As much a part of Remembrance Day as the ceremonies are the after-parties at the Legion
Credit to Author: Susan Lazaruk| Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2019 01:53:57 +0000
A Remembrance Day ritual as well-attended by veterans as the cenotaph ceremonies is the gathering every Nov. 11 at the Legion, an annual event that’s been changing over the decades since the world wars ended.
“Legions are great because there’s an element of camaraderie here, even though you don’t know anybody,” said Nathan Carter in the already bustling pub at the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 176, near Kitsilano Beach less than an hour after the Remembrance Day ceremony ended at the Victory Square cenotaph Monday.
“Everyone here, even though they’ve had different experiences, they can all understand what you’ve been going through,” said Carter, a retired captain in the British army who now lives in Vancouver, and popped into the Billy Bishop/Kerrisdale branch.
“When you join the military, you never truly leave, it’s a military family,” said Michelle Carter, also retired from the British army, where she served in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq, and who is married to Nathan. “You make friends that you keep forever.”
The 40-something couple, and their new friend they just met in line at the bar, retired Royal Canadian Air Force pilot Lauren Armstrong, also in her 40s, are the vets you’ll most likely see on Nov. 11.
A sentry prepares to stand guard during Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019.
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – Walking the perimeter of the cenotaph during Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – Display case inside Billy Bishop Legion pub on Remembrance Day ceremony in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – Salutes at the cenotaph during Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – Female war veterans, Michelle Carter (left) and Lauren Armstrong at Billy Bishop Legion pub following Remembrance Day ceremony in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – People from many cultures pay their respect during Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – Veterans attend Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – Thousands attend Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – Wreaths await their placement at the cenotaph at Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – The Honourable Harjit Singh Sajjan places a wreath at the cenotaph during Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – Tassillie Dent stands in front of a wooden propeller once owned by her family since WW1, which is mounted inside the Billy Bishop (Legion) pub during Remembrance Day ceremony in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – Shedding tears during Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
VANCOUVER, BC – November 11, 2019 – The parade moves by following the Remembrance Day ceremony at Victory Square in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019. (Arlen Redekop / PNG staff photo) (story by Sue Lazaruk) [PNG Merlin Archive]
There are no Canadian veterans from the First World War, which ended 101 years ago, still living, and the average age of vets from the Second World War, which ended 74 years ago, is 94.
“It feels weird to call myself a veteran,” said Armstrong, who served for 14 years, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, Ghana, Cypress, Lebanon and Israel. “This is the changing face of veterans now. And that’s why it’s important for me to come here.”
The Billy, which amalgamated with the Kerrisdale branch in 2017, has been a fixture on Laburnum Avenue, in the middle of a row of three-storey walk-ups, for about 70 years. The walls are covered with memorabilia, including black-and-white photos, commemorative plaques and even airplane parts.
Spanned almost two metres over the bar is a custom wooden propeller with a bronze plaque at its centre, noting it was presented by Ronald Dent as a memorial to his “brother Gilbert and all the airmen killed in action in World War II.”
Ronald’s daughter, Tassillie Dent, was at the Legion to see it for the first time. Her grandfather, father, mother (as a nurse) and uncle Gilbert served in the two world wars, and her grandson is now in the cadets, and she said it was special to see the legacy of her family on display.
Tassillie Dent stands in front of a wooden propeller once owned by her family since WW1, which is mounted inside the Billy Bishop (Legion) pub during Remembrance Day ceremony in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019.
The wartime artifacts give the modest wood-frame building the feel more of a museum than a pub. But it remains an active Legion with more than 358 members, a number that’s growing, said second vice-president Jim Dadd.
However, he said, “Legions do struggle” and the loss of active members — for instance, the Kerrisdale branch had 1,500 members 20-30 years ago and only 150 when it merged with the Billy — is the biggest challenge to their existence.
The Billy Bishop tops up revenues with hall rentals, including to a karate club, English country-dancing group, and, ironically, a weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, but its mandate is still to serve vets and active members of the military and the RCMP.
It’s the Legions that promote remembrance, particularly with its poppy campaign, and Dadd, a one-time reservist, helps keep the Legion alive because if the military “hadn’t served, we wouldn’t be here right now.”
Display case inside Billy Bishop Legion pub on Remembrance Day ceremony in Vancouver, BC, November 11, 2019.
Earlier at Victory Square, RCAF Sgt. (Ret.) Dave Humphries, who displayed a row of medals on his chest from his 24 years of service, made the same point and lamented the dwindling recognition for sacrifices made during the world wars that ended generations ago, blaming a “lack of education.”
The cenotaph ceremony, one of several across B.C. and Canada on Monday, included the Vancouver Bach Youth Choir and Sarabande, the reading of the Robert Service poem Young Fellow, My Lad, by actor Christopher Gaze, a prayer of remembrance, and the Last Post before two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. There was also the 21-gun salute, piping of the Lament, a flypast and In Flanders Fields before the laying of the wreaths.
Joe Rodriguez, who recently moved from the U.S., and his wife Wenying Zhang and five-year-old daughter, Amelie, both from China, were at the Victory Square ceremony for the first time so that Amelie, who “really likes the pageantry,” would know about Canada’s war history.
Eli Adrian, 16, was volunteering with his Scouts Canada troop as he has for the past five years, to honour those who risked their lives to serve their country, and “I think it’s my duty to respect that by taking some time out of my life” to be here.
During the moment of silence, “I pray for the men who have fallen and the freedom we have today,” said Perry Bellcourt, who lives in the area and had a guitar strapped to his back. “I pay my respects because I’m able to walk the streets in freedom.”