Hundreds attend Edmonton Remembrance Day ceremony honoring Canadians killed in wars

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Hundreds of people gathered, wearing bright red poppies, at the cenotaph outside city hall Thursday morning for a Remembrance Day ceremony.

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Members of the Edmonton Loyalist Military Regiment marched to Churchill Square to begin the solemn event. Government delegates and military officials expressed words of gratitude, honoring the lives of Canadians who died and fought in wars.

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi says it is a time to remember the people who sacrificed their lives and that the freedoms Canadians enjoy today exist because of them.

“Our freedom … to say what we think and be heard, all that exists thanks to those we remember today, who gave their lives to protect these values,” he said.

Many in the crowd bowed their heads and closed their eyes, and the soldiers stood their ground, as a single trumpeter played the Last Message before a moment of silence at 11 a.m. Military representatives and families of the fallen soldiers placed wreaths on the base of the cenotaph. before the ceremony was over.

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Billy Paul placed a handmade wreath and cross wrapped in willow branches, with red poppies and silk leaves, and an attached black and white photo of his father in the center. Warren Paul was a Canadian WWII veteran who went to fight when he was 24, wounded in battle, and sent home.

Billy Paul has been laying a wreath in memory of his father every year in the two decades since his death. He says it felt good to see so many people come out to show their support.

“The way Dad said it, there were a lot of heroes out there, but no one was there to witness (how they gave) their lives that way. He was lucky to come back even though he was injured, and that ruined him, ”he said.

“Anyone who didn’t come back was a hero, huh? Because they gave everything. “

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Heather Middleton, a recipient of the Silver Cross, placed a wreath in memory of her brother Cpl. Joshua Baker like her every year.

“We miss him so much and wish he was here to watch my children grow up,” she said. “(I am) very proud of what he did and for giving his life for others.”

At age 24, Baker died in Afghanistan fighting with the Edmonton Loyalist Regiment in 2010. Middleton was encouraged by the large crowd that attended Thursday’s ceremony, especially after it was canceled last year due to the COVID pandemic. -19.

“It is a difficult day, but it is also a day in which we can reflect and be happy to live in freedom,” he said.

Her daughter Tristan Middleton says being a part of the ceremony helps her feel close to her uncle, who died when she was 12.

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“It’s something I always talked about at school with my friends, and I always wanted to make sure this generation still understands the impact it had … I think it’s really important to show our support for the current military and for the past.”

At least 61,000 and as many as 66,000 Canadians died in the First World War.

In the Second World War, between 42,000 and more than 45,000 Canadian soldiers died. Six million Jews were systematically assassinated by Nazi Germany in the Holocaust along with millions more, including Soviet and Polish citizens, Roma and people with disabilities, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum .

More than 897,000 and up to 929,000 people died in the wars after 9/11 due to direct violence, including 158 members of the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Jason Kenney, in a press release, urged Albertans to reflect and remember those who died fighting wars. “We must be intentional in remembering and honoring their sacrifice.”

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