Fallen remembered
Emotions run high as moving speeches made at ceremony
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, November 13, 2014
INUVIK
Hundreds of people squeezed into the gymnasium at East Three Secondary School for the public gathering to mark Remembrance Day on Nov. 11 in a sombre ceremony filled with history and reflection.
Eugene Reese, the acting president of the McInnes Branch #220 of the Royal Canadian Legion, lays the first wreath during the cemetery cenotaph ceremony for Remembrance Day on Nov. 11. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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It's been a century since the First World War broke out, and 69 years since the Second World War ended. Both are milestone events to the "greatest generations," yet so much still needs to be accomplished.
A riveting slide-show depicting Canada's wartime history caught the attention of the audience from the beginning, and emotions threatened to boil over during a poignant airing of the song, the Highway of Heroes, by The Trews toward the end of the ceremony.
In between, there were some impassioned addresses by various speakers, including Fire Chief Jim Sawkins and Pastor Dave DeKwant of the Lighthouse Church.
Eugene Reese, the acting president of the McInnes Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion who was presiding over the event, was among those caught up in the high emotions of the day.
"I didn't want to come up here with a lump in my throat," he said, voice catching. "But it's already there."
Rees, a native of Newfoundland, recollected that, like so many people of his generation, he had many relatives, mostly uncles, who fought in the Second World War.
He remembered how they would never tell stories of the war. Instead, they would talk about being in Europe and in Africa, but would never speak of their battlefield experiences.
Like any child, Rees said he was extremely curious about their experiences, but never pierced that veil. Nonetheless, his relationship to his extended family made a powerful impression.
Sawkins, the former president of the McInnes branch and an ex-military firefighter, spoke powerfully of the recent deaths of two Canadian soldiers.
He said he had met Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, the Quebec soldier run down by an alleged homegrown terrorist, several times at firefighting-related training.
While he hadn't met Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who was gunned down in the Ottawa war memorial shootings, Sawkins said he had trained with the same unit that he belonged to. The two deaths, coming only days apart, struck him hard, Sawkins said.
"We must reflect on why those sacrifices were made," Sawkins said, noting the prominent role of the war dead in the ceremony. "We, as a nation, have become complacent, comfortable, safe, knowing that certain things don't happen here in Canada. In a world that's basically out of control, with no rules, no integrity, we've just discovered those freedoms that so many young people died for are being challenged here on Canadian soil.
"It is incumbent on each and every person here today to keep those memories alive within our youth. Tell them about Cpl. Cirillo and Warrant Officer Vincent, tell them that this should never happen here in Canada. Tell them about those that died in the wars and conflicts around the world. Tell them that they sacrificed their lives so that we can live in a country free of anarchy. But most important, remind the youth each and every day to remember them."
Inuvik-Boot Lake MLA Alfred Moses reminded the audience that, in the midst of remembering all of the fallen war dead, not to forget Inuvik's own loss, Cpl. Jordan Anderson, who died in Afghanistan in 2007.
"His commitment and dedication to serving his country will never be forgotten," Moses said.
DeKwant spoke with great sentiment about how his own parents, residents of Holland, watched and cheered as the Western forces pushed back the German army in the D-day campaign. Without that, he said, he might not have been here today to speak of the enormous sacrifices of previous generations.
