Extra special ceremony to mark 100th anniversary of end of WWI

Sunday Nov. 11 will mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

To mark that milestone, the Sault’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 is planning some extra special events to be incorporated into this year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies at GFL Memorial Gardens.

“Last year I saw a ceremony on TV where kids were laying down boots for the 100th anniversary of Vimy Ridge, so I thought we should incorporate that here at our Remembrance Day ceremony this year, so I started planning this in June to make it happen,” said Ernie Bremner, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 1st vice president, speaking to SooToday Thursday.

“We’re going to lay down 100 pairs of military boots to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Local Army and Air Force cadets will lay them down.”

The boots have been provided by local cadets, Bremner said, tentatively to be laid down in a V formation, in acknowledgement of the Second World War ‘V for Victory’ sign made famous by British wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.

Bremner added, “As the boots are being laid, we’re going to have letters read out. The letters were written between a wife and a First World War soldier, and another letter from the Red Cross notifying the woman the soldier had succumbed to his wounds.”

The soldier and his wife were not local, Bremner said.

The letters will be read by one young local man and two young local women, the man reading the soldier’s letter, one woman reading his wife’s letter, the other woman reading the sad letter from the Red Cross, Bremner said.

“Once the last boot is being laid, our Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 band is going to play two special songs that will encompass both our Remembrance Day service and World War I. It’s very, very, very moving. You’ll recognize the songs,” Bremner said.

“It brought tears to my eyes. When I saw the boots being laid for Vimy on TV that made me tear up because that represents everything, ‘boots on the ground’ and that kind of thing, and the letters being read will really bring it home.”

The local Legion’s theme for this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony is ‘The Home Front.’

Bremner said this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony guest speaker will be a local woman who will speak about what it’s like to be the wife of a soldier who was deployed.

“It gives a different perspective as to what it’s all like.”

“I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be very moving,” said Wilma Oliver, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 president.

“This year’s program might be a little longer but this is a special occasion,” Bremner said.

For that reason, the Legion is asking the public to arrive and be seated at GFL Memorial Gardens by 10:30 a.m. Nov. 11 instead of the usual 10:45, in time for the start of the program at 10:50.

Bremner added the Legion has contacted all churches in the Sault to ring their bells 100 times beginning at 6 p.m. on Remembrance Day, part of a Canada-wide effort to ring the bells across the country Nov. 11.

“We’ve asked all of them to participate and it’s up to them now to do it. If people hear the bells across town at 6 p.m., that’s why,” Bremner said.

At least one local church has confirmed it will take part, Bremner said, Legion officials calling the initiative ‘Bells for Peace.’

This year’s ceremony will also include the annual March for a Veteran.

March for a Veteran is an opportunity for a family member, or a member of the public, to honour a veteran, a veteran being anyone who has served or is serving with the Canadian Armed Forces or the RCMP.

A family member or friend may march for a veteran who is deceased, ill or too frail to take part in the Remembrance Day march from the Gardens to the Cenotaph in front of the Sault Ste. Marie Courthouse and back, or for someone unable to attend because he or she is currently deployed with the Forces elsewhere in Canada or abroad.

One does not need to be a Legion member to participate.

Marchers cannot wear a veteran’s medals, but may carry the medals or the veteran’s photograph.

A marcher must be a minimum of 12 years old, only one marcher per veteran.

The Legion is asking marchers to wear proper attire (no jeans).

Those wanting to march for a veteran may contact the Legion at (705) 945-8721 and register before 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9.

Event registration forms are available at the Legion office at 96 Great Northern Rd.

Name tags will be handed out upon registration.

Marchers will go into formation at GFL Memorial Gardens (on the rink floor) at 9:45 a.m. with their name tags.

The parade begins at 10 a.m., beginning from the Gardens to the Cenotaph on Queen Street, then back to the Gardens for a 10:50 a.m. service start.

Seventeen people have registered so far.

March for a Veteran is an original Branch 25 initiative established by Bremner.

The event has spread to Remembrance Day ceremonies in other communities since its launch in the Sault.

“I think that’s very important. Most of our senior veterans are no longer with us, and this is a way for a civilian to march for a deceased friend or family member to show their gratitude and support,” Bremner said.

“It makes them more a participant in Remembrance Day than sitting there watching,” Oliver said.

Bremner added the Legion is doing its best to educate the public the term ‘veteran’ is not only for those who served long ago, but also for any man or woman who served more recently, or is currently serving, in the Canadian Armed Forces or RCMP.

“These younger people are serving and they’re veterans. Some of them don’t consider themselves veterans. We’ve got to impress on them that they are. The Legion portrays veterans as old men and we’ve got to change that,” Oliver said.

“It is a concern that some of the younger generation is not concerned with Remembrance Day but it is our mandate as the Legion to make sure these fallen soldiers are not forgotten.”

“One of our executive officers is our chair of youth education and he’s done a great job of getting information booklets and pamphlets and poppy stickers into the schools for the past two years,” Oliver said.