Legion readies for Remembrance Day
Veteran Ronald Pratt during last year’s Remembrance Day service at Memorial Peace Park in Maple Ridge.
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Updated: November 05, 2009 4:49 PM
Thousands of people stood to watch the hundreds of war veterans and parade participants march to the Cenotaph at Maple Ridge Memorial Park last year.
The rain poured down as the lines of ex-service soldiers decked out in their uniforms trudged along 224th Street looking up to see the large crowd applauding.
“It was so moving that I was in tears coming down the road, because just the appreciation shown for those men and women behind me, it was overwhelming,” said Lynda Henry, president for the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 88.
Brad Kutyn, manager of the legion, said that this year’s Remembrance Day events in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows will likely warrant another good turnout, with thousands of Canadian soldiers still fighting overseas.
“With the situation in Kandahar, and people understanding the commitment of all of the people that have served with the armed forces in the past and the ones that are making that commitment today, I think there is a higher prevalence and awareness from the public,” Kutyn said.
Last year, two young returning soldiers from Afghanistan flanked the group – aged 20 and 21, they were a stark contrast to the veterans in their 80s behind them.
The young faces reminded onlookers that the issue is still close to home, Henry said.
“These are our children,” Henry said.
“A veteran doesn’t necessarily mean an older man who can’t walk and is in a wheelchair. It’s just not the way it is anymore.”
Henry’s son, aged 39 is also a war veteran.
