5 minute read
Decoration Day
Honouring Servicemen and Women
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
Canadian flags blew gently beside the headstones of local veterans when Royal Canadian Branch No. 39 presented a tranquil Decoration Day Service at Riverside Cemetery in Vegreville on June 23.
President Terry Kuzyk said, “The observance of Remembrance Day is a long-standing tradition not only here in Canada but around the world. Remembering and honouring our war dead is as much a requirement as celebrating Canada Day. Naturally, without those sacrifices, we would have a significantly different country.
But, for every war dead we honour, there are 15 or more servicemen and women who stood shoulder to shoulder with them and survived to come home. Also, since our military was first created just after confederation, we have had personnel serving in uniform across Canada and around the world in what is often mistakenly referred to as peacetime.
Not surprisingly, most did not come home unchanged. And that is something I want to address today.
The immediate shock of hearing of a loved one’s ultimate sacrifice is a devastating blow to any individual or family. But the family members of veterans that are here today know the reality of spending a lifetime adjusting to the changed person that has come home at the end of a war, or after a service career.
This ceremony is as much for the spouses, children and grandchildren of the veterans who survived their service as those who served. Everyone’s life changed through a set of circumstances that they had no control over.
Many of our veterans buried here today were successful. They farmed, they ran businesses, and they taught and contributed to the community in many other ways. But there was no hiding that they were a group apart. A very special group that has guided the direction of our community, in fact our country, over the last 150 plus years.
So, let’s use today to remember the positive, celebrate the good and take the time to appreciate the service of our family members and friends who offered their all to give us the country we have today.
Rest in peace, Comrades, you have earned your rest and you will not be forgotten.”
Local dignitaries also presented greetings which echoed these sentiments.
Families Honour Courage and Sacrifice of Loved Ones
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
It was a warm and sunny summer’s day with the mercury soaring to 26 degrees Celsius. Fortunately, there was a breeze as a handful of attendees gathered at the Lavoy Cemetery for the annual Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 39 Decoration Day ceremony on June 22.
Legion Secretary Rea Radcliffe gazed upon the blue sky dotted with fluffy cumulus clouds thinking about her son Damian, who would always tell her when he was away on duty that all he dreamed of were sunny days in Alberta.
Damian, is a military veteran as was his grandfather Joseph (John) who served in the Australian Infantry Force. Rea said it was an emotional day as she thought of them. The same went for Randy Footz who attended the ceremony with his wife Jeanette and daughter Renee as well as his brother Gerry Footz. They were thinking of Mike Footz who served with the Second Canadian Corps of the Royal Canadian Artillery.
Mike, one of 7 siblings, was born on Nov. 18, 1919. He grew up near Spedden, Alberta and attended Garner Lake School. He received his basic training in Camrose in 1941 and advanced artillery training in Vancouver in 1943.
He landed at Normandy on July 26, 1944 and spent time in Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam. Randy recounted the story his dad told of being part of a convoy in the Netherlands and the soldiers coming across a place with ice cream and them trying to carry as much of it as they could, hooting and hollering in excitement.
Randy said his dad spoke about the Battles of Nijmegen and Arnhem in the Netherlands in September of 1944. Mike returned home aboard the HMT Queen Elizabeth and had Christmas dinner on board the ship.
While Randy and Mike were told a few stories of wartime, “Like most soldiers, he rarely spoke about his time overseas. That conversation was reserved for time spent with other soldiers.”
Mike married Madeleine on June 7, 1946. They resided five miles northeast of Lavoy where they raised Randy, Gerry and Susan. Mike farmed with his brother Bill. Randy and Gerry describe their father as innovative as he could build anything from scratch. Apart from being a great handyman, they say their dad had a great sense of humour and a special love of bagpipes.
Randy and Jeanette have travelled to several European cities and countries, visiting war memorials and cemeteries over the years honouring the service and sacrifice of Canadian soldiers who did not return home.
