From Afghanistan to Flanders Fields: Why We Remember

At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the world promised peace.
What we received instead were poems written in blood—and generations who kept showing up anyway.

This is a Remembrance Day story told by someone who lived its echoes. From the mud of World War I and the torn skies of World War II, to the tarmac in Afghanistan where we carried our brothers home—this piece speaks to the cost of memory, the weight of sacrifice, and the names carved into stone because we asked them to go.

In this story, you’ll hear:

The first medic killed in combat since Korea: Cpl. Andrew James Eykelenboom

The 159 Canadians lost in Afghanistan

The 61,000 killed in WWI—including 14 nursing sisters aboard the HMHS Llandovery Castle

The 42,000 sacrifices of WWII

The reality of signing your life at eighteen and understanding it at twenty-three

“Our flag does not move in the wind—it moves with the last breaths of those who died defending it.”

If Remembrance Day means more than a moment of silence to you—share this. Let it be heard in classrooms, auditoriums, legions, and living rooms across Canada.

🩸 At the going down of the sun, and in the morning—we will remember them.
I will remember them.
Always.

📚 Love what you heard? There’s more.
I’m Matthew Heneghan — a former military and civilian medic, now a sober writer sharing raw stories about trauma, grief, addiction, and healing.
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A Medic’s Mind: https://a.co/d/fyBwpo1
Woven in War: https://a.co/d/6DlWdg6
Life After Loss: Reflections on Moments of Grace and Courage in Grief: https://a.co/d/2U4zSG4
Dream: Tales from the Pikes Peak Writers: https://a.co/d/cbi7A9n
Brainstorm Revolution: True mental health stories of love, personal evolution, and cultural revolution: https://a.co/d/gatLrby
A Version of Me: Askew's Word on the Lake Anthology 2024: https://a.co/d/iEON2Rw

🌐 Visit: www.amedicsmind.com
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Because the next chapter is still unwritten — and you don’t have to write it alone.

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