Islanders pause to remember the fallen
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 | 11:47 PM AT
CBC News
Sally and Tim Goddard lay the first wreath in Charlottetown. (CBC) Thousands of Islanders attended Remembrance Day ceremonies across P.E.I. on Wednesday.
The largest ceremony was held in Charlottetown, where Sally and Tim Goddard laid the first wreath. Their daughter Nichola was the first ever Canadian female soldier to die in combat.
In Summerside, one family brought with them a provincial flag signed by Islanders that had been flown in Afghanistan by P.E.I. members of the Canadian Forces.
On Lennox Island, a special ceremony was held to remember the Mi'kmaq veterans who died serving their country.
In 1914, when the call went out to serve in the First World War, 34 answered from Lennox Island — every able-bodied male in the community.
Among them was the great uncle of John Joe Sark, an elder who serves on the Mi'kmaq Grand Council.
"Our people understood very well what oppression is," he said. "They survived that, and they knew what the people in Europe were going through."
Brig.-Gen. David Naismith, the top soldier in Atlantic Canada, was at the service. He said it was shameful that aboriginal veterans were not accorded the same benefits or respect as their Caucasian counterparts.
"Hopefully we can learn from that and to make sure that people, especially the First Nations people, are treated and continue to be treated with the respect they deserve for what they've served," said Naismith.
Pte. Don Francis, who is preparing for his deployment to Afghanistan, said a sense of duty still exists within the community.
"The last surviving veteran of my family was actually my grandfather, so I wanted to go ahead and keep that going within my family," he said.
Sark said a similar feeling was beginning to resonate in the community.
"We have to bring that pride back," he said.
