When Canadian military veteran, Barrie Taylor, woke up on Nov. 11, he wasn’t sure what to expect.
Typically, the retired Royal Canadian Regiment major would attend a formal Remembrance Day ceremony but this year he found himself walking down a Halifax street toward a veteran’s garden, near his home.
When he arrived, he was pleasantly surprised.
About a dozen people showed up and spread out around the Korean War Veterans Memorial Garden.
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Their eyes silently saluted Taylor and another veteran, Wayne Tremblay, as they entered the field.
One thing was for certain, despite being in the midst of a pandemic, the people who showed up felt compelled to be present at the war memorial for 11 a.m.
The respectful gesture didn’t go unnoticed by Tremblay.
“It’s always special and I come here for them. Come here for everyone else who’s suffering and not only those who died but the thousands who suffer quietly with injuries for the rest of their lives,” Tremblay said, a retried communications technician who served with the Royal Canadian Navy.
“We still have thousands in Canada suffering just from Afghanistan, either physical or mental,” he added.
Taylor joined Tremblay in a socially distanced salute when the clock struck 11, marking a sombre moment they both weren’t going to allow the pandemic to squander.
“I thought it was wonderful, I thought it was just wonderful and it was as meaningful as it can possibly be,” Taylor said.
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