Whistlerites paid their respects this Remembrance Day both in person and online, with a couple of hundred people attending the Cenotaph for the service Nov.11.
Marking the 103rd anniversary of the end of the First World War, this year’s ceremony started with silent sentries posted at the cenotaph before the parade marched down the Village Stroll lead by a piper. It featured members from the 39 Signal Regiment, HMCS Discovery and the RCMP in their Red Serge uniform. Two minutes of silence was observed at 11 a.m. before the service of remembrance officially began, followed by the fly past by Blackcomb Helicopters and presentation of wreaths. The Whistler Singers and Whistler Childrens Chorus also sang as part of the ceremony.
In her Act of Remembrance speech Anne Townley called on those attending both in person and virtually, "[To] remember brave Canadians who have served our country during times of war, times of conflict we choose not to call war, times of peace.
"I have not personally sacrificed anything for the freedom I've enjoyed during my lifetime. It was a gift given to me by those who came before me, who heeded the call of our country, who fought, who died, who sacrificed their futures for the sake of mine... of ours. They risked and lost their lives so I could stand before you today and speak. So you could be here to listen. So we could live free lives. We owe them so much."
Townley took the opportunity to honour long-time Whistler local Howard Goldsmid who passed away this summer aged 102. Goldsmid served with the Royal Canadian Air force at Haida Gwaii, we well as in Alaska, where he was seconded to the U.S. military.
She also drew attention to women and Indigenous people who have serve and continue to do so.
"It was said old attitudes died hard and kept women out of the Forces until they were needed. Today, old attitudes are still alive and women in uniform still fight for full recognition and equal treatment," she said.
"I would also like to acknowledge Indigenous Veterans Day, recognized on November 8th and the thousands of First Nations, Metis and Inuit people that have served and given their lives for our freedom. I remember."
In concluding Townley asked that we remember those on the front lines of the pandemic battle the world has found itself on.
"We're emerging today from a different kind of war. A war fought not with weapons and might but with science and patience. A war in which we were all combatants, like it or not. A war in which some Canadian Forces personnel played a front-line role against an invisible enemy. With luck and perseverance, it too will be just a memory next November 11th when we gather again to remember."
