Continuing from yesterday...
Members of the Royal family, Canadian Prime Ministers, Governor Generals, Ministers of Defense, Veterans Affairs and other ministries, veterans organizations and thousands of individual organizations and fellow Canadians have visited the Cross of Sacrifice.
Over recent years and no doubt probably back to the first dedication in 1927, on Armistice... and later Remembrance Day services at this historic cross would have been performed by Canadians of all stripes, and probably attended on many of these dates by American officials and the greater military family as well.
Members of the Royal family, Canadian Prime Ministers, Governor Generals, Ministers of Defense, Veterans Affairs and other ministries, veterans organizations and thousands of individual organizations and fellow Canadians have visited the Cross of Sacrifice.
Over recent years and no doubt probably back to the first dedication in 1927, on Armistice... and later Remembrance Day services at this historic cross would have been performed by Canadians of all stripes, and probably attended on many of these dates by American officials and the greater military family as well.
Over the years the cemetery has obviously gone through a number of expansions. Here we see that the overgrowth shown in the 1927 newspaper image has been removed. The area is now used as the final resting place of about 125 military veterans.
The Cross of Sacrifice was originally to recognize those lost in the Great War. Little did they know at the time that there would be another World War. Such yet again resulting in Americans by the thousands signing up with Canada for service years before the Americans declared war. In recognition for the Americans lost in that service, a WW ll plaque was added. The same for Korea a few years later.
Now is the time for thoughts being given to add yet a third panel for those lost in Afghanistan whilst fighting with the Canadians and against our common foe.
Now is the time for thoughts being given to add yet a third panel for those lost in Afghanistan whilst fighting with the Canadians and against our common foe.
While I probably reached out to late to get a response, I have asked the Canadian Embassy to provide names for these officials that attended services this year at the Cross of Sacrifice. I may bring these names to you in a future update.
Over the past several years I and the Canadian Embassy at DC have often exchanged names and created a list of Canadians resting today at Arlington. Such a list only included a few not that long ago but now are in the 2 dozen range if memory serves me right.
Each year the embassy tries to get out on special occasions to visit these sites also to pay Canada's respect for their service.
After the 2005 visit of our Ambassador to Arlington to visit the graves of about a dozen Canadian MOH recipients, the Embassy has continued that service each year as well. During some of these visits it is possible that American officials may have also joined with their Canadian allies.
Over the past several years I and the Canadian Embassy at DC have often exchanged names and created a list of Canadians resting today at Arlington. Such a list only included a few not that long ago but now are in the 2 dozen range if memory serves me right.
Each year the embassy tries to get out on special occasions to visit these sites also to pay Canada's respect for their service.
After the 2005 visit of our Ambassador to Arlington to visit the graves of about a dozen Canadian MOH recipients, the Embassy has continued that service each year as well. During some of these visits it is possible that American officials may have also joined with their Canadian allies.
Regular readers know of my passion for the Joseph Noil story. A Nova Scotia coloured sailor who earned a Medal of Honor just a few years after the Civil War. He went on to continue his service for years, then took sick and bounce between a few hospitals before passing away at a DC hospital He was buried in a cemetery on site and remained so under a marker misspelling his name and without any indication that he was a MOH recipient either.
I worked on this case for some 8 years. Several others also played key roles in the work that culminated with a new Medal of Honor marker being mounted with a correct spelling that fixed mistakes that lasted over 130 years. The story was told over the internet and exposed to literally millions in April of 2016.
DC Embassy officials have now adopted this grave as well and I understand plan to visit it annually also. So too has the US Coast Guard, who's headquarters are located on another part of the same property, and named in honour of yet another Canadian MOH recipient... Douglas Munro, noted earlier.
The above image shows DC members at the Noil grave on 10 November.
I worked on this case for some 8 years. Several others also played key roles in the work that culminated with a new Medal of Honor marker being mounted with a correct spelling that fixed mistakes that lasted over 130 years. The story was told over the internet and exposed to literally millions in April of 2016.
DC Embassy officials have now adopted this grave as well and I understand plan to visit it annually also. So too has the US Coast Guard, who's headquarters are located on another part of the same property, and named in honour of yet another Canadian MOH recipient... Douglas Munro, noted earlier.
The above image shows DC members at the Noil grave on 10 November.
Here is what the old marker looked like. The marker alone gives this man's story a new life, as it should!
Still with Remembrance services, regular readers of these blogs know of the decade and more than I have visited the grave site of Victoria's late Commander Rowland Bourke, a WW1 Victoria Cross and Distinguished Service Order recipient for bravery off the coast of Belgium 100 years ago this year.
Over many of these years the local Naval reserve unit... Malahat has adopted this grave for the first of its 2 Remembrance Day services. Bourke descendants and Family and I attend these as well.
And finally... readers have read of the unveiling late last year of the new very attractive memorial dedicated to the 158 service members and 5 non-military that lost their lives whilst Canada did her part in the Afghanistan War.
Over many of these years the local Naval reserve unit... Malahat has adopted this grave for the first of its 2 Remembrance Day services. Bourke descendants and Family and I attend these as well.
And finally... readers have read of the unveiling late last year of the new very attractive memorial dedicated to the 158 service members and 5 non-military that lost their lives whilst Canada did her part in the Afghanistan War.
Veterans of the Canadian Army's unit, the historic Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry have agreed to take on the important role of looking after this important monument.
Recently it was decided to have a brief ceremony at the monument on Remembrance Day and hopefully will carry that on in the years to come.
So a few hundred, including myself gathered to pay our respects to these veterans who lost their lives and to many others from that conflict that served, and their families at the home front, and were in the audience as well.
So folks, I hope I have answered the three questions that started these last two blogs.
See you again on Sunday,
Bart
Recently it was decided to have a brief ceremony at the monument on Remembrance Day and hopefully will carry that on in the years to come.
So a few hundred, including myself gathered to pay our respects to these veterans who lost their lives and to many others from that conflict that served, and their families at the home front, and were in the audience as well.
So folks, I hope I have answered the three questions that started these last two blogs.
See you again on Sunday,
Bart
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