Under billowing clouds of an August day in northern France, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial looms over the ridge where Canadian soldiers carved the country its rightful place in the world. Its walls bear the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers killed in France but whose remains were never identified. [Stephen J. Thorne/LM]

Vimy today: A photoessay

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

As far as war monuments go, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial is widely regarded to be among the most magnificent, if not the most.

It is set on the ridge where all four Canadian divisions—100,000 troops—fought together for the first time, won a great victory, and thus staked their country’s place at the table and in the world.

Surrounded by battle-scarred field and forest where trenchworks and shell craters still disfigure the landscape and live ordnance renders much of it impassable, the memorial looms over the Douai Plains of northern France.

READ MORE

More from Front Lines

• 60 pictures: Battle sites, cemeteries and monuments of WW I
• Up! 100 images of the Legion National Youth Track & Field Championships (Part 2)
• 100 images (Part 1): Legion Nationals produce record-breaking performances

Retired corporal Kate MacEachern takes a break at Kate’s Café in Ballantynes Cove, N.S.

[Annie Bowers]

Canadian veteran talks service at home and in Ukraine

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

Retired corporal Kate MacEachern understands the true meaning of service. To the Ballantynes Cove, N.S., native, it meant joining the Canadian Armed Forces in 2005, training as a tanker with Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) until an accident left her with critical head and spinal cord injuries that transformed her military career. Her service, however, continued through to her medical release in 2014, although not even discharge papers could end her dedication to the uniform.

MacEachern has since carried out three charitable walks across large swaths of the country, amounting to more than 5,000 kilometres trekked—all to raise awareness of post-traumatic stress, something she has dealt with herself. In doing so, she has also collected over $100,000 for various military charities and similar institutions.

READ MORE

More from The Briefing

• Persian Gulf War veterans’ fight for “past due” recognition
• An armchair tour of the Naval Museum of Halifax
• Historian David O’Keefe on a suspicious WW II aircrew loss

Member Benefit Partner

Learn More