“As has been said, if we send them, we must mend them,” said Mike Gray, president of the Fort McMurray Legion.
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More than 1,500 people packed a MacDonald Island Park fieldhouse and the Royal Canadian Legion branch in Waterways to honour Canada’s veterans for Remembrance Day.
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As people reflected on the past contributions and sacrifices of Canada’s veterans, the crowds were reminded current and former service members struggle daily with the mental and emotional wounds from combat and non-combat deployments.
“Service under the constant threat of violence and readiness to do violence when necessary takes an extreme toll on the soul,” said Mike Gray, president of the Fort McMurray Legion and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan, in a speech at the MacDonald Island ceremony.
“We must ensure that we constantly strive to bring them back and make them whole, so that they may re-enter and enjoy our day-to-day society, which many of us take for granted. As has been said, if we send them, we must mend them.”
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Gray also pointed out there are Canadian soldiers, sailors and air force personnel deployed on dozens of operations around the world. Locally, the Canadian Armed Forces maintains a Canadian Ranger patrol group in Fort Chipewyan.
Debbie Pinksen returned as the Silver Cross Mother for the Remembrance Day ceremonies. Pinksen’s son, Corporal Brian Pinksen of 2nd Battalion, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, died in a hospital in Germany on Aug. 30, 2010 after he was wounded in Afghanistan eight days earlier. He was 20.
“We come together on November the 11th every year to remember, but I look at our Silver Cross Mother who I am sure there is not a day goes by where she does not do anything but remember,” said Pastor Robert Parmenter, who is also the legion branch’s padre.
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“We are here to pay honour and tribute to all of those who are willing to take a stand to protect and serve and say, ‘not on my watch. This is not happening. It is just not going to happen,’ and they are willing to stand there and make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.”
The ceremony included speeches from Mayor Sandy Bowman, UCP MLAs Tany Yao and Energy Minister Brian Jean.
Bowman thanked local veterans and emergency workers, and praised the contributions of their past and current peers across Canada. He also thanked the Fort McMurray Legion for their work in the community.
Jean reminded people that 650,000 Canadians volunteered to fight during the First World War, a time when there were roughly 9 million people. This includes about 10 per cent of Albertans. Jean and Bowman praised Pinksen and offered their condolences to his mother.
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Yao was alarmed about recent polls showing a growing number of Canadians, particularly young people, are skeptical of the Holocaust and other atrocities from the Second World War. He also spoke about how he had family that lived under Japanese occupation during the Second World War.
“Their stories are not pleasant. They talked about being very hungry all the time. They talked about the destruction of devastation that was around. They talked about a lot of people that died horribly,” said Yao. “That’s why we need to always remember that, so that we never, ever go through that.”
Councillors Lance Bussieres, Allan Grandison and Stu Wigle also attended. Laila Goodridge, Conservative MP for Fort McMurray-Cold Lake, attended a ceremony at CFB Cold Lake.
There were also representatives from many other community groups including Wood Buffalo RCMP, the Fort McMurray Fire Department and Regional Emergency Services, scouts, and army and air cadets.
“We must never forget the sacrifices of youth, innocence or even life itself that our comrades in arms have made and continue to make to this day,” said Parmenter.
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vmcdermott@postmedia.com
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