Dozens gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Orillia as a new name was unveiled. Sgt James Allison Wheatley served during the First World War and did not return home. On Sunday, his name was added to a long list of Veterans who served and were from the Orillia area. Jayne Turvey, community services coordinator at the Orillia Public Library said his name was discovered through research. “We discovered this young man who had gone to Orillia Collegiate, had left his home to go over and fight and was killed at Passchendaele,” said Turvey. “Nobody recovered the body and somehow he was missed from this monument, and so we found it. A remembrance ceremony held in his honour, surrounded by veterans, the Orillia Legion and members of his family. Wheatley is the great uncle of John Griffin who was in attendance for the ceremony today. “I would go visit my grandmother in the 60s, and there would always be a picture of Allison on it, and we talked about it a little bit, but it was just that he was lost and he was never found,” said Griffin. “Just the feeling that he was found today.” His name serving as a reminder of a soldier lost at war to never return home. “He’s lost in the mud, in Passchendaele somewhere and maybe someday when the farmers are plowing, they’re gonna find him but by then who knows, none of us may be here,” said Turvey. “So it’s important to have it happen, it’s 109 years now since he died.” Serving as a reminder of the sacrifices veterans made and continue to make to live life free “To remember everybody is important but veterans are special people because they are sacrificing themselves,” said Griffin. “Even if they came home there was a sacrifice there.” Rob McCron, vice president of the Legion in Orillia said it was important to remember why we remember “If it wasn’t for them, we might not have been a free country, we have a democracy and thanks to our veterans (we) live the life we do,” said McCron.
