Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Baker Lake (Nov 14/01) - When Irene Green Kablutsiak and Emily Green Angalik were led to the front of the elementary school in Arviat last Sunday, they placed a wreath in front of a photo.

Pictured there was William Henry Green, late sergeant for the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Green is the community's most direct link with the Second World War.

He worked and trapped in the Arviat region before moving to Churchill, Man., and then to Winnipeg. When the war began, he enlisted.

"It's something he did voluntarily," said William Angalik, Green's grandson, who has accumulated information about his grandfather for decades.

Serving with both the Royal Air Force and the Royal Canadian Air Force, Green died Dec. 2, 1943. He was part of a five-man crew and worked as an air gunner on an RCAF Lancaster when the plane crashed near Berlin.

He is currently buried at the 1939-1945 War Cemetery in Berlin, along with his four air force companions.

To remember him, and the thousands of other veterans killed in Canada's wars, Rangers from Arviat attended a Nov. 11 ceremony at the elementary school.

Among them was Pierre Koomuk. He and 25 other Rangers gathered at the elementary school on Remembrance Day.

Koomuk and the Master Cpl. Joseph Koomak split the Rangers into two ranks leading the drills.

Then, holding a wreath, Koomuk and Koomak led Irene and Emily to the front. They placed the wreath before Green's photo.

"Those soldiers fought for our country and they helped us a lot how to remember our ancestors," Koomuk said.

"He was waiting to be called and he enlisted to help when needed," said Angalik. "If you are doing something like that, it takes something special. I think of him as someone who did something very special for me -- and every other Canadian -- as someone who was involved in the war."

Sgt. Barney Aaruaq agreed. Like Koomuk, the Baker Lake Ranger had never participated in Remembrance Day ceremonies.

But working for the Department of National Defence has given him a different perspective on the day.

"It's a good feeling to help remember the people that fought for us," he said. "If it wasn't for them, we probably would not be the way we are."

In Baker Lake, about a dozen Rangers completed a short parade at the community hall before Bobby Patsauq, the pastor at the Anglican Church, delivered a short memorial address.

"We're remembering especially the Canadian soldiers that paid the price for our freedom," said Patsauq. "We're remembering what really happened during those world wars, the many thousands who died.

"As a Canadian we pause and remember these men and women who fought bravely facing incredible odds and tyranny and stood up bravely for our freedom."