Editorial – It was a fitting tribute to the thousands of men and women who gave the supreme sacrifice during the Remembrance Day service in Cobourg.
At approximately 10:30 a.m., Cobourg Legion Pipes and Drums lead the parade of veterans, soldiers, reservists, cadets and dignitaries from Victoria Hall along King Street and down McGill Street to the cenotaph in Victoria Park on Friday November 11, 2022.
This year’s service was one of the more pleasant days in recent memory for the weather.
Hundreds of people came out for the service. But, for those who have attended the ceremony for a number of years, when Remembrance Day is held during the week, students from the high schools used to attend – that is clearly missed.
Legion member Jaye Bevan’s has emceed the ceremony for years and always does an amazing job along with Padre Art King who officiated the ceremony.
The cenotaph honour guard should also be given a great deal of credit for standing silent with heads bowed during the entire service.
People in attendance knew what this day, this service meant. You could see it in their faces. Soldiers sharply dressed, saluting their comrades.
Remembrance Day is a day we gather to say thank you to those who served and some who paid the ultimate sacrifice. This year was no different.
Sometimes saying the words, “thank you” to a soldier just doesn’t quite seem enough for what they’ve sacrificed.
It has to be a calling – they certainly don’t do it for the pay.
I’ll always said that not only fallen soldiers travel along the Highway of Heroes.
For everyone that wears a uniform to protect this great country of ours, they, themselves are heroes. Let us all never forget that.
After covering the ceremony, I was speaking to a person about the ceremony, when something caught my eye.
It was a soldier playing with his four-year-old daughter. The daughter was dancing around her father while the pair were holding hands.
Just minutes prior to that, I’d spotted the pair as they were about to place their poppies on the wreathes after the service. The child was likely to young to know about the danger’s of her father’s job. But with others around placing poppies, the father took the time, and it was almost like it was just the two of them at the cenotaph as he explained to her what they were going to do.
During the placing of the poppies, and after it was easy to tell the bond the father and child had with each other.
Soldiers give so much to their country in many ways, sometimes they pay the ultimate sacrifice.
On this day it may have been the start of a hero teaching his daughter about the uniform he wears and the meaning behind it.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
