(Photo provided by Glenn Miller)

By Justin Goulet

COVID-19 results in changes to Remembrance Day ceremonies

Nov 10, 2020 | 6:05 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Remembrance Day is going to look a little different in Lethbridge this year.

Due to COVID-19, there will be no large ceremony like in years past, with crows of residence gathering together to honour veterans and all members of the Canadian armed forces.

Instead, there will be a small ceremony at the Lethbridge cenotaph with select individuals.

“People can expect a smaller service. First of all, we are encouraging the Legion to not attend. It’s very hard for us to say that but because of the COVID environment and social distancing. There will be a small service and it’s going to be roped off as well,” said retired Warrant Officer and volunteer with the Lethbridge Legion Glenn Miller.

The good news is, though, the ceremony will be live streamed via the local legion’s Facebook page.

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File photo outside of the Lethbridge Legion – General Stewart Branch #4 (Lethbridge News Now)

Initially, two satellite events were planned to take place at Mountain View Cemetery and Battery Point at Henderson Lake. However, Miller said those events have since been cancelled.

As well, the 429 Squadron would normally do a fly-by as part of the Remembrance Day ceremonies. This year, though, they are unable to attend but Miller said a fly-by is still in the plans.

“We’ve had a citizen from Lethbridge, Jeffrey Brain [come forward], who has a World War Two-type of trainer. It’s called a Harvard and it’s painted yellow,” Miller told Lethbridge News Now.

“That’s the plane that they used to train pilots in, and it will conduct a fly-pass, which is fitting because this is the 75^th anniversary of the end of World War Two. [Here’s a] local connection – our service officer, who is also a former commanding officer of the City of Lethbridge squadron, flew that plane in 1961.”

Miller added that in the worse case scenario, there will be at least one person from the Lethbridge Legion – General Stewart Branch #4 visit the cenotaph and lay a wreath for Remembrance Day. The Lethbridge Legion will also be closed on November 11.

MILESTONE YEAR

Although COVID-19 has changed up plans for ceremonies across the country, this year is extra significant as it marks the 75^th anniversary of the Liberation of the Netherlands and the end of the Second World War.

Miller said the contributions of Canadians to the Netherlands are still celebrated to this day and every time he’s visited; he has received thank you’s from many Dutch citizens.

He mentioned another sometimes forgotten group is the Canadians who were prisoners of war in Hong Kong, China and in Japan.

“As a signatory to the Red Cross, we would expect a certain level of treatment as a POW [prisoner of war]. Here in Lethbridge, we had one of the largest POW camps and we treated those German prisoners in accordance with the regulations and treaty that we signed on to, expecting ours to be treated the same [but] we know that didn’t always happen,” Miller remarked.

“So, it was pretty horrific – the condition of those Hong Kong POWs to be liberated under and for us to discover their actual sad state of health. That sad state went on to inflict them many years after the war. For them, the war wasn’t over when they were liberated – they had to live with it until they died.”

The poppy is one of the most prominent displays of remembrance (Lethbridge News Now)

Miller sees the sacrifices of those POWs as a “hidden chapter” in “the bigger picture”, also making mention of armed forces members who served in areas outside of Europe and Asia.

“I just ask that [everyone] really look at; we talk about Europe, we talk about Asia, but there’s also Canadians that fought in Africa. There’s service and sacrifice all across the world – that’s why it’s called the World War.”

He added it’s important to remember service members who never left their training zones, dying during routine exercises.

“[Remember] not just Canadians that are buried here in our fields of honour, [but also] those people who died while in training from Australia, New Zealand, U.K. They’re buried here too and that’s their sacrifice.”

LAST POST FUND

Miller made note of the Last Post Fund. The national charity has volunteers work to provide proper burials for deceased veterans whose families may not have the means to do so themselves.

“The Last Post Fund is a national charity and it actually started out as a result of a person who died, because he didn’t have the means to live…he was very destitute, Miller said.

“That’s the mission today – that no veteran, at the time of death, is denied a dignified burial for lack of financial means.”

Family members of a decease veteran can apply for a proper burial themselves.

“There’s no judgement made and the biggest thing for us is the reward of actually establishing a headstone for a person that has been neglected for so long. It’s important for us who are both veterans and civilians who are members of the Last Post Fund to give back to those who served.”

The Last Post Fund also strives to provide a permanent military marker for veterans who are in unmarked graves. More on the Unmarked Grave Program (UMG Program) can be found here.

An additional project of the UMG Program focuses on Indigenous veterans via the Indigenous Veterans Initiative, formed in 2019. This focus offers the inscription of the veteran’s traditional name to new and existing military markers.