Last Sunday I sang during a poignant vigil at Vimy Ridge, France. As the sun set, graves stones were lit and we gathered to remember the fallen in the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917 was the first battle in which all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together. The large number of Canadian casualties mean that the battle has a significance place in modern Canadian history.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial at Vimy Ridge has become a place of pilgrimage. The graves remind us of the human cost of war. The forests around the cemeteries, which are riddled with explosives planted over one hundred years ago, remind us of the cost of war on non-human nature.

For more information about the memorial, please visit the Friends of the Canadian Vimy Monument website.