Thousands gather in Saskatoon to honour and remember veterans

Every year on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m., the world falls silent to remember those who lost their lives while fighting for their country.

In Saskatoon, the Remembrance Day ceremony held at SaskTel Centre is the largest indoor service in Canada.

Program director Malcolm Young said he’s very fortunate to be helping run this ceremony.

“I’ve been the program director for the last four years,” Young said. “But the reality is this parade has been going on for 92 years, and it’s been going on with the assistance and really the sheer volunteer hours of the members of the Royal Canadian Legion.”

Young said that with everything going on in the world right now, he feels very blessed to be in Canada.

“That’s the first thing many veterans know firsthand,” he said. “We haven’t really had conflicts in Canada; our services have been overseas.”

Young added there’s a reason why poppies are red and why the Canadian flag features the colour red in it.

“It’s because of the blood spilt by Canadians in all those conflicts of the past,” said Young. “That red on our flag symbolizes our service and sacrifice and our commitment.”

The importance of a Remembrance Day ceremony may get lost as time moves further away from the world wars. Young said for anybody who’s been involved in the military, they’ll understand that there is a line in the Ode of Remembrance that says “We will remember them.”

“We do Nov. 11 so that we always will remember them, that we will never forget,” said Young, “that we always make sure future generations learn and understand and never forget.”

Ivan Nahachewsky, the chaplain of the North Saskatchewan Regiment, said it was a great honour to be the main speaker at Saturday’s ceremony.

“It’s a great privilege to be part of journeying with the troops,” said Nahachewsky.

Nahachewsky said the best time he learns about what soldiers go through is when they talk with other soldiers.

“It’s a critical thing for them to be able to speak,” said Nahachewsky. “So whether they speak to me is not important, but at least they speak to each other and that’s a victory for me.”

Nahachewsky added that participating at the Remembrance Day ceremony is a civic duty of his.

“My family was very community minded. This is a civic responsibility in my mind,” said Nahachewsky. “It’s a citizenship. It’s about doing what I can with my gifts to help other people with their issues.”

The ceremony honoured military families as well, saying they go under the radar and don’t receive enough respect and gratitude from the public.