Darby Duncan, a grade nine student at St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School, places a poppy on the grave of a Canadian veteran during a ceremony held as part of the No Stone Left Alone program. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

lest we forget

No stone left alone ahead of Remembrance Day

Nov 4, 2019 | 1:33 PM

Remembrance and respect were top of mind Monday for a group of students from Red Deer’s St. Thomas Aquinas Middle School.

The students were involved in a ceremony at Red Deer Cemetery as part of the national No Stone Left Alone program, which allows students to honour members of the Canadian Armed Forces by providing poppies to be placed on their grave markers.

“It made me feel honoured to be asked to be here, and to be able to place a poppy down,” said grade nine student Darby Duncan, whose late grandfather served in Britain during WWII and is buried in Stettler.

“I was really surprised to learn that Canada was so involved in WWII,” Duncan admitted. “I originally thought it was just European countries, but then I learned that Canada was involved in saving so many countries. That was a real eye-opener for me to see that maybe my grandfather contributed to that.”

Grade seven student Rocco Castle said the moment meant a lot to him as well because he too has relatives who served.

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“It was pretty bad. Millions of people died,” he said. “This makes us not forget about what cruel things some people did, and so it doesn’t happen again.”

While the years continue to pass on the Great Wars, more people are making sure to also remember the sacrifices of more recent conflicts such as in Afghanistan.

(rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

Language Arts teacher Dana Blair’s brother was in the Calgary Highlanders reserves, but never went overseas. A number of his friends did, however, and thankfully returned.

“To see the kids being so respectful and waiting to participate even though they’re so far removed from it, I think it’s really important and it gives hope that this will continue on past us,” she said.

“They still need to recognize, even though we don’t feel the direct threat of democracy being taken from us, there are still soldiers going out there, giving their all, and they need that hope and reminder that we’re here thinking of them, and honouring the sacrifice they’re giving, because they don’t come home the same people.”

According to the program’s website, the No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation is one of the leading agencies in honouring and remembering Canada’s veterans.

No Stone Left Alone was launched in 2011 and in 2018 more than 9200 students participated at 105 cemeteries across the country. A ceremony also takes place each year at a cemetery in Krakow, Poland.