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Around 1,000 people stood around the Cenotaph at Victoria Park in Regina on Monday morning for Remembrance Day.
Poppies were pinned to everyone’s chest, as people stood to remember those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.
The chilly and cloudy day saw nearly everyone bundled up in winter coats, toques and gloves, and dozens of people in uniforms marched in a parade to open the ceremony.
Dozens of people in uniforms opened up the Remembrance Day Ceremony at Victoria Park with a parade on Nov. 11, 2024.(Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)
The poem In Flanders Fields was read, trumpets played Last Post, and bagpipes could be heard throughout the park during the ceremony.
Representatives from groups such as the Canadian Armed Forces and The Royal Canadian Legion, as well as several civilians, laid wreaths at the base of the Cenotaph in honour of the fallen.
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Ruby Maitland was at the Cenotaph at Victoria Park in Regina to remember soldiers who fought for our freedoms on Nov. 11, 2024. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)
Ruby Maitland has been a member of the Legion and Ladies Auxiliary for around 20 years, and says Remembrance Day is always an emotional one.
“It brings up tears, it brings sadness because some people didn’t come back.”
She said the day also is a reminder of the freedom she has because of the soldiers who went to war.
“It means a lot, we wouldn’t be free without it and that’s a big, big thing — freedom. A lot of the world doesn’t have it,” she said.
“It brings joy because we have freedom, and we just can’t measure freedom,” she said.
Maitland said she was happy to see so many people show up to the ceremony.
“It shows that they appreciate, and that’s a big thing. So many people write it off and don’t appreciate the fact they’ve got freedom.”
Luke Mullinder is with the Canadian Red Cross and laid a wreath with his son at the Cenotaph in Victoria Park in Regina on Nov. 11, 2024 remembering his grandfather. (Abby Zieverink/980 CJME)
For Greg Muletz, who joined the military Reserve Force in the early 1980s, Remembrance Day serves as a reminder of the sacrifice of the soldiers who went to war.
“It’s just that you realize what these men went through and the sacrifice they have made to their country — and it’s very meaningful and very powerful.”
Muletz has attended the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cenotaph for over 40 years.
“The service that these men gave still perpetuates today. If they served 50, 60, 70, 80, years ago, what they did for the country and the community, we still benefit from that today.”
Muletz said it brings a lot of pride.
“I’ve never been shot at, but … I’ve experienced some of the rigors of living in a trench and being cold and wet, but … at the end of the day, you come home to a warm shower and a lot of these men didn’t, so it gives you a different feeling for what they went through and the rigors that they’ve had to endure,” he said.
“These men were tough, and that’s what I think about — the character it takes to do that, and still walk out on the back end wanting to have a life and make a life and make your community proud.”
Dignitaries and representatives of several organizations laid wreaths on the floor of the Brandt Centre on Nov. 11, 2024. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)
Wreaths laid by the Remembrance Cross at Brand Centre
From the blaring sounds of horns and bagpipes and thundering drum beats to the moments of solemn silence, Regina’s Brandt Centre was nearly at capacity for its annual Remembrance Day ceremony on Monday.
Thousands of people were in attendance for the morning filled with speeches, poems and moments for reflection.
Reid Hill, First Vice President of The Royal Canadian Legion, said Remembrance Day can be an emotional rollercoaster for veterans.
“They sometimes have that time to remember some of the things that happen (in war), but it’s also a time for a lot of people to remember those that served before us,” he said.
Hill said this is the Legion’s biggest fundraising time of the year.
He said most of the money raised during these events goes to the Legion’s poppy and memorial funds.
“Our main priority is to help those that are living and keep them with us a little bit longer, and to remember those that have passed on,” Hill said.
He said the history and importance of the day should be taught to the next generation.
Bechdoldt has considered his military service an honour.
“We should all give something back to the community that supports us and to me, it was the military,” Bechdoldt said.
“Other people do other things, but we … should all do something for our fellow man, right? And this was my way of doing it.”
— with files from Daniel Reech
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