Joel Ceausu – The Suburban LJI Reporter
The booms of cannons thundered through the blue skies above Notre Dame de Grâce Park Sunday afternoon, as Remembrance Day was commemorated at Place de Vimy in NDG before the national ceremony happens later this week.
The lush green park was filled with veterans of multiple wars, young cadets, and active service men and women, as kids and families took a break from the playground and playing field, passers-by and residents gathered around the Place de Vimy monument. The square was dedicated in 2017 as a tribute to Canadian soldiers fighting at Vimy Ridge during the First World War. That battle 100 years earlier took the lives of more than 3500 Canadian soldiers and left thousands of others wounded.
As a choir practiced in the midday sunshine and a troop of young cadets prepared for their very first public drill, men and women, young and old, stood proudly in sharp uniforms, sporting badges, medals, ribbons and countenances that serve as testimonies to lives of purpose and service.
As the waning notes of a bagpiper’s tune echoed in the park, Rev. Joel Coppieters of the Cote des Neiges Presbyterian Church welcomed the crowd to the “Monument of the Brave,” and spoke of the sacrifice of generations of Canadians who answered the call, and the ultimate need of giving for peace and justice’s sake, even if there is “no fairy tale ending.”
“Even today, Canadians enlist with our armed forces and sacrifice themselves to defend the country and the values that unite us” said CDN-NDG Borough Mayor Gracia Kasoki Katahwa. “Remembrance Day belongs to all our sisters and brothers who sacrificed their lives for a most noble cause, ensuring freedom and equality for all.” As we remember and honour our heroes said Katahwa, “it is also essential that we reflect on the state of the world today… The light and sacrifice of souls honored today remind us all that we should never lose sight of this noble goal.”
Pam McEntee wants to ensure that “we remind people of the culture of service.” The NDG Legion vp told The Suburban “It’s about the importance of the Forces, not just at wartime but when there are disasters, when communities need help, and when they are called to deploy at the front of any challenge. We all need to remember that when our veterans and current service members are encountered in the community and in the streets.”