“We are here to remember, we are here to show respect, we are here to recognise the sacrifices of those whose names are emblazoned behind me on this beautiful memorial.” Paula A. Cox, Premier of Bermuda, December 12, 2010.“Almighty God, we remember before you those who have served in the two World Wars that we might know peace; and we honour them with gratitude.” The Right Rev Dr Patrick G.H. White, Bishop, the Anglican Diocese of Bermuda.My father, Cecil Edward Harris, of sewing machine fame (at least to half of the population of earlier years), has missed the last seven Christmases, not that any of us have a decreed allotment to even one. He embarked for the great battlefield in the heavens seven years ago, although hopefully it is more like a perpetual peace summit amongst all nations and peoples. Like several thousand Bermudian women and men, he served in the Second World War (193945), in his case at Prospect Camp in the Royal Army Supply Corp, and is therefore named on the new War Memorial, which was dedicated on the grounds of the Cabinet Office on December 12, 2010 by the Commander-in-Chief, the Governor Sir Richard Gozney, and the Hon. Paul A. Cox, JP, MP, the Premier of Bermuda, and other dignitaries.As such, he falls into a category of persons so defined in our neighbour's context as: A veteran is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank cheque made payable to “The United States of America”, for an amount of “up to and including my life”. As we have seen in the present Middle East conflicts, “up to” now includes veterans with missing limbs and various ailments that cannot make for a very Merry Christmas, except that one is still alive to eat a bit of turkey. The Second World War spanned six Christmases, some of which were occasions for considerable sadness for many, as the roll call of veterans lost in action or passing away by other causes while on active duty at home or overseas mounted into the millions.My father was lucky, as his cheque bounced if you will, and he was not sent into a deadly hail of bullets on some overseas front, nor met his Maker from a bout of pneumonia, while driving officers about the island for nighttime sorties of a civilian sort. His father (my grandfather William Sydney Harris, Royal Fusiliers) was not so fortunate, as he emerged from the First World War with a steel plate in his head, there inserted to protect his brain after a shell removed part of the bone of his skull. The doctors warned my Granny Whitecross that he might become unstable and as I understand it, he took his own life some years after the conflict, “another victim of the War”, as my father used to say, when on rare occasions he would talk about the past at all.The family lost three of my Whitecross cousins in the two world wars overseas, so my brother Andrew and I took our seats at the Dedication Ceremony for the War Memorial for all Bermuda veterans of those conflicts in the seats reserved for “families of veterans”. We did so with pride for our family's sacrifices in those wars, but also with gratitude for the Bermuda Government and in particular, Derrick Burgess, the Minister for Public Works, for bringing this Memorial with “names emblazoned” into being.While late in the day for a multitude of veterans, the concept arose with the Bermuda Government to have a monument that would record, as much as possible, the names of all Bermudians who served in the two world wars. At this late date, 65 years after the end of the Second and 92 years after the end of the First World War, such a compilation was a herculean task, as contrary to some suggestions, the official records for all sectors of the Bermuda forces, are extremely incomplete. This situation is something of a national disgrace, but the coming of the Memorial has helped somewhat to put the matter into the archives of military history, to give credit where it is long overdue. The National Museum of Bermuda had started a database some years ago and this was turned over to Government for amplification for the War Memorial list of the names of veterans.The person responsible for expanding that record to over 2,500 names was Cpl Carol Everson of the Bermuda Regiment, to whom we as Bermudians are much indebted. The list cannot claim perhaps to be complete for the chaos of war and the upheaval of ensuing peace, plus the passage of nearly a century in the case of the First World War, means that some people will have been lost to history, particular if there were no descendants to take an interest and register their claim. That unfortunately is the way of history, which is nowhere more poignantly expressed than on the gravestone of a Bermudian in a graveyard in Europe, which states “believed to be the remains of”.In the two world wars, some 115 Bermudians died on duty overseas, while Cpl. Everson has added a number more who died while in service locally. At this time of year, as 2010 draws to a windy and chilly end, one might spare a minute or two to reflect on their relatives of the day for whom Christmas was anything but a merry celebration. Those veteran's cheques were deposited for full value and we all owe them much, both families and their dearly departed, for their ultimate investments in the causes for freedom and democracy in peace.The international scope of the Bermudian sacrifices can be illustrated by the places where our people are to be found in cemeteries maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Belgium, Canada, Egypt, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Libya, Malta, Singapore, The Netherlands, Timor, Tunisia and Turkey. Several went down with their ships and several have graves unknown: all a long way from home at Christmastide.Edward Cecil Harris, MBE, JP, PhD, FSA is Executive Director of the National Museum of Bermuda, incorporating the Bermuda Maritime Museum. Comments may be made to director[AT]bmm.bm or 704-5480