They're hidden in dusty drawers or tucked away in attics: mementos by which we remember the service of our loved ones.
Maybe it's a photo of your grandfather in uniform, or your father's medal or a letter from your mother away overseas.
This Remembrance Day, The Huffington Post Canada is collecting your memories of loved ones who have served Canada in uniform. Send us portraits, or pictures of mementos or anything else that helps you remember the sacrifices they made. Include a short story or explanation. We'll compile your submissions and publish a story that pays tribute to their service.
You can send us your photos and stories by email, on Facebook or on Twitter with the hashtag #HowWeRemember.
Here are a few examples from some of HuffPost Canada's journalists.
From Michael Bolen
This is my grandfather, Michael "Jim" Redmond. I am named after him. He landed in Normandy soon after D-Day and fought in France and the Netherlands. This is a letter he wrote a little more than a week before the invasion, telling his sister about being reviewed by General Eisenhower. We found the letter in her house after she passed away. She kept it boxed with my grandfather's uniform, preserved like a message in a bottle, so we could remember.
From Rebecca Zamon
Pictured here is my grandfather, Fred Chapnick, and my grandmother, Estelle, on their wedding day, Dec. 6, 1942. My grandfather was a private in the army, stationed in Nanaimo, B.C. and was given a weekend pass to go home and get married -- and then immediately come back. For the rest of the war, my grandmother travelled by train from Toronto to B.C. every few months to visit him.
From Jesse Ferreras (via his mother)
His name was Dempster John Miller, but he was called John. He was born in West Lorne, Ont. in 1918. He enlisted in the army in 1939 at age 21. He was stationed in Holland and was a member of the Canadian forces that liberated the Netherlands.
I don’t know much about what he did, but I remember my mother talking about the fact that he worked in communications and rode a motorcycle, so perhaps in those days he carried messages back and forth. Many of the vets didn’t talk much about their experiences.
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