On Sunday, November 11, hundreds of people, old, young and
in-between, stood at the Kentville cenotaph to solemnly remember. Laying a wreath on behalf of the residents of
Kings County
Each year brings change to yet another family of a veteran. Time, like soldiers, marches on. Fathers, mothers, grandmothers and
grandfathers who served die. This year my
daughter-in-law Monique Harvie’s beloved grandfather Frank Harvie died. She and her sister Nicole laid a wreath in his
memory. I was honoured to attend the ceremony in their company along with Edna, Frank’s widow.
All of our WWI veterans are now gone, but we are still blessed to have some WWII veterans with
us. Their presence at cenotaph brings the reality of war into a sharper, more
personal focus. They represent, in
person, the generation that sacrificed, survived, died and were scarred by the
horror of it all.
To them we promise that when they are gone, as all the WWI
vets now are: “We won’t forget.” The work of each elected representative is possible because of the democracy you protected on our behalf. When I sit at the council table I will remain ever mindful of the privilege you extended to me, and to all of us, to participate in a living, breathing democracy.
