Vegreville Legion to Host Decoration Day Ceremonies

Vegreville Legion to Host Decoration Day Ceremonies

Michelle Pinon News Advertiser

The Vegreville Legion No. 39 will be hosting Decoration Day ceremonies in Lavoy and Vegreville on June 13 and 14.

Service Officer Rhonda Hayduk said both ceremonies will get underway at 2 p.m. The Lavoy ceremony will be held at its cemetery and will be held on June 13 and the Vegreville ceremony will be held at the Riverside Cemetary. “Flags will be placed at the graves.” Due to COVID the number of participants will have to be restricted, and there will not be any reception afterwards.

Hayduk said Decoration Day is a day to remember and pay tribute to the members of our communities who served and survived their military service time and have since passed on. Hayduk said they also honour the members of the RCMP who served with distinction and are buried alongside veterans in neighbouring the communities of Lavoy, Ranfurly, Mundare, Brush Hills, Martins and Beaver Hill Lake, Sich Kolomaya, Spacha Moskolyk, and a dozen or more cemeteries in our area.

Hayduk said, “It is only right to honour the veterans who paid a price for peace that the rest of us cannot understand. She said we can only take the time to reflect on the suffering and hardships they endured on our behalf in war and in peace to say a quiet thank you.”

She went on to say, “It is well known that nearly 117,000 individuals died while wearing a Canadian uniform. It is often forgotten that about 1.5 million survived their military experience and returned home to continue their lives.”