GIVING THANKS, SHEDDING TEARS ON ARMISTICE’S CENTENNIAL
Thousands of Montrealers of all ages, origins and walks of life packed the four sides of Place du Canada on Sunday morning as cannons sounded a 21-gun salute in a solemn ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War. Tears ran down Ronald Gagnon’s cheeks as he reflected on the significance of Remembrance Day for his own family and all Canadians. Gagnon, 71, who wore a series of bright medals and a scarlet poppy on his uniform, served with the Royal 22nd Regiment for 32 years, retiring in 1997. His son Vincent, 47, is a chief warrant officer with the regiment who has done seven tours of duty and is currently serving in Ukraine. And his father was one of five brothers from Ville-Émard in uniform during the Second World War. “It’s emotional,” said Gagnon, recalling the history of his own regiment, known as the Van Doos, as a French-speaking regiment founded in the First World War. “You think about all the comrades you lost,” said Gagnon, who served in Cyprus as a peacekeeper and in Germany. Mayor Valérie Plante laid a wreath at the cenotaph, paying tribute to those who sacrificed their lives in the First World War and other conflicts around the world, as municipal Opposition Leader Lionel Perez watched from the sidelines. Other dignitaries in attendance included Tourism and Official Languages Minister Mélanie Joly and Quebec Lieutenant Governor Michel Doyon. Members of the crowd and military personnel in full dress uniforms, including kilts and bare knees in some cases, stoically endured below-zero temperatures and a biting wind. Two Royal Canadian Air Force CH-146 Griffon helicopters flew overhead as cannon shots rang out at two-minute intervals, starting at 11 a.m., after soldiers from the 34th Canadian Brigade and other regiments marched from an armoury on Cathcart St. Tourists Michelle and Luke Simmons from Melbourne, Australia, were among the crowd in the downtown square between la Gauchetière St. W., Peel St., Metcalfe St. and René-Lévesque Blvd. W.
“It’s such a poignant day,” said Luke, 56. “For Australians, it’s very, very special. Our ties with Canada are very strong.” “Our generation and the ones that follow have to be cognizant that there was so much sacrifice,” he added, noting that his father served in the Second World War. “You know what’s really nice to see?” chimed in Michelle, 53. “That there are a lot of young people here.” Tom Vermote, 18, a history undergraduate from France who recently began studies at Université de Montréal, was among members of the university’s Sigma Theta fraternity selling Remembrance Day poppies. “Our forebears fought for freedom,” he said. “This is an opportunity to show we haven’t forgotten.” Iseut Beauregard-Guérin, 33, a petty officer second class with the Royal Canadian Navy, also recalled the sacrifice made by previous generations. “It’s a really sacred day,” said Beauregard-Guérin, who joined the military at age 17. She said that she had visited the Vimy memorial in France, honouring Canadian troops in the First World War. “It helps you to realize the conditions they endured and the sacrifices they made,” she said. Oscar Rabbath, 26, a lieutenant with the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment), said it’s important “to take the time every year to say ‘Thank you.’ ““I think that for people who don’t have family or friends who served, it seems a bit remote,” said Rabbath, a student in project management at Université du Québec à Montréal. That’s why Remembrance Day is so important in getting that message out to everyone, he said.