Purchasing a red poppy during the Royal Canadian Legion’s National Poppy Campaign, which continues to Remembrance Day Nov. 11, supports Newmarket's veterans.
“This period of Remembrance is a sacred time in Canada,” says Legion Dominion President Thomas D. Irvine. “It is imperative that we all spend time over the coming days learning the stories of our veterans, and thinking about the ultimate sacrifices they made so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have in Canada today.”
Close to 20 million poppies are distributed during the two-week period in Canada and abroad and because of generous donors, with close to that same number of dollars going back into initiatives to support veterans. Funds raised locally are used locally to support veterans and their families, our communities, and to promote remembrance.
If you can't buy a poppy in person, you can visit MyPoppy.ca and get a digital poppy.
Since Oct. 25, a virtual Wall of Honour, a video montage of fallen veterans, has been shown on screens at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Submitted by families, the hundreds of images are a poignant reminder of those who have served. At the same time, 117,000 virtual poppies will fall on Centre Block, each one representing a fallen Canadian veteran.
This year’s Remembrance period includes special mention of veterans who fought on D-Day, on June 6, 1944. It is the 75th anniversary of the milestone event, which was instrumental in ending the war in Europe. In addition, 2019 marks the 5th anniversary of the end of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan.
The Royal Canadian Legion, Milton Wesley Branch, Newmarket is holding the 2019 Remembrance Day parade and ceremonies on Sunday, Nov. 10. The parade begins on Doug Duncan Drive at 1:30 p.m., proceeding west on Water and Eagle streets to Veterans Park at Church and D’Arcy streets for the service and wreath laying.
Founded in 1925, the Legion is Canada’s largest veteran support and community service organization. The non-profit organization has branches across Canada, as well as in the U.S., Europe and Mexico. It has close to 260,000 members, many of whom volunteer an extraordinary amount of time to their branches.