a5

By MICHELE GILKS
For The Daily Gleaner

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

Doaktown-area residents gathered at Doaktown Legion Branch 23 on Tuesday to remember those who gave their lives for this country.

The legion hall was filled to capacity as a large crowd assembled to honour our veterans during a memorial service.

The ceremony began with the singing of O Canada and the hymn O God, Our Help In Ages Past.

"This year marks the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War - the tragic conflagration in Europe that heralded Canada's coming of age as a nation," said Jeffrey Porter, Doaktown legion president.

"At epic battles like the Somme, Passchendaele and Vimy Ridge, Canadians fought fiercely and gallantly for our foundational values: freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

"Their sacrifices helped forge our national identity, earned Canada a strong, independent voice on the world stage and set the standards for valour, skill and professionalism that have been the hallmarks of the Canadian Forces through the Second World War, Korea, The Cold War, and the peacekeeping and peacemaking missions of the modern era," Porter said.

"For Canadians, Remembrance Day is a time of great sadness, but also of great pride. Even as we pause to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, our thoughts and prayers are with our troops now serving in Afghanistan. They are holding the torch high and earning their own place in our history alongside the heroes of conflicts past.

"Like their forbearers, they are our best and our brightest and the very essence of Canada," he said.

"Lest we forget."

Rev. Bill Lea gave the prayer, and Dale Brennan read the list of names of those who had donated wreaths.

Following the service, soldiers from the Canadian Forces Bases Gagetown armory school, RCMP officers, legion members, local dignitaries, and ambulance and fire personnel marched to the cenotaph for the laying of wreaths.