Students remember soldiers’ sacrifices

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Students from Riverheights School braved the cold on Wednesday to honour fallen soldiers at Brandon Cemetery.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/11/2017 (2339 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Students from Riverheights School braved the cold on Wednesday to honour fallen soldiers at Brandon Cemetery.

Dozens of students in the industrial arts program laid white crosses, emblazoned with red poppies, and Canadian flags at Dressing of the Graves, an annual ceremony which the Defenders Motorcycle Club Chapter 19 of Brandon started in 2014.

2nd Lt. Ryan Bartlette from CFB Shilo said the club began the tradition in Souris as a visual reminder of what Remembrance week is about.

Michael Lee/The Brandon Sun
Grade 8 Riverheights School student Jadyn Grift places a cross in front of a headstone during the Dressing of the Graves ceremony at Brandon Cemetery on Wednesday.
Michael Lee/The Brandon Sun Grade 8 Riverheights School student Jadyn Grift places a cross in front of a headstone during the Dressing of the Graves ceremony at Brandon Cemetery on Wednesday.

Although the club is no longer in existence, Bartlette said Dressing of the Graves is still meant to recognize the sacrifice Canada’s soldiers made.

“Sometimes it gets lost in translation what that actually represents,” Bartlette told the students as they gathered around the war memorial at Brandon Cemetery.

“Today when you plant the flags and the crosses beside the tombstones of soldiers, you can see that every one of these grave sites represents someone who gave their life or spent their life serving our country so that we could have the life we have today.”

Erik Been, an industrial arts teacher at Riverheights School, said students made crosses for approximately 1,000 headstones.

Been was asked to take part in the ceremony four-and-a-half years ago and said he didn’t even have to think about whether to take part or not.

The ceremony, he said, is a great opportunity for students to volunteer and “feel what peace and freedom is.”

Garry Andrew, a member of Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 3, said watching the students place the crosses and flags shows there are still people out there who respect the poppy.

Michael Lee/The Brandon Sun
Garry Andrew from Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 3 says a few words before the crosses and flags are placed at the Dressing of the Graves ceremony at Brandon Cemetery on Wednesday.
Michael Lee/The Brandon Sun Garry Andrew from Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 3 says a few words before the crosses and flags are placed at the Dressing of the Graves ceremony at Brandon Cemetery on Wednesday.

“This is very important,” he said. “It shows a lot to the citizens of Brandon that these are people who care about our veterans.”

» mlee@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @mtaylorlee

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