Canadian students pay tribute to fallen soldiers

March 25 2010

Ottawa, Ontario — Craig McPhee, Air Force retiree and now president of Wreaths Across Canada, has a project he wants to promote nationwide. He would like the first Saturday of December to be dedicated to Canada’s veterans, beginning in 2011.

People from each province are thus invited to lay wreaths on the graves of Canadian soldiers. This new tradition will enable Canadians to learn more about veterans, remember them and, above all, pay tribute to their sacrifices.

“I had tears in my eyes,” said Mr. McPhee, after seeing the hundreds of wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery in the United States. Since 1992, wreaths have been laid in more than 300 military cemeteries across America in honour of veterans.

Gesture of appreciation

This lead Mr. McPhee to start an association in 2007 aimed at making this same gesture of appreciation that had moved him so deeply to Canadian veterans. He wanted this caring gesture to help Canadians better remember their history.

Mr. McPhee has been travelling from school to school throughout the country to present his project, inviting high school students to lay wreaths on veterans’ graves. It is important to him that young people are made aware of the Canadian Forces’ contribution to perpetuating freedom for generations to come.

“I want people to honour soldiers,” he says.

Bringing history to life

The project has been successful in Newfoundland, where 800 wreaths have been laid. Mr. McPhee then went to Ottawa, Ontario to accompany a group of students from St. Peter High School. They laid wreaths at Beechwood Cemetery for the first time.“In our history classes, we only use textbooks,” explains Andreas Hohensteins, a grade 10 student. “We aren't told how people lived. We don’t know how to honour and remember them.”

To encourage students to better understand their history and preserve its memory, the Wreaths Across Canada project intends to offer a bursary through a contest. To be eligible, students must write an essay about a veteran.

In the lead-up to D-day, wreaths are being laid in cemeteries, a new and very beautiful way of saying thank you to all who have fallen in battle.

For more information, see www.wreathsacrosscanada.ca (in English only.)

Article by Anaïs Latulippe, Army News Photos by Katherine Taylor, National Defence