Editor: Prior to Nov. 11, a small number of people (including children) made and placed wreaths and other tokens of remembrance at the cenotaph in 91原创 City. One item was the Canadian flag with a note of remembrance and signatures of the people who placed it.
Three or four days before Remembrance Day, one of my grandsons made and placed a cross with Canadian maple leafs and a poppy placed at the centre of the cross. It was his way of remembering and thanking his great-grandfather, uncles, and others who served and gave their lives for our freedom and democracy.
Upon attending the Remembrance Day service at the 91原创 City cenotaph, I was shocked to see that these symbols had been removed. Are these less important than wreaths (many that were probably not Canadian-made) placed by politicians, unions, businesses, and others?
I find the removal of these few personal symbols disrespectful, despicable, and disgraceful. What gives the Legion and other organizers the right to do this? Does my family and other families have no right to recognize and thank their family members who gave up their lives, some lying in cemeteries in foreign countries?
Are there those who would think that these 鈥渉omemade鈥� symbols do not fit with the commercialized version of what the cenotaph should look like at the end of the day?
I find this totally unacceptable.
Joe Cindrich,
91原创
