Wreaths  to be laid at Cenotaph during Prince George  Remembrance Service – photos 250News

Prince George, B.C.- Thousands were on hand in  bright sunshine  for the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph  in Prince George.

Although  temperatures were chilly, citizens turned out in record numbers.

There are some changes to the Cenotaph,  as the names have been  darkened, making  them easier  to read,  and  there are two  additions.

The names of Gregory Matters  and Darren Fitzpatrick have both been added.  Matters is being recognized for his service in Bosnia,  while  Fitzpatrick was  a casualty of the war in Afghanistan.  The two  names  were added  in September of this year.

Darren Fitzpatrick’s mother  placed a wreath on behalf of all silver cross mothers in Canada.

There was another distinct difference to the service  this morning.  Police presence.

While there was a large contingent  of RCMP members in red serge,  there were also  officers  in plain clothes mingling with the  crowd and one member from the canine unit was on hand with  his police service dog.  Th extra security  provided  in the wake of the deaths of  Corporal Nathan Cirillo and  Warrant Officer  Patrice Vincent  who were killed by men who  had  radical  jihadist  sympathies.

For Terry Lewis,  ( in photo at left)  the Cenotaph Service is an annual  pilgrimage to honour  his father, Claude, who passed away  a few years ago  from ALS.

“I have been  coming  here for 41 years” says Lewis,  whose first  attendance at  a Prince George Cenotaph service was in 1973 as a cadet with the Rocky Mountain Rangers.  All these years later, he still  fits into  his  gear, and  proudly wears the red beret.  The beret, like Lewis himself,  is no longer  part of the Rocky Mountain  Rangers having since been replaced  with  a new colour.

Below right, the Legion Colour Guard arrives:

Left, the flags of honour,  each one carrying the name of a Canadian Armed Forces   soldier who  died in Afghanistan

At right, Two veterans salute, after placing a wreath