Today is Remembrance Day. I went to the Whistler ceremony that was held near the firehall.
It was much more well attended than I thought. I figured there would be only few people there, but was surprised to see a few hundred. I got there on time, so I got a good place to stand. Many people trickled in later, and had to stand very far away.
There was a program that we followed, including readings of Flander's Fields in both English and French, and some songs by a Whistler Children's Choir. At 11am there was a very loud cannon, and then two helicopters did a low flyby. There was an American veteran from Vietnam there, but nobody from WWII.
Many wreaths were placed at the cenotaph, and it was touching to see people place their poppies at its base once the ceremony was over. There were misty eyes and a few tears in the crowd.
In the last year I have watched many documentaries about WWII, and have read a number of books that deal with the subject of war. This Remembrance Day was the most significant for me, since I now have a greater understanding of what it represents. I was happy to be part of today's ceremony.
2 comments:
Kat and I went to the service here in Ottawa at the war memorial. Michele Jean and Steve were there too, and they did a four fighter jet fly by, and a 21 gun salute. There were thousands there though, and we didn't have a good place to stand, so it felt like I was just standing in the crowd at an extremely somber concert (just heads in front of me). I was still happy to be there though, and it was neat to experience it in Ottawa.
I went to the one in Waterloo - lots of people there too. The cannon was super loud as well - maybe the loudest thing I've ever heard. I was glad to be part of it as well - the one here had quite a spiritual tone, and the parade afterwards was pretty moving.
Post a Comment