The C. J. Kinross V.C. Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion in Lougheed held a Remembrance Day service on Monday, Nov. 11. About 100 people attended the event.
As members of the Legion colour party entered the community hall, the service began with the singing of ‘O Canada.
After an invocation given by Susan MacKinnon, the choir and audience sang Amazing Grace.
Legion Branch President Jayne Odegard Dempsey read the roll call of all those from the Lougheed and surrounding districts who died in WWI and WWII. This was followed by the playing of the Last Post, and two minutes of silence.
Another hymn, How Great Thou Art, was sung by the choir and audience together before Odegard Dempsey gave her address. She talked about how easy it was to lose a poppy, and forget what it symbolizes, and how easy it can be to forget to remember the sacrifices made by veterans in both world wars, except on Remembrance Day. “We forget to remember.”
She talked about how it was good to always remember the freedoms won on our behalf by those veterans of war who gave their all in the ultimate sacrifice.
Colton Carson read a poem written by Charles M. Province.
“It is the Soldier, not the minister, who has given us freedom of religion. It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the Soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to protest. It is the Soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. It is the Soldier, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote. It is the Soldier who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protester to burn the flag.”
After the laying of the wreaths, a special performance by Graham Burden of the C. J. Kinross V.C. song that told the story of Cecil J. Kinross, and his war deeds during the battle of Passchendaele that led him to receive the Victoria Cross, the highest medal of honour given to soldiers of WWI.
The song told his biography from his birth to his passing at 62 on June 21, 1957.
After the singing of God Save the King, the colour party left the hall.
Legion members and the audience were invited to walk to the cenotaph and lay their poppies there.
All were invited to the Legion afterwards.
Leslie Cholowsky
Editor