No Stone Left Alone: Halifax students honour fallen soldiers

Bagpipes filled the crisp autumn air as dozens of Gorsebrook Junior High students slowly marched into Halifax’s Fort Massey Cemetery as part of the No Stone Left Alone ceremony.

“Fort Massey Cemetery has 127 burials from the First and Second World Wars,” said Captain Marie Walinga, a member of 3 Military Police Regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Fort Massey Cemetery has 127 burials from the First and Second World Wars," said Captain Marie Walinga, a member of 3 Military Police Regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Students placed poppies on the gravestones of each soldier buried in the cemetery Thursday.

READ MORE: New Brunswick students pay tribute to Canada’s fallen soldiers

No Stone Left Alone ceremonies are held annually across Canada.

The event began in Edmonton, A.B. as a way for junior high school students to remember the men and women who sacrificed their lives for their freedom.

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“We’re here to honour and remember the courage and devotion shown by the brave men and women who made the supreme sacrifice, many of them not much older than you,” said Ron Kronstein, master of ceremonies, former soldier and senior anchor for Global Halifax.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're here to honour and remember the courage and devotion shown by the brave men and women who made the supreme sacrifice, many of them not much older than you," said Ron Kronstein, master of ceremonies, former soldier and senior anchor for Global Halifax.

More than 6,000 students from Nova Scotia to British Columbia have gathered in veteran cemeteries to pay tribute and lay poppies on the head stones of soldiers this week.

READ MORE: No Stone Left Alone honours fallen Canadian military

“I think that they had to be really brave and it must have been really hard on them but they must have loved our country so much and I think I’m very lucky to be in Canada,” said Grade 7 student Isaac Arnold.

The teenagers quietly reflected on the freedom Canadians have today because of battles fought so long ago.

“Everyday when we step out of our house and we see how peaceful and how respectful everybody is to each other, that may not have been possible if these very, very important people didn’t give their lives for our country,” said Grade 7 student Anneke Stroink.

More than 44,000 poppies have been laid on the graves of veterans in 104 cemeteries across Canada.