The Veterans Voices of Canada Plaques of Honor will be returned to sponsors and honorees today, while the Flags of Remembrance will be taken down Nov. 13.

By Alessia Proietti

Plaques and Flags of Remembrance come down

Remembering after the flags come down

Nov 12, 2021 | 5:23 PM

While the Flags of Remembrance and their plaques come down in Sylvan Lake, the duty to remember remains forever at full-mast for the Veterans Voices of Canada (VVOC).

Each year, VVOC raises 128 Canadian flags and plaques in a ceremony representing the 128,000 Canadian military and RCMP members killed and missing in service from the Boer War to the present day. Plaques of Honor are sold on donation for a minimum of $250 and dedicated to one of these service personnel along with first responders. Participating cities across the country all raise their flags at 12 p.m. MT on the same day in September, unifying the nation, and are taken down after Remembrance Day.

Today, the plaques are being returned to their sponsor or the honoree while the flags will be taken down Nov. 13 from Sylvan Lake’s Centennial Park and Highway 11.

“I know for a fact it opens people’s eyes. It makes people more aware of not only remembrance but veterans. The exposure that this is giving them; it’s been truly amazing,” said Allan Cameron, founder of VVOC.

Inspired by his family’s ties as veterans of WWII, Cameron left his career as a news cameraman for 11 years and began documenting the stories of Canadian veterans for historical and educational purposes. To date, his non-profit organization has interviewed over 2,000 veterans.

Last seen March 31

Missing: Eugenie Headman, 66, of Maskwacis

Apr 04, 2026

mayor hopes to meet housing minister this month

Alberta demands Ottawa back off on housing funding stripped from Red Deer

Apr 02, 2026

Last seen Jan. 15

Missing: Courtney Cattleman, 17, of Maskwacis

Apr 02, 2026

“Considering that’s what we began with and now we’ve expanded to all that were doing now, I’m quite proud of everything that we’ve accomplished,” he told rdnewsNOW.

His first Flags of Remembrance ceremony was held in Sylvan Lake in 2014, becoming an annual tradition as more cities participated in the event. This year was Lacombe’s first service.

It was also Sylvan Lake’s first service that had to be cut short from an anonymous threat. Even so, that did not stop the VVOC from celebrating the lives of the fallen. Being the 20^th anniversary of 9/11, the ceremony was held on Sept. 11 and a flag was also lifted commemorating the Indigenous community’s service personnel.

“The feedback I’ve gotten from people who’ve experienced it, participants, sponsors, has been just amazing. To visit the site, sit in the parking lot and watch people walk up and down the flag line and read the names on those Plaques of Honor, it tells me that it’s been received very well,” he said.

While the pandemic has had an impact on donations, Cameron believes in paying it forward, putting the raised funds back into local veterans’ charities and financial support, rather than his own organization.

Grateful for his dedicated volunteers, it is the community’s encouragement that drives Cameron to keep the tradition going.

“We are doing some good work and we just need support to keep doing these tributes, the displays as well as the regular documentation of veterans’ stories throughout the year,” said Cameron.

His goal for next year is to have at least one city in each province and territory in Canada to participate in the Flags of Remembrance ceremony.