Hundreds gathered at Beechwood Cemetery to honour Canada’s fallen soldiers, with this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony carrying added significance as the country marks 25 years since its military deployment in Afghanistan. The ceremony at the National Military Cemetery of the Canadian Forces brought together serving members, veterans, families and community members to remember those who served and those who never returned home. The Last Post, cannons, a moment of silence, a choir and flypasts by fighter jets and later, a Black Hawk helicopter were among the tributes. More than 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces members served in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. A total of 158 Canadian military personnel died during the mission. Among those remembered was Mast. Cpl. Scott Francis Vernelli, who was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan in 2009. His wife, retired Mast. Cpl. Marcie Lane, attended the ceremony to honour her husband and the other members of the military who never made it home. “I feel at great peace and a sense of belonging on these sacred lands, for which the love of my life is interred alongside his brothers and sisters in arms,” said Lane, who was also recognized as a Silver Cross widow. Lane also shared an expression from her ancestral Wendat language, “aki,” which she said reflects the tradition of honouring others and keeping their names alive in collective memory. “It’s what we are all doing together here today,” she said. For Jackie Girouard, Remembrance Day is also an opportunity to honour her husband, Warrant Officer Robert Girouard, who was killed in a suicide bombing in Kandahar in 2006. The couple had been married for 29 years. Girouard said Remembrance Day had always been an important tradition for them. “I was in Air Cadets, and he was in the reserves, and we never missed a Remembrance Day,” she said. “We always went and it didn’t matter how cold, it didn’t matter what the weather was. And we still do.” Sisters Winnie Sanford and Tina Gibson also attended to honour their father, Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth Sanford, who served 36 years in the armed forces. Sanford retired as a chief warrant officer, and his family has continued its military tradition, with several relatives serving, including his son. “It’s just such an honour to have been involved in the armed forces with our family and to be here to honour all those who served our country and who have given their lives for us,” Sanford said. The ceremony also included a reading of the poem “In Flanders Fields,” a wreath-laying tribute and remarks calling on Canadians to do more than simply remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
