For Remembrance Day, we honour some Olympians who served

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, when we honour the more than 120,000 Canadians who have died in military service and express our gratitude to the many veterans and active soldiers for all they've done for our country.

The original intent of Remembrance Day (or Armistice Day, as it was known throughout the British Empire) was to mark the anniversary of the formal end of combat on the Western Front of the First World War on Nov. 11, 1918, and to honour the millions who died during perhaps the most horrific war in human history.

Some 66,000 Canadians lost their lives in what was then known as the Great War, making it by far the deadliest conflict in the history of our country, and more than 172,000 were wounded. In total, over 650,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in the war in some capacity at a time when the population was under 8 million, earning their country a great deal of respect and helping pave the way to full autonomy from Great Britain. 

Canadians from all different walks of life served in the war, including several athletes who also represented their country in a far more pleasant way at the Olympics. To commemorate Remembrance Day, here's a look at three of them.

Tom Longboat: I recounted the great Indigenous distance runner's story in a newsletter last month, but it bears repeating here. After winning the 1907 Boston Marathon in record time, competing in the 1908 Olympics in London and becoming an international star in an era when fans packed Madison Square Garden to watch 262-lap match races, Longboat volunteered for the war in 1916 and was assigned to the noted 107th Pioneer Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force that served at Vimy Ridge. Private Longboat was deployed as a dispatch carrier, using