LaSalle's Martha Renaud pens Vimy Ridge heroes song
Son's visit to Vimy last fall inspires songwriter to write 'Lest Ye Forget'
Looking at photos of her son during his visit to Vimy Ridge, folk artist Martha Renaud was inspired to pen a song honouring the hero soldiers who died in the bloody WWI battle.
Renaud's son Peter was stationed in Poland last year as part of the armed forces NATO deployment. While there, he visited the Vimy Ridge memorial in France on Remembrance Day.
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The song Lest Ye Forget is written from the perspective of a ghost of a soldier, who died in the fight, overlooking her son and his company that Remembrance Day.
"They were young, just like my son," Renaud said of the men who died in battle.
The song will be released on an album this summer, but the video for the track is already online. In the video, Renaud plays guitar, sings and — through video magic — plays the penny whistle.
She also wears the beret her father wore during WWII. Pictures of her son Peter, who is currently serving with Princess Patricia's Light Infantry in Edmonton, are also included as well as WWI archival footage.
More than 3,500 Canadian died at Vimy and there were more than 10,000 casualties.
"That's not lost on me especially having a son that's in the military, who could have his life on the line as well," Reaud said.
She hopes the video and song will help everyone remember the sacrifices made by Canadians on April 9, 1917.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge on Sunday, April 9, CBC News will broadcast a live special hosted by Peter Mansbridge starting at 9 a.m. Eastern Time from the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.
Watch it on CBC TV, CBC News Network and Livestreamed on cbcnews.ca., or listen to our special on CBC Radio One hosted by Susan Bonner. Tune in at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.