1 week Ago By The Canadian Press
Second World War veteran Percival Smith says he entered the British Merchant Navy as a teenager and came out as a man, going home to a family that he "couldn't even recognize" after the war Smith, 101, was among thousands who gathered in downtown Vancouver for the 100th Remembrance Day ceremony to be held at the Victory Square Cenotaph. He says he's glad to remember friends who gave up their lives to serve king and country during the Second World War, but he doesn't know if his health will stand up to next year's ceremony at the memorial that was inaugurated the year after his birth. Smith says although he was in "terrible danger" during most of his service, he and his shipmates didn't think of dying, but rather "what the next day was going to be like.
" Smith says the danger aside, his time at war gave him discipline and it was "the best time" of his life. Remembrance Day services were held across B.C.
on Monday, including Victoria, where about 5,000 people gathered at the cenotaph at the legislature. Retired Cpl. Neil Dancer, who served in Afghanistan with the 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, said the service helps in his struggles to overcome mental health issues connected to his military service.
"I ended up carrying a lot of responsibility over there and it really messed with my head over the years," he said. "You live with the decisions you had to make. It's not always easy and that's why we show up here every year just so none of the kids that are here have to go through what any of us had to go through.
" Retired Capt. Tim Cheesman, who served with the Royal Regina Rifles reserve regiment, said he was pleased to see the large crowd in Victoria, especially so many young people. Cheesman said he was not deployed overseas but the regiment served in conflict zones.
"We deployed numerous times to peacekeeping and numerous times to Afghanistan and everybody out of our regiment made it back safely." Jason Overy watched the service in Vancouver as a civilian, having previously been part of many ceremonies as a military drummer, initially with the Band of the 5th Field Regiment in Victoria before joining the Band of the 15th Field Regiment in Vancouver. He retired in 2020 just shy of 30 years of service, and said he missed taking part in the ceremonies.
"It was my honour to serve as long as I did," he said. "But those are the things I miss, moments like this, being part of the actual celebration, part of the remembrance or the honouring of the sacrifices that were made for us. So, being part of those traditions was very powerful in the military and I missed those aspects.
" This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2024. Darryl Greer and Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press.
