Noah Richler (How Inconvenient The Veterans' Wishes Are To Our Mythology - Feb. 24) includes the Historica-Dominion Institute among the "propagandists" who have proposed a state funeral for John Babcock, the last known surviving Canadian veteran of the First World War. He says Mr. Babcock, who did not fight, "felt that such a ceremony would, in its disproportion, dishonour those who did."
Mr. Richler is wrong. First, while we did propose a state funeral for Mr. Babcock, we said it was ultimately the decision of his family, which declined the government's offer. Second, Mr. Babcock said late in life he did not oppose a state funeral if it were less to honour him than the 600,000 Canadians who fought in Europe and the 60,000 who died.
Our purpose in drawing attention to Mr. Babcock's passing is not to romanticize his role or glorify his war. It is to offer a teachable moment to Canadians, for whom the Great War is ancient history, so they might have a better understanding of what it was, in all its horror, and what it meant to us as a nation. That is why we are calling for a national day of commemoration.
, president, Historica-Dominion Institute,