Veterans’ service honoured in new ways

Remembrance Day is a Canadian tradition – but the way it is honoured has changed over time.

“It’s kind of like a roller coaster,” said Paul Lauzon, president of the Windsor Veterans Memorial Services Committee, about how Canadians recognize generations of military service and sacrifice.

The last two years during the pandemic pushed ceremonies online or into socially distanced events. In Windsor, ceremonies conducted at the Essex County War Memorial were livestreamed online and on television. 

“Now that the restrictions are lifted a little bit, as you can see from November 11, we had quite a crowd here,” Lauzon said. 

He estimates last Friday saw 500 to 600 attendees.  

Aside from in-person events, the City of Windsor also offered a variety of online means to honour veterans. 

These included two virtual roundtable discussions where Mayor Drew Dilkens spoke with local veterans about their experiences and another featuring local veterans speaking about their service. Both were shared via Facebook. 

In a statement posted to the City of Windsor website, Dilkens said events are part of his focus as mayor. 

“We commit to honouring them, to keeping their stories and memories alive, and their legacies forever in our hearts,” Dilkens said. 

Lauzon also said the City of Windsor helps to support 13 events his organization runs to remember veterans from various conflicts. 

These include everything from World War 1 to Afghanistan. 

“The City [of Windsor] is very good at helping the military community all year round,” he said. “We are very fortunate that we got the city behind us for our memorials.”

In terms of where Remembrance Day events will be going in the future, Lauzon said maintaining the health of veterans is key. 

“As long as COVID stays at bay and we’ll look at more things added to our agenda. We always got to be remembering our veterans are older each and every year. We got to remain cognizant of the fact they can’t stand for long periods of time.” 

Crystal Bryan, an officer with the 364 Lancaster Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron, helps to train young people who join Cadets. She said losing more veterans each year due to age presents a bittersweet reality for new generations.

“It means a lot more that we can celebrate them while they’re with us, and still have the ability to tell their stories and honor them for all they do for us,” Bryan said.

Bryan also helps to take photos and videos of various events related to her position within Cadets.

She said using these kinds of technologies will help to preserve the memory of veterans and their service even more.

“I feel like that’s definitely part of the transition in how we continue to honour them even in the different realms we’re all a part of,” she said. “It’s not just lost.”