COLUMN: Remembrance Day with a dual meaning

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Rick Boon reflects on his first Remembrance Day without his father, well-known Second World War veteran Art Boon

Author of the article:

Rick Boon, Special to The Beacon Herald,  Guest column

Published Nov 10, 2023  •  6 minute read

Second World War veteran Arthur Boon and his son, Rick Boon, are shown at the Stratford cenotaph during Remembrance Day services. (Submitted photo)

Over the years, I have written and spoken about the importance for all of us to carry the torch handed to us by the brave Canadians who fought for our freedom today.

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The hopes of each of these soldiers, sailors and airmen after the battles were over was that their efforts never be forgotten. That is why we gather at the cenotaphs throughout our communities each Nov. 11.

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I have been front and centre for 58 of my 59 years on this planet (I was forced to miss one service because of a university mid-term), standing proudly at the Stratford Cenotaph.

This year, though, Remembrance Day takes on a double meaning for me and so many other people who knew my father, Chief Warrant Officer A.H. Boon, MMM, SB. St.J. CD, CLH.

My father’s passing on March 12, 2023, brought sorrow to all who knew him here in Stratford, throughout other centres in Ontario, and as far away as Friesland in the Netherlands. When you listen to others speak of him, the conversation revolves around his ability to represent all that is good about Canadian veterans who gave up so much for our freedoms today.

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Since 1947, my father had been ever present at the cenotaph on Remembrance Day. He served every role that was asked of him with ultimate professionalism. In the late 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s, Arthur H. Boon proudly stood guard around the cenotaph at the services that were held in driving winds, cold rain or even blowing snow. Later, in the 1970s, my father was the guard commander who led the guard to and from the cenotaph during the service.

Upon his official retirement from the military in 1980, he assumed the position of parade commander, leading the remaining veterans on parade to the cenotaph. When my father’s marching days were over when he was in his 80s, he took on the responsibility of organizing and delivering the Remembrance Day service we attend each Nov. 11.

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He relied heavily on a number of very important legion members and others to assist him in making sure all of the details were in place for this very special day.

For the last 10 years, I have worked with him in the planning stages and, for the last five years, I have proudly stood by his side at the podium through all kinds of ever-changing weather on Remembrance Day.

For close to 75 years, Arthur H. Boon was the face and voice of the veterans in Stratford. When I close my eyes at the cenotaph, I can still hear his powerful, unmistakable voice giving out commands to theveterans on parade when I was a young boy. With all due respect to those who followed him in that role, no one’s voice caught the attention of those in attendance like my father’s voice. The clarity of the commands and the powerful tone was one of a kind.

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When he transitioned to the microphone at the podium, my father occasionally needed to be reminded that his voice level need not be as loud, but nevertheless, he prided himself on being professional.

My father’s absence from the podium now will be very, very difficult for myself and my family. I believe that, along with our family, generations of citizens from across Stratford will also feel that sense that something just is not right  – something is missing – and they would be correct.

Though my father was ever present on each Nov. 11 for the past 75 years, he rarely sought out the attention that was bestowed upon him from the newspapers, radio stations, and those who knew him personally. He was simply trying to represent his fallen comrades, friends and family members who gave their lives for our freedom today. He would often tell my students when he would visit my classroom each year that “onelife that is lost in a war is one too many, and that the peace we have today came at an extreme cost.”

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Arthur H. Boon never lost sight of that, nor could he “unsee” the horrible things he had endured during the Second World War. His drive to educate the youth of today about the wars was so important to him. For me personally, my experiences over the past 20 years of travelling back to the beaches of Normandy, Belgium, Friesland and other parts of the the Netherlands with my father, has fuelled my promise to continue to educate the youth and anyone who does not know how important it is to come to the cenotaph and pay their respects, if possible.

Chief Warrant Officer Arthur H. Boon (Submitted photo) jpg, SF, apsmc

As I continue to take on the role of Remembrance Day service chairman, I feel honoured and a little apprehensive. It is kind of like the first time when you take off your training wheels on your first bike. I will be at the podium without my father, but I know that he will be there in spirit and everything will go as planned, just like it always did in the past.

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People have jokingly said that I have big shoes to fill. These words have never been more true. I believe that a person like my father, and all he represented with regards to taking care of the veterans in Stratford, the legion, Remembrance Day, and educating the youth in our schools on why we have this special day, can never be replaced.

With all of my heart and soul, I would never try to “replace” my father on Remembrance Day. That would be such a foolish and disrespectful act. My heart tells me that I must represent him proudly at the podium, plan all that needs to be planned with the help of many, many others and, most importantly, never forget, never stop teaching about, and never stop honouring those who came before us.

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For me personally, I can proudly remember coming to the service as a child in knee-deep snow or carrying an umbrella with my mother, brother and other friends. The sounds of the pipe band, the bugler and the marching feet on the pavement ring in my ears with the commands from my father to the guard. We would attentively pay attention to the entire service and then hurry up the hill to stand in front of the former Brown’s Menswear store to watch proudly as my father, and column after column of distinguished veterans – men from our community – marched by with their chests pumped out on their way down Erie Street to bedismissed in front of the formerlegion on St. Patrick Street.

The true connection to the actual experiences of why we gather each Nov. 11, for me, has passed with my father’s passing and all those honoured veterans before him. Those veterans who are still with us are getting fewer and fewer each year, so we need to collectively embrace every moment and every story with them.

My memories are very personal on Remembrance Day with regards to my father. I cherish all of them, but no more than last year, his last Remembrance Day, where I planned with him and stood proudly with him, not knowing that that would be his last one. Those moments are forever engraved in my heart, just as each person who witnessed him over their lives will remember him on Nov. 11 for their own reasons.

May my father, Arthur H. Boon, and all veterans, past and present, never be forgotten, now and forever for what we enjoy today – our freedom!

Lest we forget.

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