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For Justin Trudeau and his Canadian delegation, there is a place to start a weekend of commemorations marking the centenary of the armistice that ends the First World War: The still-pockmarked battlefield at Canada's National Memorial at Vimy Ridge.
Dreary, damp skies and a chilling wind greeted the prime minister when he arrived Saturday night. But Vimy Ridge remains a place for stoicism and national pride.
"You have never been forgotten," "Trudeau told a half-dozen representatives of veterans' organizations following a wreath laying in the small cemetery on the memorial's grounds.
"From the very bottom of our hearts, thank you."
Vimy Ridge today – the place where canadian soldiers forged a national identity by fighting together for the first time under their own command.
The words of the English translation of the description of their accomplishments in a succinct, understated style: "The Canadian Corps on the 9th of April, 1917, with four divisions in front of four miles, attacked and captured this ridge."
Prime Minister Trudeau, O'Regan and Canada's ambassador to France, Isabelle Hudon, presents representatives from veterans' organizations and young people who will take part in the competition during their visit to the Vimy Memorial on Saturday. (Adrian Wyld / Canadian Press)
Canada's ambassador to France, Isabelle Hudon, said it's important to keep the memory of a "generation of extraordinary citizens" alive, honoring the sacrifices made both on the battlefield and at home.
"These brave men and women have always stood up for Canada," she said. "Now it's our turn to stand up for them."
Veterans Affairs Minister Seamus O'Regan called the battle at Vimy, about two hours south of Paris near the city of Arras, the "battle that helped end the war," after months of devastating and brutal trench warfare against the Germans.
"The price, though, was staggering," he said, "meters away from grave markers of young Canadian soldiers, some of whose remains are buried unidentified.
Values forged in battle
In his speech to the small gathering of a few dignitaries and invited guests, O'Regan said reading the letters of the First World War is a reminder of what they sacrificed "greatly and knowingly" to help build a better future for their young country .
"Now we are free to choose our country's race," the minister said, "drawing a line from the values that propel the soldiers to the freedoms Canadians enjoy today.
"We must remember the lesson of these conflicts: That freedom is not easy. "To remember those lessons is to remember those who fight these battles and who fight them still."
O'Regan and Hudon joined the Trudeau Indigenous ceremony during their wreath laying. First nations and women are among the half-dozen who make the prime minister and attend the minister's visit.
(CBC)
Keith Williamson described how he believes in the third generation to serve. He spent about 25 years in the reserves and regular forces, his father fought in the Second World War, and he believes in grandfather he never puts fought with the Royal Navy in the First World War.
He said it was an honor to be part of the armistice event at Vimy.
"It was the first major battle that Canada was in," he said. "We had a tremendous loss of life … Canada became a country, as it were."
A small group of young people were also included in Saturday's commemoration.
Pascal Morimanno, 16, was chosen to wait for his family's story in an essay competition. His great-grandfather fought for the British side in the final 100 days leading up to the armistice, including at the Battle of the Somme.
He told reporters it was not lost on him that some of the grave markers at Vimy remember soldiers around when they were killed on that Easter Monday in 1917.
Vimy Oaks now planted on site
On the way to the hilltop monument, Trudeau stopped at a small grove of oak saplings, part of recent efforts to replace the original oak trees on the battlefield site with young trees originating in Canada.
In the battle's aftermath, Canadian soldier Leslie Miller plucked a handful of acorns and feels them home to Toronto, where they grew into strong trees. Now volunteers are using the Canadian trees to regenerate the trees on the memorial grounds in France.
There are now 100 saplings for the 1.6-hectare park, to coincide with the centenary. They're planted in four concentric rings, one for each of the Canadian divisions that fought the famous battle.
Atop the ridge, the Canadian Armed Forces, Canada and the United States. The rain held off as a soloist blood O Canada and The Marseillaise, the French national anthem.
It was off to Paris for the prime minister and other dignitaries representing Canada at the international commemoration set to take over the heart of the city on Sunday, the 100th anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the war.
Saturday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting a private tour and dinner at the Museum of Orsay for some of the 60 world leaders expected to be in attendance, representing countries that fought on both sides of the world. to end all wars.
