'We will remember them': Thousands gather for historic Winnipeg Remembrance Day service

‘They only crave remembrance’ Jon Hendricks reports on tributes paid at Manitoba’s largest Remembrance Day ceremony.

Thousands gathered at the RBC Convention Centre on Monday to bear witness to a sombre and historic Remembrance Day ceremony.

Crowds of veterans, service men and women, and civilians were flanked by Lt.-Gov. Anita Neville, Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, and Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham.

Wreathes of remembrance were laid and a torch ceremony was held during a reading of “In Flanders Fields.”

The doleful notes of The Last Post sounded throughout the silent crowd.

“This morning, as we reflect upon our blessings, we ask that we may be faithful stewards of the freedom that has been granted,” said Capt. Gabriel Boucher, who served as master of ceremonies.

As speakers highlighted ongoing global conflicts currently being fought, including wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, much attention was paid to the past. This year marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day and the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Rev. Paul N. Johnson spent much of his address recounting the bloody battle in Normandy and the contributions and sacrifices made by countless Manitobans.

On June 6, 1944, around 160,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches to begin an effort now remembered as the beginning of the end of the Second World War.

Among them - Captain George Alexander Harris, a priest who left his comfortable post at Winnipeg’s All Saints Anglican Church to join the fight.

“That night, with a battalion he jumped out of a C-47 with all the others. With many others, he was dead before the day was done. We will remember them.”

Manitoba’s contribution on the shores that day are storied, from the tanks of the Fort Garry Horse and the 1st Hassars, who were first ashore on Juno Beach, followed closely by the Royal Winnipeg Rifles.

“Many of them didn’t even make it to shore. Almost a third of the landing crafts were lost to German mine defenses, along with many of the men they carried. Those who made it to shore, they weren’t safe either.”

In a statement, Kinew thanked members of the Canadian Armed Forces, their families and their loved ones for what they have given to the province.

“In their sacrifice and service, each of us as Canadians have been given a great gift of a country that upholds democracy and a life of hard-won freedoms.”

- With files from CTV’s Jon Hendricks and the Canadian Press