I remember when she first asked me, “Why do we remember?”

I just looked at her, smiled and said “Well, we remember to commemorate the fallen, honour the brave and fight for there legacy to live on in our hearts.

Then she said “But what did they do?”

Now that was my favourite question. I answered, “Well they did many things. They did what a lot were afraid to do. They fought for our freedom. They were there for war torn families and more.”

“More? What more?” Just then it hit me. This little one had no idea. So, I sat her down and explained. I told her of the brave young men and women who put their lives on the line and fought, not just for our country, but for all countries to have peace and freedom.

“So, why do we wear a poppy?” She asked as she looked up at me.

I said to her, “A lot of the solders died at war. We wear the poppy to show that we will never forget the people who survived and died at war.”
“But, why on November 11th? Why not every day?”

“Well.” I said wondering myself. My only answer was, “That’s the day the countries all signed a paper saying they would stop their fighting.
Then she looked at me with tears in her eyes and asked, “Then why did my Daddy have to go and fight today?”

What do you say to a five year old girl whose father has gone off to war? I looked in her eyes and said “Well Sweetie, I know your daddy loves you very much. He is there fighting for you and everyone else to be safe.”

The next time I saw her was on the highway of heroes, with tears rolling down her cheeks. I thought of what she said to me. I walked over, knelt down beside her and said with my hand over my poppy “This is why we remember.”