THUNDER BAY – Remembrance Day was celebrated a little differently in 2020.
The masked crowd at Waverly Park, which normally numbers in the hundreds, was a socially distanced 115 or so, scattered throughout the freshly snow-covered space to pay tribute to soldiers, sailors and airmen who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service of their country.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, only 25 people were allowed to officially attend the annual ceremony, though organizers acknowledged ahead of time it would be all but impossible to stop onlookers from gathering in the spacious park.
Most of the wreaths were laid around the cenotaph earlier on Wednesday morning, reserving just three to be placed during the actual ceremony, including Silver Cross Mother Carol Klukie, whose son Josh was killed in 2006 in Afghanistan.
George Romick, the master of ceremonies for the event, said it was important to hold the ceremony, which was also live streamed to the community.
Given the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19, it went as smooth as could be expected.
“I think the situation with COVID, we needed to have a Remembrance Day service, even though it’s a shortened one. We still paid respects to our fallen comrades from the First World War, the Second World War, peacekeeping, Afghanistan, Korea and even present-day service men and women,” Romick said.
“It’s always important to remember those who served ... We need to remember this so a lot of the soldiers, men and women, who died in these conflicts are remembered and we don’t forget it so we don’t have to have major conflicts like these again.”
Les Newman, president of Port Arthur Branch No. 5 of the Royal Canadian Legion, said even though they cautioned the public to stay away, it was still nice to see so many people show up to show their support to fallen troops.
“I think everybody appreciates what we’re having to deal with because of the pandemic. But this service was something we had to do, in some form. We’ve been wrestling with it for months, as the restrictions change. Not doing it never entered the discussions. We had to do something,” Newman said.
Though fewer in numbers, much of the Remembrance Day ceremony tradition was kept, including the playing of Taps, the three-plane flyover, the prayer to the fallen, the gun salute (albeit from atop the Armoury across the street) and two minutes of silence all took place.
The cenotaph itself was ringed in bright, lime green barricades, and there was no honour guard ringing the statue.
“This was our best way of doing it, keeping people safe, keeping ourselves safe and still commemorating the sacrifices of those who have gone before us,” Newman said.
He added they hope to be allowed to have the full crowd and ceremony return in 2021, should the situation surrounding COVID-19 clear up.
