Time of remembrance in Rivers
- Details
- Published on Saturday, November 21, 2015
By Sheila Runions
Banner Staff
Last week’s Royal Canadian Legion report told readers that Branch 75 (Rivers) was involved in four Remembrance Day services. Three were held Nov. 10 at both schools and the care home while the last was on Nov. 11.
It was at this official legion service that the reality of time was evident; only four veterans marched in to their reserved row in the gymnasium of Rivers Collegiate. They were followed by 17 auxiliary members and five members of Rivers Police Service. Because of the aging membership in both branch and auxiliary, no colour party carried or dipped flags during musical moments.
All three military divisions were represented with five cadets and two officers, one being the guest speaker, leading seaman Derrick Booth of Shilo. He read a speech prepared by Canadian Armed Forces while a video played about the McKinstry family, who now has a fifth generation veteran. This legacy began with the First World War and continues with a great-great-grandson who has served in Afghanistan. Booth said, “We’ve chosen to wear this uniform and die for our country, to put the safety and security of our country above our own. As the last of our Second World War veterans die, new veterans are emerging, serving our country with honour.”
Branch padre Glenna Beauchamp addressed the branch and offered a prayer. She said, “It’s important to know those who name us, even as their enemies. Our veterans were enemies of oppression and tyranny. Our veterans were enemies as friends of justice, peace and freedom and they acted as true friends willing to lay down their lives for us.” In her prayer she offered “thanks for those we remember and honour. Their lives were uprooted, and sometimes lost…. Forgive us for forgetting their sacrifice.”
When Rivers Elementary School asked for someone to participate in the service for reading In Flanders’ Fields, Aurora Mikkelsen asked if she could be the representative. The collegiate sent its student council president to speak. Rachel Veitch admitted her generation sees “war as a phenomenon throughTV or memorabilia. November 11 is about educating Canadian youth about what armed conflict stands for — our history and freedom — and that we need to be thankful. We can never repay the debt we owe to these people, but we can remember their sacrifice.”
Acting on a suggestion from last year, this year the branch provided an insert in their program which listed the companies/organizations/individuals that bought crosses, rather than reading that list. Navy cadet Brody Davis and army cadet Avery Toews (both students at Rivers Collegiate) took turns delivering the nine wreaths to legion, school and political representatives who placed them at the front of the stage, which was already decorated with the 65 crosses. Air cadet Adrian MacKay-Heide, army cadet Hannah Toews and navy cadet Morgan Houghton (all of Rivers) pinned poppies on a large cross as branch president Darryl Childerhose read the names of local men who died in both World Wars. While Childerhose read these names, a power point created by auxiliary member Janey Brown played; each of the 50 slides showed a picture of the person, their name, rank, age of death and a picture of their cemetery.
Others participating in the service were auxiliary president Marlene Hayhurst who read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (to everything there is a season: a time to be born, a time to die; a time to laugh, a time to cry; etc.). Jean Young, Jamie McFadden and Angela Roberts played piano, bagpipes and bugle respectively. Warren Smallwood acted as sergeant-at-arms; he assisted veterans in and out of the gym. Stan Runions recorded the service which will air on Channel 12 (Westman subscribers only) Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 23 and 24 at 7 p.m.
