Three schools to honour war dead in annual event

While it’s been 80 years since the end of the Second World War and 107 since the end of the Great War, it’s important to remember and honour those that served Canada. That’s the message from the No Stone Left Alone organizers, who make sure the grave of every soldier receives a poppy.

Students from three schools in Brandon will take part in next Thursday’s 10 a.m. ceremony at the Brandon Veterans Cemetery.

“If it wasn’t for those (soldiers), who knows where we’d be in the world right now,” said Ryan Lawson, the No Stone Left Alone co-ordinator for both Brandon and Souris. “Those soldiers back in World War One, World War Two, they dropped everything to go on and fight for our country, for the world.”

The Brandon event will see about 800 students from École Harrison, St. Augustine School and Riverheights School place poppies at the gravesites of about 1,200 veterans. The ceremony is something that has taken place in the city for the last 12 years. It started in Edmonton in 2011.

The smaller Souris event at 10 a.m. on Tuesday will have students from Souris School do the same.

Last year’s events saw 13,469 students from 217 communities honour 123,687 veterans in nine countries, according to the organization’s website.

The reason the event involves students, Lawson said, is because “they’re the future.”

“They’re the ones that need to remember, to pass it on to the next generation. And the more we get them involved, the more we will never forget,” he said.

Being right next to a tombstone makes everything “more real,” said École Harrison educational support teacher Kim Schutte.

“It just brings it closer to home. I believe for the students, it just makes it a little bit more of an authentic experience,” Schutte said on Wednesday.

“They’re at the cemetery, they’re seeing a tombstone, there’s soldiers … alongside the students and having conversations with them.”

CFB Shilo soldiers have taken part of the ceremony since it first started and will be there again this year.

Schutte, who also helps organize the event, said students are told to read the headstones and look at the dates so they understand who they’re remembering.

She said most students have a “really positive reaction” to the ceremony and setup, especially those in the older grades. It also hits close to home when a soldier died at a young age.

“The students are super engaged. It’s a great way to get them engaged, showing them different ways to kind of understand and have empathy,” Schutte said.

CFB Shilo Base Commander Lt.-Col. Jack Nguyen said soldiers are honoured to stand beside the students “who make this personal act of remembrance” every year.

“Remembering the people who have served and died for our country over the years remains important for current generations,” Nguyen said in a statement.

“Being a good citizen means understanding how the Canada we have today came to be.”

After the roughly 30-minute ceremony, soldiers will join students at École Harrison for lunch. That part always comes with students thanking soldiers for their service, Schutte said.

Schutte also urged people to make a donation for poppies, which helps pay for the poppies themselves and also helps the Royal Canadian Legion.

» alambert@brandonsun.com