Approximately 60 students from Harwood Elementary and École Beairsto stood in the rain to honour and recognize the sacrifices of the Canadian military, and local Vernon and area Veterans. As part of the No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation, for the second year in a row, the students spent time researching some of the Veterans buried in Pleasant Valley Cemetery and today, they laid 521 poppies at the grave sites.
Dennis Windsor of the Royal Canadian Legion spoke to the students and acknowledge their efforts to remember the Vernon and area Veterans. “The actions today, define the true meaning of remembrance.”
Windsor went on to speak of how World War I ended. The Armistice was signed just after 5 a.m. on the morning of November 11, 1918, however the actual ceasefire would not start until 11 a.m. to allow the news to travel to the many soldiers on the frontlines. Over 2,700 Allies were killed that morning, with the last Canadian being killed at 10:58 a.m.
As ceremony concluded, Windsor reminded the students that the rain and cold temperatures they were experiencing that morning were very similar to what the soldiers faced everyday during World War I. Afterwards, the students visited the grave sites and laid their poppies on the graves of their great-grandparents and soldiers unknown.
Last year, 8,001 students in Canada visited 101 cemeteries and laid 49,821 poppies as part of the No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation.
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