Cadets master corporal helps finalize Saskatoon Remembrance Day preparations

Preparations for Remembrance Day ceremonies had Saskatoon cadets ironing their dress uniforms and polishing their boots this week.

“As of Remembrance Day and Remembrance Day weekend, we are participating in ceremonies so we are just putting our stuff together and getting everything ready, looking good so that the cadets can have a good public image on those days,” Master Cpl. Charlie Vanmetre said.

Vanmetre has been with the North Saskatchewan Army Cadets 3071 in Saskatoon for three years after finding out family friends had close connections to the military.

“I have some family friends who are veterans and I was into military stuff. I was talking about that and they brought up cadets and after that, it just caught my interest.”

He said cadets has taught him to value leadership and relationships with his community.

“Something really big about cadets is leadership and just being a family and together is something that cadets really cherish.”

Vanmetre said as a member of 3071, he gets the opportunity to work alongside volunteers of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and people who were in the military.

He said all of the sacrifices veterans made in the past have led to a free country today.

“We should just be really respectful of that.”

This week, Vanmetre passed on some tips to help cadets prepare for future Remembrance Day ceremonies.

“Teaching kids how to use irons and sew and polish boots isn’t the easiest task but they get a hold of it really quickly.”

Vanmetre’s mother Elaine Weisgerber said that as a parent, it is her job to continue education about the day as well.

“My role is to engage in conversations and initiate conversations with my kids and their friends, family members, just so it isn’t forgotten, so it’s something we are conscious of all the time.”

Weisgerber works as a seniors’ counsellor in Saskatoon and often has patients who have served and lived through war.

“I have heard those stories and seen the sacrifice that they carry for those times that things weren’t stable and weren’t safe.”

Weisgerber said the world we live in today wasn’t free and the repercussions of sacrifice still linger.

“It’s important to remember that there are still people who are carrying the sacrifices that they made when they served and that those sacrifices are so that we can all enjoy the comfort and protection and the freedom that we have.”