Mission Statement

The Windsor Historical Society - Veterans' Memories Project was created in 2002 to remember, honour and thank our Veterans. We thank those who are with us today, those who have gone before us, and those whose lives were sacrificed during war and peace-keeping missions so that Canada would remain strong and free. Our Veterans acts of courage, valour and patriotism are renowned and celebrated throughout the world, and it has become the mission of Windsor Historical Society - Veterans' Memories Project to build bridges of understanding and appreciation for our Veterans right here in the Windsor area, just as they are celebrated globally in Holland, England, France, Italy and Belgium. We begin building these bridges of understanding with today's youth and new Canadians.

Education

 

The Veterans' Memories Project is an interactive educational resource tool that preserves the stories of Veterans, introduces their experiences to audiences of all ages, educates society about the nature of warfare and encourages choosing non-violent means of conflict resolution at every level of social interaction. This serves to benefit families and future generations by providing online resource archives and audio/visual presentations. To date the Society has collected over sixty video interviews and several more stories which appear on the Our Veterans pages and in the Photo/Video Gallery of our website.

Veterans' Speak to Students Project has multiple Veterans from all branches of  the service and from all theaters of war and peace-keeping missions speaking briefly, one after another to the students at their assemblies. These presentations are filmed and sent to every school board in Canada. It is a source for educators across our country to inform our youth about our Veterans' contributions in making Canada safe, free from tyranny and one of the most desirable countries in the world in which to live.

Another part of our education program is to arrange for Veterans to be in attendance at the citizenship ceremonies to welcome new Canadians to Canada. Veterans inform new Canadians of Canada's history and the successes made possible through Veterans' achievements. They describe the significance of our November 11th ceremonies at the Windsor Cenotaph and urge new Canadians to attend every year.

Veterans Appreciation Day - Veterans Day Magazine

 

The Windsor Historical Society's day to day operations are managed by a corps of talented and enthusiastic volunteers. It is a not for profit, charitable organization that relies on donations from sponsors and advertising in our annual publication of Veterans Day Magazine.

 

Our signature function is the Annual November 11th Veterans Appreciation Day where every Veteran attending is treated, at no cost to them, to dinner, entertainment, gifts, prizes and, most of all, camaraderie. It's where old warriors are young again, in the company of others. Everything is free for Veterans. Every year we entertain capacity crowds of 700 Veterans, their families and  care-givers, and local supporters.  This is the only place in Canada where Veterans' receive this wonderful, well deserved treatment. Our very special Veterans Appreciation Day is made possible every year by tremendous community support with generous contributions from Windsor area businesses, labourers, professionals and associations. It is rare indeed that, when approached, anyone would not want to honour and pay tribute to our Veterans' on their most special day.

The Society is supportive of Canadian Historical Aircraft Association (CH2A), The Military Muster at The Canadian Transportation Museum, The Windsor International Air Show, Royal Canadian Legions, Windsor Veterans' Memorial Services Committee, The Memory Project of the Dominion Institute and all other Veterans associations. A Veterans' voice is a legacy. Take the time to listen to Veterans speak; to warmly shake a Veterans' hand and above all, to make Veterans a part of an everyday learning experience by taking an active role in remembrance. Our Veterans are to be gratefully thanked time and time again, not only for sharing their memories, for speaking on the history of military service, for taking an active role in helping society to develop a deeper understanding of the sacrifices and achievements but foremost, for their courage and valour so that we may enjoy freedom shared.

 

We Will Remember Them.