Hamiota veterans wall a tribute to soldiers who served in world wars

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This article was published 14/11/2016 (1404 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The community of Hamiota now has a more concrete way to remember its veterans — more than 750 names etched in stone.

A new veterans wall was unveiled on Remembrance Day, dedicated to the Hamiota soldiers who served in the First and Second World War.

"The biggest job was getting all the names … going through archives and reading anything that we could to find all the names," said Pete Oberlin, who organized the veterans wall. "We came out with between 750 and 775 names … It was a fairly time-consuming job, there were lot of details to figure out."

Oberlin suggested the idea about two years ago and was given the go-ahead to organize the project.

In order to ensure no one was missed, they included anyone who enlisted from the area, Oberlin said.

"There’s a few (veterans) who moved to Hamiota and are long-term residents … most of the names are people from Hamiota. At the time, there were a lot of transient people working on farms and such … so they were enlisting from here," Oberlin said.

About 75 people attended the dedication ceremony and the unveiling of the veterans wall, Oberlin said.

Two veterans laid wreaths, honouring the men who fought for Canada.

"It feels very good (that it’s now completed)," Oberlin said. "The community really appreciates it."

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