Lyonel Doherty, Times Chronicle
A capacity crowd in Oliver today impressed Legion members as they gathered at the town cenotaph to remember the great sacrifices made by war veterans.
A ceremony at the community centre saw Rev. Ray Turner and Marie Paul lead people in prayer, followed by an address by MP Richard Cannings and singing by Sage Valley Voices and the Oliver Elementary School choir.
Cannings said we are blessed to live in a beautiful land of peace, justice, and freedom all because of the veterans who were sent off to war.
Cannings said his grandfather came to Oliver in 1907 to work in the Fairview gold mines. He signed up for the army even though he was well beyond the age of conscription. He attended the army camp in Vernon for training in the middle of winter, but ended up with pneumonia and turberculosis, which caused his death before going overseas.
“I never knew my grandfather, and my father didn’t really know his father because my father was only two years old when my grandfather died.”
Cannings said his father served in the Second World War flying Lancaster bombers. Luckily, he returned home with no physical or mental injuries.
The MP said he grew up after the Second World War which was still fresh in people’s memories.
“In those days we didn’t have phones or TVs or anything like that, so my mother told a lot of stories, and a lot of the stories were war stories . . . stories of losing friends, stories of terrible things that happened.”
Cannings said his father told these stories to remind them of how terrible war is, and that we should do all we can to avoid those conflicts
“He imparted in me the sacrifices that so many of our brave men and women went through.”
Cannings stressed that because we send these people to war, there should be a pact that we take care of them when they return.
“Many of them don’t come back the way my father did. Many of them come back with lifelong injuries, with mental illness and PTSD from their service.”
He added that some veterans become dependent on drugs while others end up homeless.
“We need to remember that pact . . . if you put yourself in harm’s way, if you volunteer to protect us, we have to take care of you when you come back.”
At the cenotaph, the names of the fallen were read out and many people laid wreaths to honour them.
The march to the cenotaph.
Lyonel Doherty photos
I salute you.
A young boy places his poppy on the Oliver cenotaph.
People line Main Street to pay tribute to the fallen.
A solemn remembrance
Laying a wreath
