Captain Gordon Bennett was 18 years old when he joined the army to serve in the Korean War.
It was more of an adventure at the time than an attempt to be patriotic, he admits, as he wasn't even sure where Korea was.
"I had to look on a map to find out where it was," Bennett recalls.
"I joined in June and went to Korea in February."
Upon landing overseas, Bennett said he felt prepared by his training but it was clear he wasn't back home.
"It's hard to explain," Bennett said of trying to describe his service time with the Royal Canadian Regiment.
"It was very different, obviously, when we got there. We were all uncomfortable when it was cold and wet. We did a lot of patrolling. We did what we had to do, we were being soldiers."
The Remembrance Day ceremony in Galt on Monday morning gave Bennett time to reflect, both on his own experience and of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in all wars and conflicts.
"I look back and think about some of the friends that were killed in Korea," Bennett said.
"Korea has always been termed 'the forgotten war.' On the 27th of July, we go to the Korean War Memorial in Brampton and have a service there. Every year, there's fewer of us."
For Private Fred Wright, who served in the British Army, joining the armed forces was rooted in family.
His father served in the Navy in World War I and his older brother did the same during World War II.
In 1944, while serving in the Arctic escorting supplies being taken to northern Russia, his brother was killed when the ship he was on was sunk.
Born in 1937, Wright was just a child at the time and seeing people in uniform was the norm, he said.
Joining the army himself in 1959, it was after basic training he saw a sign in an office that read "duties of a hazardous nature." Undeterred, and in fact intrigued, he went in and volunteered to try and become a paratrooper.
Hundreds of soldiers volunteered for the unit but only around 20 per cent passed, Wright said.
He was one that made it through.
"I saw the paratroopers had a mountain rescue team and my hobby was climbing," Wright said.
"I thought this is great, I can do what I enjoy doing and get paid for it."
As he sat in the Galt legion reflecting on his service prior to the ceremony, vivid memories came to mind of all that's been lost.
"I remember my brother dying," he said.
"I was in a team of six guys and I remember a couple of them who didn't come back. Those are my personal memories as I stand at the cenotaph."
With a family history in the military, paying respect to veterans was expected of Wright and he now feels an obligation to make sure the next generation never forgets.
"We need to remember them and we have to get the kids to remember them," Wright said.
"I remember because my dad and uncles were all in the forces. They taught me and my generation. It's my generation's job to teach my grand kids, otherwise the memory won't be there."
Ian Holden retired as a corporal serving in Petawawa.
Like Wright, he was inspired to join the armed forces after several family members served before him.
To Holden, he feels an immense sense of pride when thinking of those who serve and hopes the community understands the real life impacts of war.
"I'm proud of everyone that's served," he said.
"A friend of mine was killed in Afghanistan. It was hard. I heard about it and then he was on TV. It's not like the movies, people need to understand that."
Holden agrees with Wright about making sure the younger generation is educated about how important Remembrance Day is. Often times, a simple acknowledgement can go a long way, he said.
"Talk to a veteran," he said.
"Just go up and say thank you for your service and your sacrifice. It means a lot. Talk to them and learn more, there's not enough of that."
