By Kevin J. Sabo
For the Advance
On Nov. 11th, 1918, at the 11th hour, the guns fell silent in Europe.
The First World War was, for all intents and purposes, over.
Over a century later, the event is still remembered.
Originally recognized by King George V of England beginning in 1919, the original Armistice Day spread through the commonwealth.
The day spread, and it grew. During the Second World War, the name was changed to Remembrance Day in the commonwealth and continues to be observed.
As time has gone on, Remembrance Day has shifted its scope, becoming a day to remember all of the veterans of Canada, both living and dead, and since its inauguration in 1932, the Castor Legion (#119) has carried that mission of remembrance forward, with 2019 being no exception.
Over a century after the guns fell silent after “the war to end all wars,” the residents of Castor still remember.
On a frigid Nov. 11th, around 160 residents of Castor and district crowded into the Castor Community Hall for the Remembrance Day service hosted by the Castor Legion.
Through a service that lasted a little over an hour, the assembled community members were asked to remember this nation’s, and this community’s, war dead.
Communities across the country sent young men and women to fight, and in some cases, die. Castor is no exception to this.
Though only 35 names adorn the plaque of remembrance at the Castor Cenotaph, more of Castor’s war dead have been found, with the list now reaching 47 names.
These names were represented, and remembered, during the Remembrance Day ceremony, as each known name was put on a wreath, and the wreaths were randomly placed on the chairs through the hall.
These wreaths provided a stunning visual representation of those who have been lost.
The community members who packed the community hall sat shoulder to shoulder with these ghosts of the past, and through song, and spoken word the assembly remembered those that never made it home.
Though the sands of time dull world memory of the World War I and 2, Canada has still had cause to mourn her war dead, with 158 soldiers dying in Afghanistan, and many of those who did come home not coming home completely, parts of them mentally and physically lost in a far off land, providing a contemporary memory of the atrocities of war.
