Military Church Parade Marks Remembrance Sunday
Colour parade marches to Veterans’ Memorial rock for a ceremony at the cemetery
Prince George, BC – Brilliant sunshine provided the backdrop for today’s Military Church Parade and Veterans’ ceremony at Prince George Memorial Cemetery, marking Remembrance Sunday…
This is the third year in a row the Commanding Officer of the Rocky Mountain Rangers Army Cadets, Major Wally McCue, has worked in conjunction with the City to organize the parade, which included members of the Royal Canadian Legion, Rocky Mountain Rangers, Cadets, RCMP, and Prince George Fire Rescue.
A small group of local dignataries and members of the public were on-hand, as the colour parade arrived at the Veterans’ Memorial for a wreath-laying ceremony.
The ‘Portraits of Honour’ flags, bearing the names of Canadians who made the ultimate sacrifice in service in Afghanistan, lined the route. The flags memorializing Corporal Matthew McCully and Corporal Darren Fitzpatrick stood at either side of the memorial rock. Corporal McCully was killed in Afghanistan in 2007, Corporal Fitzpatrick was injured in Afghanistan and later died in hospital in Edmonton in 2010. Family members of both young men were at today’s ceremony.
Local MLA, Shirley Bond, acknowledged their strength and their loss. "I know there are mothers here today who’ve had to do something that I’m not sure that I would ever have the strength to do – to look into the eyes of my son or my daughter, or my gorgeous grandsons – as they made a choice to serve their country," said Bond.
"And, ultimately, in the case of some here today – the names represented behind us and along this corrider – who paid the ultimate price. The least we can do on Remembrance Sunday and every morning is stop and give thanks."
City Councillor Lyn Hall said the flags are very visible reminders of what commitment, service and sacrifice mean to both our community and our country. Hall said he believes Canadians’ commitment to commemorating our veterans is growing stronger and points to new traditions, such as the Military Church Parade, as an example.
He passed on a phrase he’d heard while watching a military salute earlier in the day – ‘veterans didn’t forget us, and we shouldn’t forget them’ and said that’s what today is all about.
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43 President, Bruce Gabriel, said the parade is the start of a great tradition and one that he hopes continues for years to come. "It’s a very special day."
Photo below shows Legion Past-President Don Ford (l) and veteran Sam Jones (r) laying their poppies at the Veterans’ Memorial at the end of the ceremony.
Comments
Thankyou Wally, for your dedication and service to the country.
The pictures look wonderful, especially the top one with the long row of Canadian flags.
This is the time of year we remember and thank our fallen as well as our maimed soldiers and those who served for our country.
It is also appropriate to extend the time and ceremonies out for a longer period of time than just November 11. Remembrance Sunday is one of the ways we can bring the ceremonies away from the weekday onto a weekend day when more families can be together.
In Britain, Remembrance Sunday is next week, the Sunday just prior to the 11th. The same goes for some other Commonwealth countries.
I could not find any other communities/countries which dedicated November 3 as Remembrance Sunday. Those I could find were all on Sunday, November 10, 2013.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Sunday
http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/news-events/calendar-of-events/general/remembrance-sunday-2013
Memorial sunday I believe has been added by the media. This is a church parade adding a memorial content. A regular church parade in the past used to be held everysunday. Do not over complicate this church parade.
Thank you for that explanation.
It is just that I never heard of Remembrance Sunday. Now I know that such a day does actually exist in GB and some other related countries.
Perhaps we should consider introducing it to Canada as well.
“Perhaps we should consider introducing it to Canada as well.”
No thanks. The last thing we need is more church-going. Let’s not foster this delusional and childish behavior.
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