Fresh flags waved at Lakeshore Cemetery Sunday as Legion members and residents gathered to honour veterans laid to rest in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 124 held its annual Decoration Day service Sept. 21, renewing markers and flags at veterans’ graves in Lakeshore Cemetery.
“The service is supposed to acknowledge each time we go to one of the graves and place the marker and the flag on each of these service members, men and women that served,” said Al Howse, president of Branch 124.
“Their families have reminded us that they’re veterans, and we honour their graves with the flag.”
The Legion branch 124 has held Decoration Day services for decades. Volunteers place new Canadian flags on graves across local cemeteries, including St. Andrews, St. Mark’s, St. Vincent de Paul, Christ Church McNab and St. Davids.
The practice continues a long-standing Legion tradition of recognizing community members who served in the armed forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Attendance this year was described as modest but heartfelt, with some travelling from outside the province to take part. The service welcomed both Legion members and residents with family ties to those who served.
“We try to encourage those in town whose parents and relatives are marked to attend this, because we’re really doing it for them,” said Howse.
Among those present was Amando Osias, who came in memory of his late wife, Minda, a former Air Force nurse who served in the late 1960s.
“The reason I came here is because this is our 57th wedding anniversary today, so it’s a good time to be here,” said Osias.
Osias said his wife trained in Toronto after beginning her career in Saskatoon and went on to serve at several stations as a nurse. They moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake after her service, describing life by the lake as peaceful compared to their years in Toronto.
The ceremony also served to remind residents of the Legion’s upcoming remembrance activities.
Branch 124 will distribute poppies from Oct. 31 to Nov. 11, with donations supporting the Poppy Trust Fund.
The branch also plans a veterans’ dinner, remembrance services at local seniors’ homes, and public ceremonies on Nov. 11 at the Old Town cenotaph on Queen Street at 10:45 a.m. and at the Queenston War Memorial at 1 p.m.
The Legion continues to invite families and community members to take part in its remembrance efforts, keeping alive the memory of those who served Canada both in war and peace.
