for what they still do.文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/10141.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/10141.html
Soixante-quinze ans ont passé depuis la fin de la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Nos vétérans y ont gagné de nombreuses batailles, au prix d’immenses sacrifices. Plus de 43,000 Canadiens ont péri et encore plus nombreux sont les hommes qui sont revenus à la maison blessés et meurtris de cicatrices psychologiques que ces années de conflit leur ont infligées et dont on parlait peu à l’époque.文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/10141.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/10141.html
[It’s been 75 years since the end of the Second World War. Our veterans won many battles at great sacrifice. Over 43 000 Canadians died. Many more came home wounded and carrying psychological scars from years of conflict, something that wasn’t talked about much at the time.]文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/10141.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/10141.html
Je suis content d’avoir traversé ce que j’ai traversé, parce que j’en ai plusieurs que j’ai laissés, comme à Caen, à Caen surtout. On a perdu plusieurs compagnons, et on pense à eux souvent.文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/10141.html
文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/10141.html
[I’m happy that I made it through what I went through, because I left many behind, especially at Caen. We lost so many friends and think of them often.]文章源自英文巴士-https://www.en84.com/10141.html
We remained friends for life. We were family. I attended every one of their funerals, from New Brunswick to Vancouver. We got to know their families, and they got to know ours.
I discovered then that we are all the same. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world. You laugh over the same things. You cry over the same things.
It is something that you get used to, your friends dying and…and [your] acquaintances getting killed in some way very horribly.
Moi j’avais seulement 17 ans quand je me suis enrôlé. Je me suis fait passer pour 19. À 17 ans, on pense pas à ça, au danger. On ne pense pas à grand-chose.
[I was only 17 when I enlisted. I passed for 19. At 17, you don’t think about the danger. You don’t think about much.]
On avait 20 tonnes d’explosifs dans l’avion. Notre avion a été frappé, puis après ça il est tombé en feu. C’est là que j’ai perdu ma jambe. Mes décisions, c’était toujours, j’ai fait mon possible au moment. C’est tout ce qu’on peut faire.
[We had 20 tonnes of explosives in the plane. Our plane was hit, then went up in flames. That’s where I lost my leg. I always did my best in the moment, making decisions. It’s all you can do.]
I was acting platoon commander. So I was just a…just a kid myself, really. All of a sudden, I look around, and there’s all these little kids, that had been hidden for years because if the Germans had found them, they would have punished them. But to look around and all these smiling kids, it was one of the best days of the war for me.
We’re called the Caring Canadians. I think that’s a wonderful legacy to have. I have found it to be so true.
Sometimes I was so frightened I could hardly see, sometimes. I don’t know what…what courage is, really. It’s being scared. Being scared, and yet doing your job, even when you’re afraid.
On pensait pas d’être un héros ou de faire le héros. C’était un peu l’aventure.
[We didn’t think about being heroes. It was a bit of an adventure.]
We’re fortunate to be Canadians. And I don’t think that we realize it. We take it for granted.
Meilleur pays du monde. Et ça vaut tout ce qu’on peut faire pour le protéger.
[Best country in the world. It’s worth doing everything we can to protect it.]
So over the years, we have told our story, and I think Canada does very well in commemorating the World War II. And I never miss a Remembrance Day service, and I always march.
Nous nous souvenons d’eux.
We remember them.
Today and always.
