Thousands gather to pay respects during Remembrance Day ceremony

Remembrance Day returned in person to the SaskTel Centre on Friday.

More than 6,000 people gathered to pay their respects to those who have served and fought for Canada.

Two Saskatchewan veterans were highlighted at this year’s ceremony. They received renewed applause at the end of the program as the old and new guards filed off the stage.

“I didn’t expect this, but I feel so honoured and pleased that I was chosen,” said 98-year-old Bob Atkinson.

Bob Atkinson, 98, at SaskTel Centre on Nov. 11, 2022, (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

The day marked a special chance for him to remember.

“We all have someone we think of in particular on this day,” he said.

He called it an important day, one that deserves to be remembered. If forgotten, Atkinson said he would feel ashamed that the past sacrifices made had been lost.

Atkinson served in the Canadian Army from the time he was 18. Born in Dinsmore, Sask., Atkinson trained as a wireless operator and gunner. He served in the Second World War until he was badly injured in February 1945.

“I could’ve joined the air force or the navy but I thought, ‘No, I don’t want to be up 6,000 feet in the air when I get hit. I’d sooner die with my boots on the ground,” he said with a smile.

Though those memories are bittersweet, Atkinson remembered his training and the action he saw fondly, as well as the close friends he made during his time in the service.

Having attended Remembrance Day services for at least 75 years, Atkinson said he knows the program inside and out. He especially enjoyed Tanys Sherstobetoff’s singing of “Let There Be Peace On Earth.”

Reg Harrison, 100, at SaskTel Centre on Nov. 11, 2022, (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

100-year-old veteran Reg Harrison said he hasn’t ever missed a Remembrance Day service except in 2016 when he had a procedure to put his Pacemaker in.

Harrison was also honoured during Friday’s ceremony. His youngest daughter travelled from Big River to Saskatoon to experience it with him.

“Words can’t describe it, it’s really amazing,” Harrison shared. “I never thought this would ever happen to me.”

He expressed feeling lucky to be alive still, knowing so many men died even during his service.

“I often think of the ones that never came home. Never had the chance to get married or raise a family,” Harrison shared.

It makes his remembrance one of mixed feelings. Harrison himself served in the Royal Canadian Air Force and survived four crashes, earning himself the nickname, “Crash Harrison.”

“After my fourth crash, my commanding officer told me, ‘Well, you’ve cheated the grim reaper four times. I’ve got a feeling you’re not going to cheat him a fifth time so we’re going to take you off operations.'”

Once he left the air force in November 1945, Harrison started working in Regina. He was married in December 1946 in Ottawa and ended up starting a new position in Saskatoon in January 1947. He’s stayed in Saskatoon ever since.

The theme of the SaskTel ceremony this year was “generational service.” Harrison saw his own father survive the First World War. Three of his brothers also served in England. Two didn’t make it home.

Harrison said he bears the names of those two uncles.

Saskatoon mayor Charlie Clark shakes hands with World War Two veteran Bob Harrison at SaskTel Centre on Nov. 11, 2022. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

“When my dad said goodbye to me he said, ‘I hope you make it home safe,'” Harrison recalled, adding that it left him with a strange feeling going off to war.

“I guess my number wasn’t up,” Harrison reflected.

It makes him feel even more strongly the importance of setting aside time to remember on Nov. 11.

“Today, for some people, it was just another holiday. But for all the families that lost loved ones, they have several Remembrance Days during the year, when their loved one has a birthday or Christmas, a get-together. The average person never thinks of that,” he said.

 “We take things for granted, don’t we?”

Wreaths at the base of the cenotaph in SaskTel Centre on Nov. 11, 2022. (Libby Giesbrecht/650 CKOM)

Harrison considers himself 100 years young and said his latest goal is reaching 2024 when the Royal Canadian Air Force turns 100 under that name.

“I have to try to keep going for another two years,” Harrison joked.