Boys become men
Credit Union Place falls silent to remember the fallen on Remembrance Day
Austin McLellan and Henry Woodard “Woody” stand smartly in uniform among the hushed crowd in the arena of the Credit Union Place for the Remembrance Day service Saturday.
Being just 17-years-old and excited at the prospect of adventure and glory, they joined the military with little knowledge of the fate that awaited them. “I joined the Canadian Guards (an infantry regiment), and we were a Battalion based in Germany during the Cold War (from 1947 to 1991),” said McLellan, a life member of the Summerside Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 5.
“At that time jobs on the Island were scarce, so a lot of fellows my age went into the military. And actually, the average age in our outfit would be about 20, so we were all quite young like myself. The oldest was probably 25,” he said. The Cold War marked the growing hostility, threats and propaganda between the superpowers - the United States-led capitalist “West” and the Sovietdominated communist “East,” after the Second World War and before the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
“We always had our gear packed and ready to go,” said McLellan, who served six years with the regiment and the Canadian Reserve Army. “We were part of the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR). And we got along as a family and that’s the only way it would work.” Woody served in the Royal Canadian Air Force in France during the Cold War period.
“The military roughed me up,” he recalled. “I joined at 17, and I didn’t know how to use a screwdriver, but they taught me everything and brought me up.” Woody, who comes from a military family, became an engine technician and a corporal during his service.
“We owe veterans so much,” he said. “I had one brother who was wounded and died at a young age, and my own son served in Somalia and was crippled. He died two years ago.”
Every year, Woody and McLellan attend the Remembrance Day service in Summerside. “Remembrance Day is really important to me and I have never missed a service, thankfully. And it’s the day when we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” said McLellan. “Remember me in your prayers mom. Don’t cry mom,” reads Emily Rossiter, of Three Oaks Senior High School, during the service in the arena.
These poignant words, taken from a headstone in the Bénysur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery in France, are a stark reminder of the terrifying responsibilities shouldered by inexperienced troops.
“My great grandfather, William, fought at Vimy Ridge,” she said. “So, when I was walking past the trenches filled with grass during the 100th anniversary earlier this year, I was thinking about him.”
She said: “We have a Bible that contains his information and old photos in the military, and that’s where a lot of my research came for the service speech. It’s a very special family heirloom that hold his personal thoughts and prayers.”
Rossiter, who is also 17, says she honours the bravery and sacrifice of those who served and those who are serving.
“I can’t imagine how they got the courage to do what they did. I don’t even know where I’m going to school next year, and that’s freaking me out. To put your life on the line, I don’t know how they did it. But I will continue to honour veterans, and never forget.”