Flags for fallen soldiers

By Jordan Ferris

 

Canadian soldiers will be honoured on Saturday when Windsor’s water front is painted red with Canadian flags.

 

On Sept. 22, Veteran Voices of Canada will host Windsor’s second annual Flags of Remembrance Ceremony where 128 Canadians flags will be raised. The display is designed to represent military lives lost and missing in action between the Boer war and the present.

During the ceremony, all 128 Canadian flags will be raised by military cadets as names of soldiers are read out. each flag represents 1,000 soldiers.   

 

Windsor is one of six cities in Canada that will host an annual Flags of Remembrance observance. Windsor does differ from the other five cities – Bathurst, N.B., Charlottetown, Ponoka, Alta, Sydney, N.S., Sylvan Lake.– as the ceremonial flags are not being placed on a highway. Windsor Flags of Remembrance branch representative Terri Davis-Fitzpatrick said Assumption Park was a better location for viewing the flags and they can be seen from across The Detroit River. Making Windsor is a good fit for this ceremony.

 

“Windsor as a community really embraces our veterans,” said  Davis-Fitzpatrick. “Any veteran memorial or function that we have, we have large numbers of people from the community attend that. That is why I believe it is so successful.”

 

The flags can also include a sponsored maple leaf plaque with a fallen soldier’s name inscribed on it for a $200 donation. In the event’s first year Windsor hit the gold standard and will do so again this year said Davis-Fitzpatrick. In 2017, more than 60 flags were sponsored. This year all 128 flag poles will feature an honour plaque. Money from the honour plaques goes toward helping local communities to host future Flags of Remembrance events and local charities. Private Jaiden Potter of the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, said community acts like this do not go unnoticed by soldiers.

  

“Well, I really appreciate, that the citizens of the country that we protect actually took the time to thank us for what we have done and what we lost. It is very heartwarming that they support us,” said Potter.

 

The six cities will raise their flags at noon Mountain Time to show unity between branches and will not be taken down until the day after Remembrance Day.