A crowd of thousands stood in silence at the cenotaph at the Aldergrove Legion on Nov. 11 to mark Remembrance Day.
The ceremony and service began with a parade of Legion members, veterans, police, firefighters, cadets, and scouts down Fraser Highway from 268th Street.
Langley Township firefighters raised the ladders on two of their trucks to hang a large Canadian flag in front of the Legion hall.
Walter Poustie, an Aldergrove Legion member and veteran of the Navy Reserve, was glad to see the many children involved.
“It’s the greatest training they can get, [the cadets] and the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides,” he said.
“We have to remember what the sacrifice was and why,” he said, emphasizing passing along knowledge to the next generation.
“They’re going to be the ones that will run this country someday,” he said. “It is so important.”
Sergeant at Arms Brian Spiess led the parade, and after the national anthem and a hymn, Legion member Pat Brady read the poem Why Wear a Poppy.
The service’s chaplain, Rev. Linda Varin, began with a reading from the poet John Donne, “no man is an island.”
Varin spoke about how those gathered were part of a compassionate, justice-seeking collective.
“We are privileged heirs to this freedom for which so many have given their lives,” she said.
Canadians honour the men and women who gave their lives by standing up for equality for all humankind, said Varin.
As is traditional, a roll call was made for several veterans who have passed away over the last year.
• Michael Prokopchuk
• Philip Horn
• Bruce McMillan
• Henry Furness
• Thomas Gallagher
• Robert J. Brady
“They do not answer ma’am,” called Spiess.
In honour of the called and of all the fallen, there were two minutes of silence.
