The Fernie Legion Branch no. 36 held a Remembrance Day parade and ceremony on Nov. 11 to pay homage to brave men and women who sacrificed their lives for their country.
Legion members led a solemn procession through the downtown streets to the cenotaph outside the Fernie Court House, where residents gathered to pay their respects.
It was a blustery day. Freezing rain and sleet poured from the sky, but those who partook in the ceremony stood proud and tall nevertheless.
Prayers, poems and song were interspersed with moments of silence. Students from Fernie Academy led the crowd in the singing of O’Canada and God Save The King. There was a recitation of In Flanders Fields and a performance of The Last Post.
The event culminated in the laying of wreaths around the cenotaph. Representatives from the Legion, city council, emergency services, businesses and Ktunaxa First Nation all took part in the symbolic gesture.
Legion president Jennifer Cronin told the crowd that Remembrance Day is a time to reflect on the sacrifices that were made and continue to be made by soldiers across the world, and how their legacy can be honoured going forward.
“Lest we forget why so many sacrificed. It was so that we could live as we do with the freedoms that no one can take away, so that dictatorship was not an option, so at the end of the day we could come home knowing we were safe and at peace,” she said.
“…Incidents of discrimination in our own community are increasing. Racial and ethnic discrimination, Islamophobia, xenophobia, disparities in education and healthcare of indigenous people are only a few, all fueled by online hate and disinformation. These are some of the things that your grandfather, your uncle, my father, our veterans fought to change. They sacrificed to create a more inclusive and equitable society. It is vital for Canadians to stand up and fight discrimination in all its forms and this starts here, at home, in our small town, one conversation at a time.”
Cronin said that history is doomed to repeat itself when people forget the wrongs of the past.
“It is easy to be sheltered in our communities from the wars that rage overseas. It is easy to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the conflicts that are happening abroad because we don’t feel the immediate impact as a community,” she explained.
“Think of those lying in the rubble of hospitals, schools and refugee camps that have been annihilated by bombing. Think of a small child lying in the arms of his mother beneath the rubble, him too weak to cry anymore and her not alive to do so. That is the price we pay when we forget.”
“Today we think of those courageous men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. We weep for those that we have lost and we owe it to them to not just remember them as individuals, but to remember what they fought for.”