So muted, in fact, that only a couple of representatives from the Moose Jaw Legion and Anavets along with a few soldiers from the Saskatoon Dragoons were able to take part in a simple and unannounced ceremony at the Crescent Park cenotaph.
Fortunately, things have improved greatly since. And with the announcement last week that 150 people could gather for outdoor events, the Legion quickly put together a plan to once again bring the Decoration Day ceremony back to prominence, only on a smaller scale in Rosedale Cemetary.
“We couldn’t do anything last year; we weren’t able to come out and it was a hard one not to be able to do. That was really tough,” said Moose Jaw Legion president Roy LaBuick. “A week before today we found out we could have 150 people, so we tried to see what we could get for volunteers to help and it must have been 40, for sure, which was really good.”
Those volunteers descended on cemeteries throughout the city, decorating the graves of local fallen soldiers with small Canadian flags, offering a small gesture of honour for those who served their country.
“I’d say it took about two hours with all the volunteers we had,” LaBuick said. “We can’t express our gratitude enough for all the help with help from the community and the city to help us out and keep this going. It means an awful lot, for sure.”
Sunday’s ceremony included scripture and prayers from Padre Reverend Rob Cairns and Saskatchewan Dragoons chaplain Linda Tomlinson-Seebach, along with the Last Post and Rouse performed by retired Capt. Rick Elmer and piper Michelle Gallagher offering The Lament.
Military groups from 15 Wing and the Dragoons joined the Legion and Anavets in laying wreaths.
Decoration Day itself was born of a protest over the lack of government recognition from past conflicts. It pre-dates Remembrance Day by decades and was first held on June 2, 1890 when veterans placed decorations at the Canadian Volunteers Monument in Toronto on the anniversary of the Fenian Raids. Once Canadian soldiers became more involved in international conflicts — and especially after the Boer War — the event became more prominent.
Today, it honours those who have fought for Canada in all conflicts, both before, during, and after the First and Second World Wars.
“I think it’s unfortunate that many, many years ago our veterans couldn’t get benefits from serving our country, and that’s wrong,” LaBuick said. “I don’t think that anything like that will happen again, we need more awareness of our veterans from the past, present and future and we want to make sure they’re all taken care of.”
