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Remembrance Day is a day when people around honour those who sacrifice to give freedom.
The day carries a lot of significance and Gregory Lutz, one of the unit-based chaplains at 17 Wing Winnipeg says, "One of my former units was based out of Windsor, ON. They were one of the units that did the Dieppe raid. I think there was about 90 per cent of the unit did not return that day."
Lutz says that it was one of the biggest losses in World War Two. "I remember going back there on Remembrance Day in 2017 and standing on the beach thinking it was overwhelming because of all those brave soldiers that gave their lives on that beach so that the allies could get a stronghold later in the war."
While the sacrifice that many men and women make can be overwhelming, Lutz says it's important to remember. "These people gave their lives. They left their families, they left their spouses behind so that we can be sitting here having this conversation. And I think as that generation starts to fade, it's important for us to remember and not to forget, even more so now."
Lutz says, "This generation can't fathom that because it's so far in the past that it's hard to remember that, you know, we do have the conflicts like Korea and Afghanistan and some of the conflicts we're having right now."
As Lutz is part of the Afghanistan campaign, he does something he never wants to do. "I did a lot of knocking on families, doors and telling their mothers that their child was not coming home. It's overwhelming.:
He admits that it still weighs on him. "I remember those faces and I wake up in the night and remember those times fondly and vividly when I told my mother once that their daughter was not coming home and she collapsed on the floor. The sacrifices that our troops face so that we can go and have a cup of coffee without repercussions."
Seeing what troops and their families go through is an important reminder for Lutz. "We can have freedom of religion in our country and not repercussions of what we say or do. I think that's important to remember because without knowing what the price of that freedom was, we take it for granted."
Lutz says the best way to honour the vets is by thanking them. "A lot of vets did not come home in the past, conflicts in war, but a lot of did and brought the war with them home, meaning that they're still struggling with the emotional impacts of their family life. The horrors and the tragedies that they went through, I think if you see a vet or soldier on the street, thank them for what they do."
As a chaplain, Lutz's role is to support them by providing spiritual care. "A lot of troops are struggling, especially when they're facing things that they normally wouldn't. So we're there to walk them through their faith journey, their spiritual journey. That means maybe talking about their faith or talking about what they want, what their spiritual health is. And that's working with other groups on the team."
No matter what they need, the team is there to help. "For mental health, for physical health, we all work together here to work on that. Our role is to support our members here, supporting their families. And being advisors to the chain of command to let them know, our troops are struggling or they're doing well or hear some things that we could really help our troops."