Cenotaph dedicated in weekend ceremony

One week ahead of Remembrance Day, the new Riverside Cenotaph was dedicated in a ceremony at at Miracle Park Saturday afternoon. The ceremony was led by the Riverside Royal Canadian Legion, in memory of heroes who died at war.

According to Ken Dault, Legion Branch 255 president, the event is to make sure people are always aware of what happened in the past.

“So people always remember that our democracy, our freedoms, our believes, come at a dear price–with a lot of war…” said Dault. “It’s very important that people always keep that in mind, keep that in their hearts going forward the life, so we want to make sure we’re a part of that.”

People came to lay flowers to show their respect. There were many veterans who understand today’s hard-won peace better than most. They say they want to remember our hard-won peace through this solemn ceremony.

Bob Bromley, who served in Vietnam, said he was happy to take part in the service.

“Today is a celebration of all of the men and women who served the armed forces, some of whom gave up their lives and didn’t come back, some who came back badly wounded,” said Bromley. “Many of us who came back with everything to gain from our service.”

Bromley served in the army for both Canada and the U.S.

“In my war, we left 55,000 men and woman over there who never came home. Hundreds of thousands came back wounded, many of whom are still not healed,” said Bromley.

A full Remembrance Day ceremony will be held at Windsor’s cenotaph downtown at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11.