War and peace
Down by the river, not far from the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, a new home for the Canadian War Museum has been built. This low building seems partly buried under a grassed roof, but at one end, a great fin rises high, pointing directly east toward the Peace Tower.
The sun rises in the east too, and like a new day, peace brings a new beginning after the tragedy of war. But the War Museum helps us remember that peace comes at a price. Many soldiers died to defend the freedoms we enjoy today in Canada. On the great east fin of the new museum are windows positioned to spell out in Morse code the phrase “Lest we forget.”
This Morse code also appears along the top and bottom edges of a domestic rate (50¢) stamp Canada Post has issued for the opening of the War Museum’s new building. Because the museum speaks to survivors, the centrepiece of the stamp is the the Silver Cross medal given to wives and mothers of fallen soldiers. But you are in the stamp too, in the silhouetted figures of Canadians who may visit the museum to learn about the cost of war and the price of peace. |
