New Hamburg honours veterans and those still serving with Remembrance Day service

The New Hamburg Legion Colour Party and parade marshal Charlie Bronson lead the Remembrance Day Parade across the Nith River in downtown New Hamburg Nov. 11 on its way to the New Hamburg Cenotaph for a short service before heading to the New Hamburg Community Centre for the full Remembrance service. Galen Simmons photo

By Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

As the last of the Second World War veterans die out, New Hamburg and area residents were reminded of the importance of Remembrance in keeping alive the stories and sacrifices of those who fought for our freedom, as well as those who continue to fight for our freedom today.

On Nov. 11, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 532 in New Hamburg hosted its annual Remembrance Day service, which began shortly after 10 a.m. as the Legion Colour Party and parade marshal Charlie Bronson led the Remembrance Day Parade to the New Hamburg Cenotaph for a short service. Along with the usual laying of the wreaths and a four-gun salute conducted by locals dressed as soldiers from past conflicts, the service also included words of thanks for the cadets of 822 Tudor Squadron after they stood vigil around the cenotaph all night, despite the cold and rain, in the lead-up to Nov. 11.

The parade then made its way through downtown New Hamburg to the New Hamburg Community Centre where the town’s full Remembrance Day ceremony unfolded. It included the traditional singing of “O’ Canada” accompanied by the New Hamburg Concert Band, the playing of “Last Post” by bugler Andrew Bauer, two minutes of silence, the playing of “Lament” by bagpiper Chad Gravill, and “Reveille” once again played by Bauer.

“Throughout (this week’s events), I’ve been reminded of how many symbols there are throughout our community that remind us to pause and remember those who have fought for our freedom and the opportunities that we have today,” Wilmot Mayor Natasha Salonen said during the service. “ … I think that it’s so important for us – not just on today or during Veterans’ week, but all the time throughout the year – when we pass one of those symbols to pause and think, and not only remember those who fought for us, but remember they were individual people who had lives and who had problems and who had families.

“ … Please do take this time to honour them today, but any time you pass these symbols in our community, pause and reflect and thank those who gave their lives and who continue to serve our country.”

In addition to the musical backing provided by the New Hamburg Concert Band for the service’s various hymns, Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School’s Appassionata choir, led by director Sue Millar-Idsinga and accompanied by Cadence Mailloux on piano, performed a hauntingly beautiful musical rendition of “In Flanders’ Fields” by John McCrae and Charles Ferguson, as well as “Remember Me” by Lauran Farnell.

Leading the service, New Hamburg Legion chaplain Rev. Bob Thaler told the harrowing story of a small-town Saskatchewan paratrooper who willingly gave his life in defense of our freedom during the Normandy invasion on D-Day, June 6, 1944, 80 years ago.

“There are very few left of them now,” Thaler said of those who made it home after the Second World War. “In four or five years, there will be no one left at all. Their experience at Juno Beach will be lost; the smells and the noises, the courage and the fears, confusion and clarity, grief and elation lost. Soon, even those who remember their names and their faces will be gone – sisters, brothers, friends, children. But without their stories, their names and faces will become just numbers and lists. Without their memories and stories, who will remember the cost of D-Day? Who will remember the cost of the lives lost? Without their stories, who will … remember that the price paid for D-Day was flesh and blood? Who will acknowledge what they gave for us for peace and freedom.

“ … We’re here this morning to remember. We, here, remember them. We have lived with the veterans, we have known them, we were raised on their stories. We do not need history books to remember. We wear poppies, we put up their banners along our streets. We come to this service on Nov. 11 and through the years, we do stop when we pass by the cenotaph. … We remember them, so we cherish the freedom and the peace. We will be grateful of that freedom and peace for them.”

Thaler encouraged those who remember the sacrifices of our veterans now to keep those stories alive by sharing them with our children so, even when we are gone, they can continue to be told and appreciated for generations to come.

The service concluded with the traditional laying of the wreaths by local dignitaries, including Salonen, Kitchener-Conestoga MP Tim Louis and Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris, as well as Legion members, the families of veterans who have passed, local emergency services, local service clubs and many others.