SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - In the spirit of John McCrae's In Flanders Field, a Sir John Franklin High student has written a Remembrance Day poem that is causing quite a stir at the school.

Douglas (Dusty) Miller, 91, says its important to keep young people engaged in Remembrance Day so veterans don't become a piece of history. Miller is pictured here holding a photo of himself from the Second World War, right, beside his friend Trevor Greenwood. - Terrence McEachern/NNSL photo War Scott Harman has people talking at Sir John Franklin High about his Remembrance Day poem 'War': War has no freedom, war has no peace War has no family and friends to keep I cannot say war is the way Soldiers around me dead as they lay Clink crack boom I watch the poppy's bloom I say my goodbyes to my friends We will meet each other again We will meet each other again

Scott Harman, a Grade 9 student, wrote a poem called War as an assignment in his English class about three weeks ago. His teacher, Obed Duru, thought it was so good, he asked Harman to read the poem before the student body at the Remembrance Day assembly, but the shy 14 year old declined. He did read it in class before his fellow students. The poem depicts war as a somber entity - where freedom and peace, family and friends are not present. He said the poem's content "just popped into his head," but was also influenced by Canada's involvement in Afghanistan.

"I think he got (the message) across well in terms of the use of (literary) devices and the rhyme scheme," said Duru, adding Remembrance Day is an important topic for students to ponder. "It's that time of year to acknowledge those that have sacrificed for mankind," he said.

Scott's parents, Al and Bertha Harman, agree it's a good idea to give students assignments that make them think about Remembrance Day.

"Generations never really having to experience (war), you tend to forget about it," said Al Harman. "But it makes you think."

Francine Clouston, first vice-president with Yellowknife's Royal Canadian Legion, said engaging young people and keeping the memory alive of past sacrifices is an important part of Remembrance Day. "That is the fear, exactly, that people will forget. That's why we have Remembrance Day - that we should never forget where we got our freedom from." The reason why our freedom has been retained over the years is because of the generations of young men and women that fought in past wars, said Clouston. "Our veterans now, from World War Two and Korea, they're in their 80s and 90s, but they were young when they went out (to war). The same as soldiers that are going to Afghanistan or peace-keeping duties, they're youth, they're young," she said.

Douglas (Dusty) Miller, 91, is one Yellowknife resident who served during the Second World War as an aircraft technician. He's also pleased to hear that students are thinking about Remembrance Day and both soldiers past and present involved in conflicts. "We don't want the world to think about veterans as a bit of history that's come and gone," he said. "At this stage, we can use (war) as a lesson rather than a period of interest."

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