Brampton pays tribute to its own veterans to mark Remembrance Day

This Remembrance Day, the city of Brampton is letting its veterans sum up why the day carries so much importance.

"[It's] about remembering those who signed up and essentially wrote a cheque to say, 'I'm giving you everything. I'm giving you my life,'"said Sgt.Chris Banks.

The city partnered withthe Royal Canadian Legion to produce emotional videos of some of Brampton's military veterans telling their story. They released them this week on Brampton's YouTube channel.

"It's beautiful, it's touching, and it brings almost everybody who watches it to tears," Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey told CBC Toronto.

Sgt. Banks deployed to Bosnia at age 21 as a peacekeeper with theLorne Scots Regiment. Five years later, hedeployed to Afghanistan as a machine gunner.

In the video, Banks said when it comes time to tell his daughter about his service, he wants to be honest but also not to tell her too much. He doesn't talk about combat, he said. There are things he hasn't even told his wife.

Banks was also candid about his return from Afghanistan.

"I came home and I crawled into a bottle," he said. "I stayed there for about 18 months."

He found his native Brampton too quiet, he said. He was always on edge. It was difficult to interact with people, and he couldn't sleep.

But something else was different, too the way he thought about Nov. 11.

"When I got back from Afghanistan, Remembrance Day was really hard for me. All I could think about was people I actually knew. That's what changes I knew some of the guys who didn't come home."

The city has also hung banners on lamp posts along the Main Street corridor with photos of the veterans, and the words, "Lest we Forget."

"They put a face and a personand a name to something that many people just can't connect with," Jeffrey said. "It's really important we keep the memories aliveto speakabout that sacrificebecause we still have many of our veterans walking the streets. It's important to say thankyou and to educate our young people."

Decades of service

The veterans who shared their stories in the video series range widely in age.The common threads that emerge, though, are tales of overcoming fearand loss.

Colonel EdwardConoversaid on Remembrance Dayhethinks about the people he knows who didn't make it back from the Second World War. His brother is one of them.

Still, he considers himself lucky despite losinga heel after stepping on a landmine.

"Eighteen guys in my platoon that day lost their legs," Conover said.

For many who have served, one of the most difficult parts is coming home.Captain StewartDalzieljoined the Lorne Scots, and said after a tour in Afghanistan, he's "still adapting" to life back in Canada.

"I came home in 2007, so that's 10 years ago. I still see people to help me through it," Dalziel said.

"I've lost some good friends that came home and couldn't make it."

For him, Remembrance Day is for those friends he's lost. It's an obligation for Canadians to remember the sacrifice so many veterans have made, he said.

Pilot Officer BillBurrellchoked up in the video.

"I'm really honoured when the kids come out and want to shake my hand and say, 'Thank you for what you did.'"

The city of Brampton and the Royal Canadian Legion have two events planned for Remembrance Day. There is a sunrise service atMeadowvaleCemetery Chapel starting at 7:55 a.m.

There will also be a parade and service of remembrance starting at 10:55 a.m.atthe cenotaph atKenWhillansSquare.