Lest We Forget

By Debbie McBride - Beneath cloudy skies and standing in a brisk cold breeze, over a hundred people took part in an intimate and moving Remembrance Day service at Delta Heritage Airpark. This was the fifth year Delta Heritage Airpark, which is located at the foot of 104 St. in Delta, has held a Remembrance Day service.
The ceremony is centered around the flagpole located near the grass landing strip and heritage hangers which house numerous recreational aircraft.

The start of the service is signalled by the rumbling flyover of World War II aircraft taking off from nearby Boundary Bay Airport. These Warbirds then continue on to participate in Remembrance Day services located throughout Metro Vancouver.

The service continued as words of remembrance, including the reading of In Flanders Fields, were spoken and the flag lowered to half-mast. Serving as Colour Guards were members of 655 Richmond Squadron Royal Canadian Air Cadets, who also provided Bugler Sgt Asheesh Jagdeo.

The haunting strains of Last Post, the observance of two minutes of silence and Reveille were all the more poignant as birdsong surrounded the diverse crowd of all ages who had come to pay their respect to and honour all those who had sacrificed so much.

Wreaths were placed in memory of All Veterans by Larry Thomson and Tony Swain and for Commonwealth Airmen by Ralph Rowe. At the end of the service a number of people placed their poppies on this wreath which was later taken to and placed at the little known Commonwealth Airmen Memorial Garden in Stanley Park.
What makes this service so unique is the time of personal reflection that is open to all in attendance. During this time people spoke of those they had known during times of war and shared their stories in a personal and touching time that isn’t possible in larger, more formal ceremonies.

The service was then concluded by the singing of O Canada led by 10 year old Isabelle Hui Bon Hoa and the flypast of the returning Warbirds and a formation flight of nine single engine aircraft from Delta Heritage Airpark.
After the ceremony all were invited to the Airpark coffee shop to partake in a chili lunch hosted by the Airpark and the Recreational Aircraft Association Chapter 85.