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Cochrane Legion to go ahead with Remembrance Day ceremony

“You have to stay relevant, you have to stay visible. If you’re not there, if you’re not putting out the message, the message gets forgotten quickly. Attention spans are short. It’s very important to maintain visibility, and if we’re not visible on such a day it just contributes to the degradation of a person's understanding the importance of Remembrance Day and carrying forth that torch.”
Debra Mayfield
Retired lieutenant commander of the Royal Canadian Navy Debra Mayfield (left), stands with Royal Canadian Legion Cochrane Branch president Karen Bruens. Photo submitted.

COCHRANE— Despite complications caused by COVID-19, the Royal Canadian Legion Cochrane Branch is forging ahead with a virtual Remembrance Day to honour the sacrifices of veterans.

Due to COVID-19 veterans will be unable to speak at school assemblies this year.

Embracing creativity and technology to overcome this adversity, members of the veteran community and their families in and around Cochrane visited the Cochrane Legion to record brief video interviews and messages that will be distributed to the schools in the community.

The vignettes include the experiences of veterans, some long past, from the Cochrane area as told by themselves or their relatives.

On Wednesday (Nov. 11), a ceremony will be going ahead at the Cochrane cenotaph— However, the event is by invitation only for VIPs, veterans and their families.

Debra Mayfield, service officer of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 15 in Cochrane, and 34-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Navy organized the vignette project and worked with the subjects to help them tell their stories.

“The Legion itself is very excited that we’re doing this because we want to get our message out there. We are very concerned about getting our message out,” she said.

She noted that this year the Remembrance Day proceedings are going to be unique.

“This Remembrance Day is going to be like no other because of COVID, and we have to ensure the health and safety of our public comes first,” Mayfield said. “We are taking every measure possible to ensure we do so while we also ensure that we carry on the act of remembrance.”

Remembrance Day is not only a time to remember those who have given their lives, but also a time to reflect on the sacrifices made to create the life enjoyed by many in Canada and across the world.

The day serves as an opportunity to give thanks for the homes we enjoy, the cars we drive, our clothes and the fact that we live in a country that ensures our wellbeing, Mayfield said.

It is especially important, Mayfield added, that young people understand the sacrifices made to afford those comforts.

“Those things come at a cost."

This year the act of remembrance is especially important given the pandemic, Mayfield said, adding that to forego the ceremony this year could be "fatal."

“You have to stay relevant, you have to stay visible. If you’re not there, if you’re not putting out the message, the message gets forgotten quickly. Attention spans are short,” she said. “It’s very important to maintain visibility, and if we’re not visible on such a day it just contributes to the degradation of a person's understanding the importance of Remembrance Day and carrying forth that torch.”

Carrying on the tradition of Remembrance is of the utmost importance to the Royal Canadian Legion, and the distributing of the videos is the best way for veterans and families of veterans to share their experiences without putting themselves at risk.

Many veterans are older and considered a vulnerable population with regards to COVID, she noted.

On Wednesday (Nov. 11), the Cochrane Legion will be live-streaming a Remembrance Day ceremony beginning at 10:40 a.m.

The stream can be found on the Royal Canadian Legion Cochrane Branch’s Facebook Page, on the Urban Casual Cochrane Facebook page and on The Cochrane Eagle’s Facebook page.

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