For the first time in their history, the North Shore Veterans’ Council is asking people to stay home on Remembrance Day.
A small service at the cenotaph in Victoria Park will go ahead on Nov. 11, but thanks to the pandemic, attendance will be strictly limited to invited dignitaries, first responders and veterans.
Retired sergeant major Bob Maley, parade marshal and organizer of the annual event for the North Shore Veterans’ Council, said he knows there will be regular attendees and passersby who will want to join, but just this once, he wants them to move along.
“Not to disrespect them in any way. We know that there’s been supporters over the years and years and years, but because of this year and COVID-19, we want to keep the community safe and we also want to keep veterans safe as well,” he said. “[Veterans] made the ultimate sacrifice. They can show support by being safe and staying away.”
In order to hold the event, the North Shore Veterans’ Council has had a plan approved by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s office. They’ve also taken out $5 milllion in insurance.
But even though the ceremony is invitation only, anyone can take part via a livestream, which the council will post to its website at nsvcc.com.
Malay said that would be the best way for North Shore residents to do their part in keeping the memory of veterans alive.
All of the North Shore’s other Remembrance Day ceremonies have been put on hold for 2020.
In the time that Maley has been a part of the group, he said the ceremony at the North Vancouver cenotaph has grown from a few hundred attendees to the second or third largest Remembrance Day ceremony in Canada.
“Last year, we had 12,000,” Maley said.
Sadly though, the number of surviving Second World War veterans who can attend has dwindled to less than 40, Maley said.
“We’re losing them every year,” he said. “You start missing the faces that you’ve gotten to know over the years and it’s very sad.”
