The stands at Sudbury Arena were close to full during this morning Nov. 11 ceremony as hundreds of Sudbury residents joined armed forces veterans, active military members, Royal Canadian Legion members and young cadets to mark the annual Remembrance Day observance.
And while ceremonies were underway at the arena, similar events took place across the city in communities such as Capreol, Chelmsford, Coniston, Falconbridge, Lively, Onaping Falls and also at Lockerby Royal Canadian Legion Branch 564.
The downtown event saw hundreds of spectators in the stands rise to their feet as the participants marched into the arena with a musical escort provided by the Greater Sudbury Police Pipe Band.
They watched as the main floor of the arena soon became crowded as Royal Canadian Legion honour guard members stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Greater Sudbury police officers, firefighters, paramedics and uniformed members of the Second Battalion of the Irish Regiment of Canada military reserve.
Emcee Dick Peras called the event to order as Navy League bugler Lieut. Tom Flake played The Last Post.
This was followed by two minutes of silence at 11 a.m.
Military piper Capt. John Adams played The Lament, which was quickly followed by Flake playing a rouse on the bugle.
Sudbury Secondary student Chloe Grubber sang O Canada.
This was followed by the traditional Act of Remembrance, which has become part of every Legion ceremony across Canada. The words were recited from the poem "For The Fallen" by Laurence Binyon:
"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, And in the morning, We will remember them.”
Sudbury's event also had remarks from Legion chaplain Rev. Shelley Kennedy. She thanked the participants for coming out to take part in the annual observances.
She said she wanted to thank members of the military for their role in Remembrance Day.
“There are two minutes of silence to honor soldiers who fought in the war. Remembrance Day is personal to everyone for different reasons, even though I may not know anyone in war, Remembrance Day is still personal to me, because soldiers fought for my country. They fought for me,” said Kennedy.
“We celebrate Remembrance Day to remember the soldiers who fought in World War One and World War Two and those on peacekeeping missions today; the fearless soldiers were fighting for peace and freedom for their countrymen. They were brave young men and women who risked their lives for us. We need to remember their sacrifice,” said Kennedy.
She quoted from a written tribute provided by a student whose family lost a son in military service.
She said the day honours those who contributed military service to their country but quickly added there is no amount of honour that can make up for the loss of a child. She said the family is changed forever.
“There is no recognition, no ceremony, no flag draped coffin that will ever fill the void left by his absence. Our pain is not temporary. It's a permanent part of who we are,” she said, reading from a tribute written by a grieving family member.
There soon followed the annual wreath laying ceremony where more than 30 organizations laid remembrance wreaths.
The wreath laying began with a tribute to the Silver Cross Mother, which honours the mother of a military member who has died. Every year, across Canada, mothers are invited to lay a wreath to commemorate the loss for all mothers of military members who have died in service to Canada.
Tuesday's ceremony saw Jocelyn Tait of Sudbury laying a wreath in remembrance of her son, Sgt. Jesse Tait, age 34, who died in 2015. He was a soldier with Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
The Memorial Cross (more often referred to as the Silver Cross) was first authorized on Dec. 1, 1919 as a memento of personal loss and sacrifice on the part of widows and mothers of Canadian sailors, aviators and soldiers who died for their country during the war.
The ceremony would not be complete without a reading of the famous poem by Lt.Col. John McCrae, “In Flanders Fields”, which was read aloud by Sudbury Secondary student Ace Martin.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
Len Gillis is a reporter at Sudbury.com.