A year ago today I was studying the art of war in Ancien Regime France, about the developments in military technology, the increasing efficiency of their use, and the development of a ‘modern’ military institution. I learned how weapons became more effective (read: destructive) and how war became an increasing part of state relations. I was shocked, at one point, to find myself  excited by what I was reading - because I realized what it was I was getting excited about. It is easy for historians, either professional or amateur, to forget the human aspect of war, but it is important to always keep that part of war in our mind. Without it, what is there? There is ideology, there are larger things at work like nation/group identity, feuds, land claims, but at the lowest level it is a human experience. Whether the soldier is drafted or volunteered, they made a decision to fight. Such a decision is all the more powerful when they believe in what they fight for.

On this day, November 11 - Remembrance Day in Canada - we must remember this part of war. We must not simply glorify war and its tools, but recognize their precarious power for good and evil that they have. To those who fought, who are fighting, and who will fight for causes they believe in, SITE O Canada’s thoughts are with you

- - - - JGM