The Myths and the Military
A collaboration with Memory Project Remembrance Day Speakers
Veteran Tony Keene will explore what we think about our role in the war and peace, and the reality.
As Canada marks 100th anniversaries of events in the First World War, retired major Tony Keene of Oro Station believes it is time to debunk some of the myths which influence our thinking. He also believes it is time for a re-boot of how we mark Remembrance Day.
“A century after that conflict, we are still using the same outdated, maudlin and false Victorian-Edwardian format,” he says. “I believe that in the 21st Century, Canadians should think of their veterans and fallen soldiers in the clear light of reality, not through a rosy filter of myth and sentiment.”
A veteran soldier, journalist, writer and broadcaster, Keene has travelled the world, writing for international magazines in the military history, aerospace and maritime affairs fields. From Hong Kong to the Balkans, from Port-au-Prince to the ravaged streets of Kigali, he has written and reported on both the historical aspects of Canada’s conflicts, and their modern-day effects.
“In recent years we have substituted jingoism, Red Shirt Fridays, yellow ribbons and false perceptions to cloud our thinking about war, peacekeeping and the military. It’s time to hit the reset button.”
Does “In Flanders Fields” exemplify the way Canadians should look at war and sacrifice? Is “The Book of John” really relevant on Remembrance Day? Does “O Valiant Hearts” reflect the way we should think about our fallen?
Tony Keene doesn’t think so.
About the presenter
When Tony Keene was in school, and was asked what he wanted as a career, he often answered “Either a reporter or a soldier.”
One day in 1967, he began both. Starting work as a trainee city-side reporter with the Barrie Examiner, about 12 hours later he walked into the Barrie Armoury as a brand-new acting second-lieutenant in The Grey and Simcoe Foresters.
Since then, his two careers have merged until, upon retirement from the Forces in 2007, Tony had become a professional Public Affairs officer, and world-travelled journalist for magazines, newspapers and broadcast, specializing in feature writing in the maritime, aerospace, defence and veterans affairs fields.
He is the author of “The Ship that Voted No”, an anthology of Canadian naval and maritime stories for young readers.
During his career in the Forces he performed many periods of full-time service, taking part in exercises and operations from Alert in Nunavut, to Haiti, Rwanda and the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. In 1997, he marked his 50th birthday on the first of four operational tours of duty in the Balkans. He did his last tour in 2004, and retired in 2007.
Since then, he has continued to write professionally as an Opinion columnist for the CBC.
His wife Dianne, who will also be in attendance, is a teacher, and served for more than three decades in the Forces, retiring in 2010 as commanding officer of 99 Lynx Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Cadets in Orillia. They live at Oro Station.
Downtown Branch
Our Downtown Branch is centrally located in the Downtown core at the corner of Worsley and Owen Streets. The building and facilities are fully accessible. Enjoy a beverage or a small snack from our Café located inside the lobby, use our complimentary wifi, experiment with technology and maker tools, or soak up the sun on our Rooftop Reading Garden.