Thousands mark 100 years since end of First World War at Sasktel Centre

Thousands of people filed into Sasktel Centre Sunday for the 87th Anniversary of Saskatoon’s Remembrance Day Service.

This Remembrance Day marks 100 years since the armistice that ended the First World War.

Many spiritual leaders, veterans, first responders and family gathered for the two-hour ceremony centered around a cenotaph in the middle of the arena.

Lest we forget. #RemembranceDay #CanadaRemembers pic.twitter.com/yDescApu3n

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For Lloyd Ingram, he reflected on his time spent abroad during a peacekeeping mission in Cyprus in 1974.

“To me, it means the remembrance of my comrades in Cyprus,” he said. “It’s a sacrifice. What they stood for, it’s for freedom.”

It was Ingram’s first indoor ceremony after spending dozens outdoors. The annual gathering at Sasktel Centre is the largest indoor Remembrance Day ceremony in the country.

Chris Pippard with the Royal Canadian Legion thinks that gives this ceremony a special flair.

“I think it’s just the amount of people that we’ve had from Saskatchewan that have joined the military for the First World War, the Second World War and in Afghanistan,” he said. “Because we’re such a close community, we want to pay our respects to them.”

Jerry Dyck served for the Canadian Armed Forces for more than 25 years. He was stationed all over the country, served in Germany, but said his fondest memories in the army was getting a personal tour of Juno Beach from Leo Gariepy, a tank commander that participated in D-Day.

“He gave me the million dollar tour of the Canadian beaches,” Dyck said. “As we walked along, he’d say ‘See that hole in the wall? I put it there.'”