The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Poem honours veterans who made sacrifices for peace and freedom continued from p.10 occupied Normandy. The Canadians faced fierce resistance from the German defenders with 359 Canadians killed on D-Day and 5,500 killed during the ensuing Battle of Normandy. Ethan's poem reflects on the sacrifices made by so many. "A memory wall clearly inscribes all the names of those who fell; Abandoned trenches, if they could talk, the stories they would tell," the poem reads. "I reflect upon my own warm bed, my friends and the comforts that I keep; Their grave reward was a life cut short and a long eternal sleep." The poem ends with Ethan speaking with a Canadian Second World War veteran, who asks Ethan to tell others about what he has seen at Juno Beach before shaking Ethan's hand. Inspired by the experience, Ethan spent the next few weeks writing his poem and then entered it in the Royal Canadian Legion's 2016 Remembrance Contest. The annual national contest is open to all Canadian students and intended to foster remembrance of Canada's soldiers by giving young people the opportunity to create posters, essays and poems relevant to that theme. The Legion received more than 47,000 entries from Ontario students alone for the 2015 contest. Ethan's poem was the winner of the intermediate contest (Grades 7-9) at the district level and intermediate winner at the provincial level. On Monday (April 18), Ethan was invited to a ceremony at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 486, Bronte to receive the Ontario Command Medal and recited his poem to those present. "I was very happy to receive my award," said Ethan. "I was inspired to write the poem after visiting Juno Beach. It is a thank-you and a tribute to all Canadians past and present, who work hard to maintain peace." Bronte Legion Vice-President Ed Charlebois said this was the first Ontario Command medal he has ever handed out. He called Ethan's poem beautiful and spoke about the importance of these types of contests. "We need to remember and keep our kids right there with it all," said Charlebois. "Children are sympathetic to almost anything. Not only do we need to sell children on things like the importance of the environment, but the fact that there are people among them who have had to suffer a lot to give them what they have today." To see some past Remembrance Contest entries visit www.legion.ca/youth. Ethan's poem can be viewed on p.12 of today's edition and at insidehalton.com/ oakville-on. 13 | Friday, April 22, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com only AIRE ONE MADNEss sAlE! HIGH EFFICIENCY FURNACE & CENTRAL AIR $ * 3990 Or * $ Call for details 59 /mth OAC* AIR CONDITIONER DIAGNOSTIC SPECIAL AR REGUL $ $99.00 www. . HEATING & COOLING .com 49 PACKAGE INCLUDES: · 95.5 % High Efficiency Gas Furnace · High Efficiency Central Air R410A Refrigerant ·10 Year Factory Warranty · Limited Time Offer Because family matters Oakview Funeral Home has been serving the Oakville community for over 30 years. We will assist your family in creating a highly personalized service to suit your taste and budget. Oakview Funeral Home serves one family at a time and offers competitive prices and superior service. 95.5% EFF. receive up to iN i.e.S.o. & GAS coMpANY reBAteS* $1500 Call Robert Csele for your FREE planning kit today: LIMITED TIME ONLY! Must Present Coupon. Cannot be Combined with other offers. 905-842-2252 by Arbor Memorial Arbor Memorial Inc. Look for us on Facebook Visit www.oakviewfuneral.ca for a virtual tour of our funeral home. Oakview Funeral Home 56 Lakeshore Road, W., Oakville Family Owned. Proudly Canadian. Over 120,000 satisfied custOmers 9 Locations to serve you better oaKviLLe (905) 849-4998 DIRECTBUY MEMBERSHIP OFFERS SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST INCREDIBLE SAVINGS! We combine unbeatable product knowledge, design know-how and customer support, product-savvy specialists, trusted designers and shopping consultants to deliver the right styles for the right price - Guaranteed! DirectBuy is a savings club that provides members a tremendous opportunity to save on merchandise they purchase through us. We now offer the DirectBuy Savings Guarantee! What are you waiting for? ACCREDITED BUSINESS BBB MISSISSAUGA Visit mississauga.directbuy.com Call (905) 608 9244 COME IN TODAY TO LEARN ABOUT OUR NEW MEMBERSHIP OPTIONS!