More than 200 students were present at the eighth-annual No Stone Left Alone ceremony in Vernon, B.C., on Wednesday — an event that tasks the students with placing a poppy on the gravestones of the men and women who died serving their countries.
“They’ve been going to Remembrance Day ceremonies at their school every year, but bringing them outside and actually introducing them to the veterans who fought in these conflicts brings it a little more home for them,” explained No Stone Left Alone North Okanagan coordinator, Lawrna Myers.
Over the next two days, 1,257 poppies will be placed at the Vernon cemetery, honouring veterans from around the world.
“We have a lot of British soldiers here, we have Australian soldiers, French soldiers, Korean, Canadian, and we even have a U.S. Civil War veteran.
“Because this is an old cemetery, it started it 1902, some of the very early ones who are buried here fought in conflicts like the Riel rebellion and the Fenian raids.”
Myers helped bring this event to Vernon back in 2015. To properly honour each individual, a great deal of research is required.
“Some of them are easy, some of them have actual military markers with their rank and unit that they served on,” said Myers.
“Other ones we have just researched them — we go through the library and Archives Canada, we go through obituaries, to try and find any service that they had.”
For students like Sophie Laser, this event hits especially close to home. Her brother is currently enrolled at the Royal Military College in Quebec. She says the No Stone Left Alone event is a very moving and eye-opening experience.
“When you’re younger, it doesn’t connect as much, but I feel like once I’ve gotten older, it’s kind of clicked with me more, that this is all possible,” said Laser.
One Seaton Secondary School student read the famous John McCrae poem, In Flanders Fields, prior to the opening ceremony. She says today’s poppy-placing event gave her a different perspective about the sacrifices that were made.
“Going to their gravestone, you really feel the individuality and you kind of humanize each person and each soldier, and you feel what they feel and what their families are feeling,” said Grade 10 student Tharusha Amarasinghe.
“It’s so important to recognize their sacrifices and how much they put into protecting us.”
Students will also be taking part in more ceremonies like this in Lumby, Armstrong, and Spallumcheen over the coming days.