Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour one who is without a name, one who carries the names of many. Next week I will be accompanying the minister to Vimy. Next week for Canada, an unknown soldier becomes the Unknown Soldier. He will be removed from his many, many comrades at Vimy to lie in a new place of equal but solitary honour in Canada.
This man's family should escort him to his new grave for he is our father, he is our son. On behalf of his country, I am proud to be part of the mourners who will bring him to his Canadian resting place of honour.
Our men and women who died in war are all equally honoured by this act. We remember those who died in the fields of foreign nations. So too we remember those who died in the air and on the seas. Their mortal bodies were committed to earthless graves that cannot be visited.
All across this country there are monuments, memorials sacred to the remembrance of those who died in the wars fought in our name. On many of the cenotaphs is written these appropriate words from Ecclesiasticus, “their name liveth for evermore”. Today, let us also remember the words preceding this citation:
And some there be, which have no memorial...and are become as if they had never been born...But these were merciful men, whose righteousness hath not been forgotten...Their seed shall remain forever, and their glory shall not be blotted out. Their bodies are buried in peace; but their names liveth for evermore.
On this solemn occasion, we again express our sorrow and sympathy for the families of those who have died in the service of Canada. They survive with a lifelong loss and unending pain. Some will feel extra grief because their family member was killed in a manner that did not permit identification or burial. May they know serenity through this expression of the perpetual gratefulness of all Canadians for all time.
We express our gratitude to those who took up the torch, who saw injustice and tyranny and were prepared to suffer and die for their fellow Canadians. We remember those who returned from war and who still suffer the pains of physical and mental wounds. We pray that in paying homage to one unknown soldier we and future generations will remember and honour those who died for Canada.