MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM — This year’s Decoration Day will have more meaning than usual for Moose Jaw’s Legion, as the remembrance-focused event will commemorate those men who fought — and in some cases died — 80 years ago during D-Day.
Royal Canadian Legion branches across the country hold Decoration Day on the first Sunday in June to remember those who fought in battles that occurred before the First World War, when Canada was finding its footing as a nation during its earliest days.
The first Decoration Day took place in June 1890 when veterans of the Fenian Raids more than 20 years earlier placed decorations at the Canadian Volunteers Monument in Toronto. The following year, the public took notice, with 30,000 people taking part in remembrance ceremonies during the 25th anniversary of the Raids.
The highlight of the event is the placement of Canadian flags on gravestones of service members, with more than 1,100 alone placed in Rosedale Cemetery, where Moose Jaw’s Decoration Day ceremony occurs every year, along with dozens erected at Sunset Cemetery south of the community off Ninth Avenue Southwest.
The Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans (ANAVETS) Club No. 252 will decorate the graves at Sunset Cemetery on Saturday, June 1, at 9 a.m., although there won’t be a service.
The official service — led by Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 59 — takes place on Sunday, June 2, at Rosedale Cemetery, with the decoration of graves occurring at 9 a.m. and the ceremony taking place at 11 a.m.
The organization is encouraging residents to help place Canadian flags on the veterans’ graves and stay for the ceremony.
Besides members from the Legion and ANAVETS, there will also be small contingents from 15 Wing Airbase and the Saskatchewan Dragoons.
Following the event, the legion lounge at 268 High Street West will be open for a barbecue featuring hamburgers, hot dogs and salads. Families are welcome, while cadets and children under 12 are free; tickets are $5.
Robert (Bob) Travale, legion president, said the organization is “just carrying on the tradition” of holding Decoration Day, which veterans started more than a century ago. While Remembrance Day is paramount, this event is also great since it’s a memorial service to remember veterans and serving personnel.
“It’s very important to commemorate our veterans because it’s Canada, and they all fought for Canada … and it’s a very (special) time to remember the veterans that were killed and the ones who served,” he continued.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, which occurred during the Second World War on June 6, 1944, when 156,000 Americans, British and Canadian soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy, France — the Canucks landed on Juno — during the start of the liberation of the continent from the Nazis.
Roughly 14,000 Canadians stormed ashore that grey, blustery Tuesday, with the army sustaining 1,096 casualties, including 381 killed in action — on the beaches and inland.
The D-Day anniversary will receive some attention during Decoration Day, with the service padre expected to speak briefly about that fateful day, Travale said. The Legion will also feature some wartime memorabilia in the lounge, honouring the invasion and the day overall.
Travale added that preparations are going well for the Legion’s third annual Canada Day Cabaret and encouraged residents to support the event, which occurs Saturday, June 29, starting at 5 p.m.
The veterans’ organization expects about 800 people to attend, similar to last year’s cabaret. Moreover, the Legion says the event will help ensure Branch No. 59’s long-term sustainability.
