Lest we forget: Remembrance Day in Vancouver

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The weather was miserable, but that didn’t stop thousands of people from showing up to the Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square in Vancouver.

Some wore rain slickers and others hid from the downpour under the awning of nearby buildings. Nearly everyone was wearing a poppy – kids in strollers, seniors in wheelchairs and even a few dogs had them pinned to their coats.

Former cadet Joni Williams found a dry spot to watch the ceremony in the windowsill of a building across the street.

“It’s almost like going to the fireworks,” she said.  “I brought myself a blanket to keep warm and provide a little cushion for the cement seat.  I got a basic two-step ladder to help me make this giant leap up into the windowsill.  Plus, I’ve got my long johns on and two pairs of socks.  I’ve been doing this for a long time now.”

She showed up an hour and a half early to make sure she would get the perfect seat. One windowsill over from her was Nina, who had the same idea.

“We come every year and we can’t see anything because we’re short,” she said.  “We decided to come early this year and get a good seat.”

From their prime location, Joni and Nina watched as Sir Winston Churchill secondary school student Hannah Williams read her poem ‘The Way.”

Then Reverend Paul Beckingham said the Prayer of Remembrance. “We remember, before you today, all who safeguard the values we uphold that we may love our neighbour in word and in actions,” he said.  “We shall not forget, in Your holy presence and before so great a crowd of witnesses, we will remember them.”

Then the crowd lined both sides of Hastings St. and applauded as the veterans marched by.

Ceremony draws hundreds in White Rock

As if on cue, a hint of sun peaked out as five planes of an older vintage rumbled over the hundreds of people gathered around the dark stone cenotaph obelisk in White Rock. The crowd included peacekeepers, active soldiers, aging vets, Mounties, border agents, firefighters, airmen, paramedics, and Commonwealth frontiersmen who give their time as school crossing guards.

And families packed the square. Small children were perched on shoulders or bundled up in buggies. At ceremony’s end, people laid poppies at the foot of the cenotaph.

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