Dan Morris: A salute to the heroes we must always remember

Sombrely and with humility, this weekend we will stop and rightly bow our heads in thanks to the sacrifices of generations of our Armed Forces personnel with Remembrance Sunday. Across the UK, parades and commemorations will honour the fallen heroes to whom we owe the preservation of our way of life, our freedom and our future. It is an occasion that deserves nothing less than universal respect, acknowledgement and gratitude.

I vividly remember my first Remembrance Sunday parade. I was five years old, and part of a troupe of primary schoolers proudly wearing our poppies as we stood outside our local church. As a brass band played and veterans and local dignitaries marched past us, I remember experiencing a ‘universal mood’ for the first time – sadness and reflection, but above all, pride.

In the 33 years since I have done my best to attend the same parade each November, and my heart has been warmed at the sight of many of the same faces from that first outing doing the same.

It is something I will do my utmost to do until the day I die, because some things, quite simply, should always be remembered.

When I was 17, I was busy choosing which iPod to buy. When my grandfather was 17, he was fighting for King and country.

By the time he was 21 he had experienced more horrors than anyone should have to endure or witness in a lifetime, and like many veterans of his era, he seldom spoke a word of them in all of the decades that followed.

What was asked of him and all those by his side was something that should never have to have been asked. But he paid that price gladly, knowing that the greatest wonders of the world – choice, liberty and human rights – were worth nothing if we were to let bullies take them from us.

Generations both before and since have fought for the same values, and this Remembrance Sunday we must recognise that those values should continue to be fought for whenever they are threatened.

An old friend of mine has been a serving Royal Marine since he was 18 years old. As the slogan goes, ‘99.99 per cent need not apply’, and he has certainly always been made of the strong 0.01 per cent stuff that the branch demands.

He is about to become a father, and I’m sure he will forgive me for publicly congratulating him here on that one. But above that, I will say the same thing I’ve said to him on countless occasions. Thank you for going – it has meant that I have never had to, and that my own child can grow up in a world where her ambitions are untethered, her welfare is assured, and her sacrosanct freedom is preserved.

As Christmas approaches, we are reminded by charities including the Salvation Army of how many of our citizens will be spending Yuletide sleeping on the streets. 

I feel a particular pang of disgust and shame when I think of how many of these unfortunate individuals may be veterans who have given their best years precisely to ensure that the rest of us can enjoy such paltry pleasures (no pun intended) as a turkey dinner.

More needs to be done to support our ex-service people, and in this regard, Ms Reeves better shape up soon. For years, charitable organisations such as the Royal British Legion and Help For Heroes have done wonders in highlighting the plight often faced by veterans, and have worked miracles in raising funds to help them have the life they have earned a hundred times over. But it should not be for them to have to lead this charge. As soon as my daughter is old and patient enough, she’ll be joining me for our local Remembrance parade, and I hope that attending it is something she keeps up long after I am dust. As I look into her eyes while writing, I would be proud if she were ever to choose a military career, but precisely because of the freedoms our brave men and women in the Armed Forces have fought for, I’m even more proud that that choice will always be hers.

More than anything, on her behalf (and once again on mine), I will sign off this week by saying thank you to those who have given themselves to protecting us, and to those who still do. We owe you everything, and that is something that must never be forgotten.