Time to stand on guard for war shrines

[Canadian4206]

Kelly Egan, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, May 21, 2008

The Americans have a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

Elite sentinels from the 3rd U.S. Infantry - after a rigorous training period - stand guard 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, weather be damned.

Canada has a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, on the site of the National War Memorial, in the heart of the capital. No one stands guard, 24/7, in any season.

But people stand, alright -- on the tomb. Or sit, or lie down, or lounge with feet dangling off the side, or position their children around it for photographs.

Dr. Michael Pilon has seen just about enough. And he has seen a lot. He is the retired army major who famously photographed a drunk urinating on the National War Memorial on Canada Day weekend. The country looked, the country seethed, the police got involved.

Dr. Pilon was cycling last weekend near the memorial when he saw a man lying on the tomb. He was propped up on an elbow, with feet hanging off the edge of the sarcophagus, a three-tiered affair that is four metres long.

Dr. Pilon, a dentist, approached the man and asked him if he knew he was lounging on the remains of a Canadian soldier. The visitor didn't know, nor did he seem fazed.

"It's being treated like a little bench," said Dr. Pilon. "People think it's attractive to put their kids around it."

Indeed, over the course of 10 minutes, he saw several examples of inappropriate behaviour around the tomb, which was installed in May 2000.

It is easy to understand how this is happening.

First of all, signage near the tomb is terrible. Terrible signage, in fact, is an Ottawa-wide affliction.

More than signage, though, is the grander matter of demarcation. It isn't difficult to imagine how a foreign tourist, with only a smattering of English or French, might think the tomb is a bench of some kind.

And let's face it. Some people are just daft. The point is, what are we doing to ensure the sleepy-headed tourist, or local, doesn't mistakenly put his derrière on the grave of a soldier who embodies a nation's collected heroism?

The answer is, not enough.

The words "The Unknown Soldier" appear only on the south side, etched in the granite. On three sides, in the flat surrounding stone, there is a caution: "Please treat this grave of an Unknown Soldier with respect."

But again, the warning is subtle, easy to miss.

Nor is there any interpretation of the symbolism involved.

The unknown soldier, for instance, was relocated from a cemetery near Vimy Ridge, site of the First World War battle that is a milestone in Canadian military history. Atop the tomb, in bronze, there is a First World War helmet, a medieval sword, branches of maple and laurel leaves -- all Vimy echoes. The sarcophagus itself is patterned after the stone altar at the Vimy memorial.

The soldier's remains lay in state in the Hall of Honour for three days before being taken by horse-drawn gun carriage to the memorial. The governor general was there, as was the prime minister. It was, in other words, a big deal.

On the site, this history is only to be guessed at. Even the war memorial itself -- one of Ottawa's most storied places -- only has a well-hidden plaque to explain its significance.

Dr. Pilon can't understand why the tomb is not tastefully cordoned off. He is not calling for a full-time sentry, just a barrier that signals this is a hallowed site, with a deeply human connection.

"Two years ago, on Canada Day, there were empty beer bottles on it. I mean, there were actually two guys pouring beer on it. They thought, in a weird way, they were showing respect."

Since the Canada Day incident in 2006, Dr. Pilon has been waging an unofficial campaign to ensure our national military shrines are treated with respect.

He is making some headway.

Last year, after several federal departments put their heads together, they agreed to post an honour guard at the War Memorial for much of the summer, during daytime hours. The plan is to be repeated this year, beginning in late June.

Veterans Affairs is one of the key departments involved. It has experimented with signs raised on a pedestal, reminding visitors of the tomb's presence.

"We have been experimenting with raised signage and we're grappling with that balance of how to respect the solemnity of the site and inform people, at the same time," said spokesman Janice Summerby.

"We're not at the solution yet but we're always looking at ways to improve the site's integrity."

The authorities have consciously left the tomb touchable so that, on Remembrance Day for instance, it is coated in dozens of poppies and flowers.

"There isn't a hard and fast definition of what comprises appropriate behaviour. But (use) common sense. This tomb is a grave. The remains of a First World War soldier, who sacrificed his life, are there."

She added that commissionaires do patrol the site around the clock, surveillance cameras are in use and private security firms are sometimes employed.

All well and good. But not quite there -- people are still sitting on a grave.

The tomb's call for respect needs to be loud, immediate and unambiguous. If it takes a rope, a plaque, a sentry in a bearhat -- let it be so.

After all, once -- a long time ago -- it took a life.

Contact Kelly Egan at 613-726-5896 or by e-mail, kegan@thecitizen.canwest.com

- - -

Soundoff Online: Should the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier be better protected?

Article Source: http://www.canada.com

[ArmedDrunk&Angry]

I would guess, with no real knowledge of the Canadain armed forces, that they could easily find volunteers to stand a post at the tomb.
The people just have to push the government to pay for it and I doubt it costs as much as one jet fighter.

[Dr2B Rudd]

At my local WW1/2 monument I saw cigarette butts and beer bottles etc, I walked over to the cafe in a nearby garden centre and asked for a binbag.

On the anniversary of the local women's aux air corps several ornaments that had been dedicated to them in previous year were defaced.

Its just not on.

[Canadian4206]

They definetly can afford to have somebody there, they already pay for the Canadian Forces so you just assign let's say a 6 man group to guard them. Won't even cost anything.

[PFunk]

There is a small modest war memorial in the town I live in (a suburb so not so many locals died in WW1 or 2) and it sickened me that one day while waiting for a bus (its right by a bus stop in front of city hall) there were a bunch of kids sitting on or around it and one of them said out loud "I wonder what this thing is supposed to be about".

I wanted to yell at them. No sense of pride or memory or whatever.

Forget the government, its parents that don't give a crap. I had my grandfather's stories to make me feel proud of my country. Why doesn't anyone else even KNOW what it was?

Sheesh. Something a bit odd with my generation. My grandpa's didn't like Hitler. My parents didn't like Vietnam. My gen apparently doesn't know what either were.

[Canadian4206]

Originally Posted by PFunk

There is a small modest war memorial in the town I live in (a suburb so not so many locals died in WW1 or 2) and it sickened me that one day while waiting for a bus (its right by a bus stop in front of city hall) there were a bunch of kids sitting on or around it and one of them said out loud "I wonder what this thing is supposed to be about".

I wanted to yell at them. No sense of pride or memory or whatever.

Forget the government, its parents that don't give a crap. I had my grandfather's stories to make me feel proud of my country. Why doesn't anyone else even KNOW what it was?

Sheesh. Something a bit odd with my generation. My grandpa's didn't like Hitler. My parents didn't like Vietnam. My gen apparently doesn't know what either were.

You should have gotten one of those paddles, like in those college movies. Grab them one by one, and hit them. "It's *Smack*.... A *Smack*... War *Smack*... Memorial *Smack*... Biatch *Smack*"

What they should atleast do though is put up a fence around it, put big signs on it saying "If you pass this fence, the nearest by sniper will take you out". That will straighten them out.

[georgehu2007]

what about the Yasukuni Shrine in Japan? it honors war criminals for Pete's sake. something has to be wrong with that