CORNWALL, Ontario – This year’s Remembrance Day was different. The COVID-19 pandemic has kept people at a distance, but that did not stop the Cornwall Legion Branch 297, or Cornwall residents, from recognizing Canada’s honoured fallen soldiers.
The attendance at this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cornwall Cenotaph was smaller than in previous years, but the Legion gave it no less effort or care than it has in any other year. There were roughly 50 members of the public present watching the event either in the park around the Cenotaph or across the street.
There was a multitude of remembrance wreaths pre-placed around the Cenotaph from various supporters or from family members honouring those who served in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the War in Afghanistan.
“We can’t imagine the scars these soldiers carry inside,” said Cornwall Legion President Marvin Plumadore. “Their memories are something we can never understand. Let us remember them everyday because without them we would not have a present, a past, or a future.”
MP Eric Duncan, MPP Jim McDonell and Cornwall Mayor Bernadette Clement were invited to lay wreathes during the ceremony.
A moment of silence was recognized at 11 a.m., marking the exact date and time World War I ended 102 years ago.