Fort St. John Legion hosts Remembrance Day parade, service

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Fort St. John Royal Canadian Legion Branch 102 hosted the Remembrance Day parade and service on Saturday. 

The parade began at 10 a.m. at the Cenotaph and marched towards city hall before returning to the legion.

After the parade, an outdoor service was held at the Cenotaph, with Peace River North MLA Dan Davies emceeing, and Fort St. John councillor Gord Klassen said a few words and led the community in prayer.

“Let us honour all those who have given themselves for the service and sacrifice they have made so that we may have peace,” Klassen said.

Davies then invited everyone to head inside the legion to continue the service.

“At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canadians from coast to coast to coast are united in two minutes of silence and remembrance to pay tribute to all those who have fallen, and we honour their sacrifice to all the men and women who have served this great nation,” Davies said.

Fort St. John Mayor Lilia Hansen also spoke, starting by acknowledging all of the councillors for marching in the parade.

“Remembrance Day is a solemn occasion to honour the brave individuals who have served and sacrificed for our country,” Hansen said.

“As the mayor of Fort St. John, I am humbled and grateful to be here today to pay tribute to those who have served and continue to serve our great country.”

She encouraged everyone to reflect on the importance of Remembrance Day as well as honour veterans, both old and young. 

The mayor also thanked the cadets and the legion for leading and organizing the day’s events.

The Fort St. John Legion president, Shannon Smith, thanked the crowd, the guest speakers and the cadets for volunteering to make the event possible.

Davies also spent the brunt of the indoor service calling off the names of residents, businesses and organizations, to come lay down wreaths.

Once the wreaths were displayed, the crowd was asked to rise and sing Amazing Grace.

A pair of local men, Ryan and Dave, also sang a song Ryan wrote about World War I a couple of years ago.

Fort St. John Legion’s pastor, Christopher Samson, led everyone through prayer and spoke about those who sacrificed their lives for Canada’s freedom over the years.

“In the last 20 years, 40,000 Canadians have served in Afghanistan, 165 of them did not come home,” Samson said. “We do not know their stories and sacrifices as well as we should.”

A young girl came up to sing a final song before Davies asked the veterans of the crowd to rise to receive applause from the audience, ending the service.

Attendees were welcome to stay at the legion for lunch, games and other activities throughout the day.

On October 24th, council proclaimed October 27th to November 11th as the Poppy Campaign and November as Legion Month in Fort St. John.