Approximately 300 Chestermere residents, families, and veterans honoured Canada’s fallen soldiers, sailors and airmen during a snowy Remembrance Day Ceremony on Nov. 11, at Anniversary park.
This year marked the centenary of the armistice that silenced the guns on the Western Front, ending the bloody First World War.
Chestermere’s Mayor Marshall Chalmers, spoke to the crowd gathered for the act of remembrance, “100 years ago, today marks the end of the hostilities of the First World War.”
He added, “For the past 100 years Canadians have gathered on this day to pay our respects to the fallen soldiers, pay tribute to the service of our veterans and reflect on the cost of peace at home and abroad.”
To mark the continuing cost of peace abroad, a new plaque has been added to Chestermere’s Cenotaph which recognizes the Canadian efforts to bring freedom to those in Afghanistan.
“I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge that we have veterans of the conflict in Afghanistan with us here today,” said Chalmers.
“To those men and women thank you for your service. With this plaque we continue the legacy of remembering and honouring Canadians who have served in defense of freedom.
“We honour your sacrifice, weather in the trenches in France, or the hills in Afghanistan, the price of freedom is very high,” he said.
The size of the crowd that came out on the chilly winter day to pay their respects shows that Chestermerians still remember the sacrifices made.
“We still had a really good turnout, even though it was a little snowier than most years,” said Chestermere Events Coordinator Nancie Huneault.”
“It was still an excellent turnout,” she said.
She added, it’s very important for the community as a whole to recognize the veterans who have given their lives for us to have the freedoms we enjoy today and sometimes take for granted.
Huneault credits Chestermere’s Remembrance Day Ceremony’s success to word of mouth throughout the community.
“The word has spread, the community shares it with other people, they tell them they went to the ceremony and how much they liked it,” Huneault said.
She added, word of mouth has spread through the community, to the Royal Canadian Legion to the veterans.
For Huneault and many others, the most memorable part of the Remembrance Day Ceremony is the laying of the wreaths and seeing the emotion from those who placed a wreath in front of the Cenotaph.
“As you pass this Cenotaph today, and throughout the year, I invite you to think of our men and women in uniform, regardless of whether they served 100 years ago, or still serve today,” said Chalmers.
“Let us never forget them.”
