Thousands of Surrey residents gathered at the Cloverdale Cenotaph in Veteran’s Square on November 11, to honour those who lost their lives while serving in war and peacekeeping missions, and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
This year was also the 100th anniversary of Canada’s Hundred Days, during which the Canadian Corps made a series of key victories on the Western Front in the final three months of the First World War, the 10th anniversary of National Peacekeepers’ Day, the 65th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice, and the 75th anniversary of the invasion of Sicily, which marked the beginning of the Italian Campaign in the Second World War.
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Cloverdale pastor Ian Wemyss spoke at the service. “One hundred years ago,” he said, “at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the armistice that was signed brought an end to the fighting on land, on sea and air.”
“The fighting continued that morning until the very last minute, with thousands of casualties on that last day. The final Commonwealth soldier to die was one of our own: a Canadian killed November 11, two minutes to eleven.
“And then the guns fell silent.”
“There has been peace, but it has not been a perfect peace,” said Wemyss. “There have been subsequent wars and at each instant there have been brave men and women of this nation who have answered its call. We remember with thankfulness and pride the 600,000 men and women who risked their lives in the First World War, the million plus Canadians involved in the Second World War.
“We remember the countless others who served in the Korean War, in peacekeeping missions in the Balkans, Cyprus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Haiti, Rwanda, Syria, Afghanistan and every other place where they have been called to serve. We remember those who continue to serve today, who are prepared to fight, defend, and protect when they are called upon,” he said.
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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