For many people, it's easy to forget about Remembrance Day. Although for veterans of the Second World War, it is anything but easy.

This proved true on Nov. 11 this year, when Centennial College had its annual Remembrance Day observance in the Centre of Creative Communication’s Learning Resource Centre.

Guests included a division of the Royal Canadian Legion No. 617 Dambusters Branch, as well as members of the Royal Canadian Artillery and the II Polish Corps.

Jack Rhind, a veteran of the Royal Canadian Artillery, spoke about fighting at the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944 about 80 miles southeast of Rome, Italy. The battle, in which the Allies struggled to expel Nazi forces from Italy, was one of the most costly conflicts, dubbed by some as "the first D-Day."

Rhind reminisced on how he felt when the Allies finally attained success, after four long and hard engagements that resulted in the liberation of Monte Cassino.

"[It was] an unforgettable part of that campaign for those who participated," Rhind said.

"Can you picture going into a village, where people had been suppressed brutally for at least three years, and all of a sudden at that very moment you are going and freeing them?"

It was clear it would be a long time before Rhind would forget the impact the war had on him.
"You can't imagine the emotion," Rhind exclaimed. "You can't imagine the excitement, the tremendous relief, the enthusiasm and the almost undeserved credit that we received in doing this."

Rhind shared an anecdote with the audience about returning 15 years after the war to the battleground of Monte Cassino, at the insistence of his wife.

Upon arrival, Rhind found that although some painful memories will always linger, they can often be replaced.

"When we got there, what had been in my memory was a scene of total devastation: houses in ruins, shell holes everywhere," he said. "I go there [and think] 'this can't be the same place...I must be wrong.'"

"I wasn't wrong," Rhind added.

He talked about how he found a scene of tranquility and beauty, a stark contrast from his memory of the battle.

"The field was green, the trees were in blossom," he said. "The birds were singing, the sky was blue…unbelievable."

"I thought to myself… 'This is the way God meant it to be.’"

While Rhind’s story was evidence that he certainly won’t forget the war, Centennial professor Ted Barris reminded the audience of why it is important no one else does either.

"He's a modest man," Barris said, referring to Rhind as he stepped down from the podium.

"But I think it was he and his comrades that brought back the blue sky and green grass."