(rdnewsNOW/Troy Gillard)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

lest we forget

Flags of Remembrance provide opportunity to not forget this year amid pandemic

Sep 13, 2020 | 12:06 PM

The Flags of Remembrance made a quiet return to the waterfront in Sylvan Lake on Saturday.

This year, Veterans Voices of Canada (VVOC) founder Al Cameron was forced to go about the annual tradition without a large crowd and ceremony because of the pandemic.

The 128 flags, which represent the approximately 128,000 killed and missing in action members of the Canadian Forces, as well as frontline emergency personnel, will remain up until after Remembrance Day.

Flags have also been raised in Windsor, Ontario and Sydney, Nova Scotia. Each flag is sponsored and accompanied by a plaque commemorating the name and life of someone close to or known by the sponsor.

Among them this year is one for Capt. Jennifer Casey, who perished last May when her Snowbird jet crashed in Kamloops, B.C. Like Casey, Cameron is from Nova Scotia, which is why VVOC itself sponsored a plaque in her honour.

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“What her death signifies and what people are starting realize more and more is that we don’t have to be in warring situations for people who wear the uniform to become casualties or fatalities,” Cameron says. “Every day, whether or not they’re on deployment or peacekeeping, they’re doing things that put their lives on the line. We have to acknowledge that.”

(rdnewsNOW/Troy Gillard)

Speaking to rdnewsNOW on Sunday, Cameron touched on how how remembrance will be different this year.

“Everybody should be aware of what November 11 is, so take a little time, go online and do some research about people who’ve served, be it in Afghanistan, or for the RCMP, and those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice,” he says.

“Local Legion branches may be looking at doing Zoom or Facebook Live-style ceremonies, but if you can’t do any of that, our flags are flying here in Sylvan Lake, the names are on the plaques of honour, so walk the flag line and read them and remember that way.”

There are still many sponsorship opportunities available in Sylvan Lake, Windsor and Sydney. For more information, email ac@vetvoicecan.org.

Meantime, Cameron notes there are problems every year with theft, including one flag in Sylvan Lake that’s already had the plaque taken.

“If people want to come down and visit, please be respectful and don’t touch or take any of the things that are there. They are there for a reason. Leave the flag site as you saw it. If the person who took that plaque has it or if someone found it, contact me through email, no questions asked.”

An additional 128 flags (without plaques) will go up along Hwy 11 near Sylvan Lake on September 26.

RELATED: International flags to fly near Sylvan Lake to honour front-line workers