"The Forgotten Ones"

As a surveyor for the past two years, it has been my great fortune to visit many of our precious WWII Veterans in Long Term Care facilities on Vancouver Island. I use the word precious, because the word describes something of ‘great worth’. They are precious as well, because there are fewer and fewer of them left for us to honour. These noble warriors from the past are living out their lives in care facilities across this island and are often “The Forgotten Ones”.

From my observations there are several categories of “Forgotten Ones”. There are Veterans who live in these facilities because they can no longer manage their lives without assistance or because their loved ones can no longer manage their care. They are the ones, who sit in their rooms, in their wheelchairs, by the front door of their ‘home’, waiting for visitors, (some wait in vain…).

There are the Veterans in secure areas of Care Facilities. The cognitively impaired are housed in secure areas for their own protection; this secure area is their home. You will see them, in their eighties, walking or shuffling down the hallways, some with constant smiles on their faces, some with vacant eyes staring straight ahead; others will tell you very detailed stories from their youth, but will forget you were there before you leave the facility.

Then there are the Spouses, also “Forgotten Ones”. They are just as precious as the husbands or wives to whom they waved goodbye as they boarded the ships and trains that took them away to war. They are the ones who have seen their best friends slowly become frail and in need of assistance (assistance the spouses can no longer give them). Spouses visit often. They care about their loved ones’ condition; they fret about their nutrition, medication, and comfort. They watch as their ‘best friend’ slowly fades away. Albert Schweitzer once said: “The tragedy of life…is what dies in a person while he/she is alive.”

It is sometimes difficult to prepare myself to visit the facilities; having seen the forgotten ones, and knowing what to expect when visiting their “homes”. When I enter their rooms, (these rooms are their homes), I see photos placed on walls and tables. These photos are of young men and women in uniform, laughing eyes, full of hope, ready for anything; a young sailor on board his ship, a young soldier cleaning a weapon, a young airman standing beside an aircraft, a young girl in uniform driving a vehicle, or a young nurse taking a soldier’s temperature. When I see loneliness in their eyes, confusion in their thoughts, the shuffle in their walk, I have but to look at those photos; the photos are my anchor, they bring life, youth and vigor back to the residents of the facility I am visiting. For a little while, for me at least, they are not the Forgotten Ones.

So, if you know a Veteran whose home is a Long Term Care facility, show him/her that you know they truly are precious. As living treasures, they need not be put away and forgotten.

Like treasures, they need to be seen, heard and loved. Visit them, listen to them, talk to them, and show them that you really care. Your reward may only be a smile but what a smile it will be!

JE Landry
Legion Surveyor