The sight of two young girls paying tribute to the war dead at a Remembrance Day ceremony at Victoria's cenotaph Sunday overwhelmed Silver Cross Mother Sheila Fynes.
"They were saluting," Fynes said. "It brought tears to my eyes. There's a growing youth awareness."
The girls, nine-year-old twins Jodi and Hana Blaicher, were among several children paying their respects at the annual event, their brightly hued winter jackets blasts of colour in the crowds around the legislature and Inner Harbour. One boy in the front row even wore a kilt.
Master of ceremonies Don Hepburn was also impressed by the all-ages turnout.
"I think a lot of new people are showing their respect, especially young people," Hepburn said. As veterans marched past the cenotaph after the nearly hour-long ceremony concluded, Hepburn described Canada as heaven.
"This is the best country in the world and it's because of all those people going by us right now," he said. Hepburn's father, Bert, served in the Second World War, while both his grandfathers served in the First World War.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, interim federal Liberal leader Bob Rae shook Hepburn's hand.
Rae, representing members of Parliament at the ceremony, said Canada's forces in Afghanistan remind us of those still putting their lives on the line.
"It's very real for Canadians," Rae said. "What's wonderful about today is the ceremonies are getting bigger."
The diverse crowd was also marked by many elderly people, who endured the cold, some leaning on canes.
Sunday's service included a 21-gun salute conducted by the 5th B.C. Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, which sent a resounding blast through the Inner Harbour.
That opening was followed by the playing of the Last Post and two minutes of silence in memory of the war dead. Hepburn then read the Act of Remembrance:
"They shall grow not old as we that are left old; age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them."
The hymn O God, Our Help in Ages Past was followed by prayers offered by Rev. K.M. Collison of the Royal Canadian Legion.
"We pray for the members of our armed forces deployed throughout the world. May they and their families know your protection, may they receive the support of a grateful nation," Collison read.
"Loving Father, may those who return wounded and disabled receive assistance benefiting their sacrifice, and may those who gave their lives never be forgotten."
Fynes, the Silver Cross Mother in Victoria for four years, said her thoughts were with those who have died for their country and for the health of those who return forever changed. Fynes's son, Afghanistan veteran Cpl. Stuart Lan-gridge, 28, attempted suicide several times and also struggled with depression and alcohol and drug abuse before taking his life in 2008 at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton.
"It's just really important. Don't forget - ever," said Fynes, who lays a wreath following the Remembrance Day ceremony every year that says "Stu, our hero."
"Stu's legacy has to be for the physically and invisibly wounded." [email protected]
