Their sacrifice ‘ever more important’
Hundreds of people pay respects at area Remembrance Day services
A distant church bell solemnly rang as the crowd of hundreds stood silently beside the cenotaph, Sunday.
It seemed to echo the bells that rang throughout St. Catharines and much of the world a century earlier, marking the end of the First World War.
At 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, an armistice was signed bringing the end to four years of brutal conflict.
It meant “an end to the fighting, an end to the battles, a chance to end the suffering, and a chance for the world to finally heal,” Royal Canadian Legion Branch 24 first vice-president Nathan Pellerin said told the crowd that gathered in Memorial Park.
At dusk, churches throughout St. Catharines chimed their bells exactly 100 times to mark the 100th anniversary. The chiming of the bells marked a moment in history when peace was made — that “unfortunately would not last.”
A generation later, the Second World War again “called on Canada’s best to serve far from home,” Pellerin said.
“The Korean War would follow and then be followed again by conflicts in the Persian Gulf, in the nations of the former Yugoslavia and, most recently, the war in Afghanistan.”
In that last conflict, Niagara lost three heroes.
Warrant Officer Dennis Brown from St. Catharines was killed on March 3, 2009. His son Mackenzie
Brown participated in Sunday’s ceremony, laying a wreath in memory of his father and reciting the Ode of Remembrance.
The conflict also claimed the lives of Cpl. Albert Storm of Fort Erie who was killed Nov. 27, 2006, and Cpl. Tyler Crooks from Port Colborne who died on March 20, 2009.
In Thorold, a large crowd in Memorial Park gathered under gunmetal grey skies to remember the fallen.
So great was the First World War’s horror and loss of life: some 40 million dead and wounded, including 61,000 Canadians killed, 172,000 wounded and countless more returned home broken in mind and body.
Rev. Keith Puddick with St. John’s Anglican Church said this troubled world remains a planet where wars still rage on, and where Canadians willing to lay their lives on the line still do so.
“Members of our military continue to be called up on to serve and to sacrifice.”
He asked the crowd made up of people of all ages, collectively numbering in the hundreds, to never forget the sacrifices.
“We gather here today to take time from our busy lives to pause and remember those who died for our beloved country so that the world might be a better place,” said Puddick. “We give thanks to God to those who sacrificed so much for us.
“Remember those who fell in battle protecting our freedom, those who died on peacekeeping missions protecting others.”
Thorold Mayor Ted Luciani said he was grateful to have the opportunity to remember those who gave their lives to uphold the values and freedoms that Canadians enjoy today.
“Like many of you, my family suffered losses in war,” said Luciani, referring to his grandfather, Paolo DiVincenzo.
In St. Catharines, Mayor Walter Sendzik shared the story of Garden City soldiers who died long ago.
“There were four Adie boys who went and fought in World War I. They lived on Adams Street just down the road in St. Catharines,” he said.
Of those four brothers, “three would die in action in Europe — John, Archibald and Allan,” he said.
“The last 100 days of war, the Canadian Expeditionary Force saw significant action. It was in this action that John Adie was killed, Nov. 3, 1918 — days before the end of the war,” Sendzik said.
“Letters from the Adie brothers to family members at home in St. Catharines are archived at the Canadian War Museum and provide incredible details of each one’s wartime experience. These letters also provide a glimpse of the devastation of war on their family members and loved-ones.”
In addition to those who served in past conflicts around the world, Pellerin said Canadian soldiers have “risked much and some have paid the ultimate price” in peace keeping missions “helping to make the world a better, safer and more stable place.”
“We wear the poppy for many reasons and for many people … For those who served 100 years ago, those who served since, and those who still serve today, we wear the poppy for them,” he said. “We will remember them.” In Niagara-on-the-Lake, hundreds of people turned up at the at the cenotaph in the Old Town.
It was there that girl guides from 1st Niagara-on-the-Lake Sparks, 2nd Niagara-on-the-Lake Brownies and 1st Niagara-on-the-Lake Guides held up framed photographs of past presidents from the Royal Canadian Legion General Nelles Branch 124. All but one of the men in the photographs had served during the First World War.
“This is our second year participating,” said Megan Gilchrist, contact guider for the pathfinders. “It’s part of our programming to participate in service projects and we’ve had a close relationship with the legion for the past few years so we felt this was a good fit.”
Having youth involved in ceremonies is something Branch 124 past president Stan Harrington views as important. At both of the local legion’s services Sunday — an afternoon service was held in Queenston — youths read the poem In Flanders Fields, Klarysa Harrington in the morning and Jackie Dickieson in the afternoon.
“It’s important for them to be here. It’s about remembrance. We all have to remember,” Harrington said.
“All of the (Second World War) vets are in their late 90s now … it’s going to be difficult for kids to remember, so we have to tell them and we have to help them to remember,” he said.