Women should be honored for their service

Page 5

Dear Editor:

I am sure you are all pleased the governor general of Canada, Adrienne Clarkson, finally unveiled a bronze statue in recognition of all the Aboriginals who enlisted and served in two world wars and the Korean conflict, and served so well, although it should have been done at least 45 years ago.

Congratulations to Sam Sinclair and Chester Cunningham for never giving up in this endeavor until it was accomplished.

I hope you never think that you were the only group that was not recognized. The women who enlisted immediately in the navy, army and airforce and served well in so many branches have never been recognized either and many lost their lives while serving and our lives were certainly disrupted and changed considerably. The Department of National Defence has just published the "Anthology of Women's Experiences During World War II", and, as they themselves said, "it should have been written 45 years ago."

I should say too that out of the 59 women who told their stories in this anthology, only five came from Western Canada, which was not unexpected. From what I have read, those in Western Canada had a much better life too.

You may be interested that the RCAF (WD) celebrated another annual reunion here in Edmonton this weekend with more than 600 women registered from across Canada, New Zealand, Australia and England.

Lois Argue