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UNSUNG HEROES

© Mary M. Alward

Though Canada's history didn't seem to have the same conflict as that of the United States, we still have our heroes. Sir John A. MacDonald, the Voyageurs of Canada's earliest days, Laura Secord for her part in the War of 1812 and Louis Riel are all truly Canadian heroes. Along with these we have Marilyn Bell who swam Lake Ontario at the age of sixteen, Terry Fox, an amputee, who ran across six provinces to raise money for cancer and Wayne Gretzky of NHL fame.

Children have their heroes. I was a baby boomer and my generation was no exception. When I was young, there was no television. Our heroes came from books and numerous radio programs. I can still go on an adventure in a good book and sometimes miss such fictional radio personalities as "The Shadow." Then, when I was about ten, my father was able to afford a small television. Not the large cabinet models like in some homes, but one that stood on four legs. We thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world and from it, came more heroes. Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, GeneAutry and the Lone Ranger with his beautiful horse, Silver, along with his sidekick Tonto, who was born not far from my childhood home. These were the heroes of the baby boomer era and they came with the introduction of television to Canada.

The people I have mentioned here became heroes in one of two ways. They either went down in history for some great thing they had contributed to our country, or they were fictional characters of radio and television. Before television and radio, books supplied heroes of the day. RobinHood, Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Black Beauty and Little Women are just a few of the classics that carried us away to a different era.

There are many heroes who are never given their dues. What of the heroic acts that are performed every day in the line of duty or by responsible citizens? Are these heroes not as important as those of bygone days, books, radio and TV? The heroes I am speaking of are Canada's unsung heroes. Here, I would like to pay tribute to the police officer's who have laid down their lives in the line of duty, while attempting to make Canada a safer place to live and raise our children and grandchildren. Many of them have left behind mothers, fathers, wives and small children who will always grieve for what might have been.

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