DAVIDSON — The community filled the Parish Hall this Remembrance Day to show their appreciation for the sacrifices made by Canada’s war veterans and service members.
Guest speaker, Major Ron Sarich began with a somber tribute to Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent. Speaking with his back to the crowd, he commented on the “cowardice” of the actions taken against the men before asking for a moment of silence.
Sarich shared his belief that when we remember those who served, we must also remember those who helped at home. He wanted to thank the women who worked in the factories, producing munitions and equipment for the war effort. He wanted to thank the service people who provided the troops with training before their deployments. And finally, he wanted to thank all of the farmers who had to stay back and provide food.
“All of these contributions, ” Sarich said, “were necessary. If they didn’t have equipment or food, our troops couldn’t have done anything. Everyone gave and sacrificed so much to support the men and women overseas. We can’t forget them either.”
Ron selected a couple stories that had been shared with him by veterans that had served in prior war efforts. While the first story was meant mainly to entertain, Ron had picked a much more serious tale for his second.
Sarich spoke of a group of men flying a mission over Germany. In this particular instance, the bomb payload became dislodged and fell from its support harness only to wedge itself in the floorboards of the aircraft.
A nervous crew was then forced to return to their base with a live, unsecured bomb firmly reminding them of the gravity of war. Ron never learned why the bomb didn’t go off. He said it could have been a ‘dud,’ or “perhaps the arming cycle didn’t complete.”
“I chose that story because if it could happen to [them], it could have happened to others who weren’t so lucky to have the arming cycle not complete.” The story, he said, “shows how risky those missions were, even before they got under enemy fire.”
After thanking the students for the “wonderful slideshow,” Sarich concluded by presenting Gord McRae, president of the Davidson branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, with a framed picture he had personally taken over 20 years ago.
The picture of a U.S. Navy Sturgeon class boat, taken in April of 1983, surprised Sarich. He took the photo from the belly camera of the CP-140 Aurora, and was shocked to see the shadow of his plane clearly visible in the boat’s wake from 125 feet above the water. “It wasn’t planned, ” Sarich says, “so it came as rather a pleasant surprise to get that picture back.”
McRae thanked the major for speaking and indicated he will have the photo displayed in the Davidson Museum for everyone to view.
McRae and Sarich both expressed their thanks to the Davidson Inter-Church Association, the Sherlock 553 Cadets, and to everyone that came for making the commemoration possible. McRae also thanked the Davidson Co-Op for providing doughnuts and refreshments before closing the day’s service.