Sask. veterans ask people to mark Remembrance Day in personal ways

Jeanne Tweten, 97, leans on her cane and clutches a red poppy as she walks through Riverside Memorial Park Cemetery in Regina searching for the graves of loved ones who served in the war.

The British Royal Air Force veteran has come to terms with most pandemic restrictions — including the cancellation of many Remembrance Day ceremonies — but she was steadfast in her desire to lay poppies in the Veterans Memorial.

Tweten's husband and several family friends are buried in the Field of Honour.

"On Remembrance Day, I think of the ones who didn't come back. I think of them," she said with a sigh.

The Royal Canadian Legion has asked people to stay home on Remembrance Day and pay private respects. In Regina, the legion cancelled its large ceremony at the Brandt Centre and will broadcast a small outdoor ceremony in Victoria Park on its Facebook page. 

CBC will broadcast Remembrance Day specials on radio, television, online and on mobile phones through the CBC News and CBC Gem apps.

Sask. veterans mark Remembrance Day in their own way

4 years ago

Duration 4:13

Many Remembrance Day ceremonies have been cancelled or downsized to meet public health restrictions. Saskatchewan veterans and their families say people should still find personal ways to honour those who served.

Tweten will be watching. She comes from a military family stretching back generations, including her father and uncles, her husband and his brothers, her brother and sons and herself. During the Second World War, Tweten did "top secret" work tracking enemy planes as a radar operator off the south coast of England.

"In a way, we were the first line of defence against the Germans coming in to raid," Tweten said.

For decades, she has attended a large public ceremony on Nov. 11 and found it "really inspiring" to see parents and children pack into the Brandt Centre.

"It showed that the story, and remembrance, was being passed on," she said. "That's what we're going to miss this year, is that we can't do that in a big, public way. Is the story going to be passed on to the children? It's sad we can't have that this year, but we understand why."

Tweten said that if Canadians can't gather together in large crowds, they should find personal ways to mark the sacrifice of those who served by uniting in two minutes of silence at 11 a.m.

"Wherever you are, you stand still and you are silent for two minutes. It's the longest two minutes in the whole year," she said.

Her son, retired major Reg Tweten, shared a similar sentiment.

"Even though we can't gather in public, I would ask parents and children to celebrate Remembrance Day in their own way," he said.

'Lest we forget'

Saskatoon's Reg Harrison, a 98-year-old Royal Canadian Air Force veteran pilot, said too many people already treat Remembrance Day as "just another holiday", and he's convinced the pandemic will overshadow the significance of the day even more.

"It won't get the attention it deserves," he said.

The bomber pilot earned the nickname "Crash" after surviving four plane crashes while flying with the 431 Squadron. He considers himself to be extremely lucky and frequently thinks of those who didn't survive the war.

That's why Nov. 11 is sacred for him.

"A day set aside to really honour all those who paid the supreme price and never had the opportunity to return home like a lot of us did and get married or take part in a community," he said. "If you look at all the monuments and cenotaphs ... there are three words. They're very short: 'Lest we forget.'" 

Harrison is worried the legion will raise less money for veterans through donations to its poppy campaign this year. Veterans, legion members, and military cadets weren't able to collect in person due to the pandemic. The Royal Canadian Legion's digital poppy campaign allows people to honour veterans by dedicating a virtual poppy in their name.

Give thanks

At the Queen Victoria Estates retirement home in Regina, there's a "Wall of Honour" just inside the door with the pictures of several residents who served in the war.

"I constantly give thanks in Canada that we are a free country," said Army veteran Gladys Kennedy, who worked in a military hospital keeping medical records for injured soldiers during the war.

"It gave me a sense of belonging, as a woman. Women had not had as much experience being in jobs like that," she said. 

On Remembrance Day, the 100-year-old woman just hopes to spend time with family, something she can't take for granted as restrictions in the province begin to tighten. 

Perhaps most fitting, given how people fought for rights and freedoms, Kennedy doesn't want to dictate how people celebrate Remembrance Day.

"I don't like to tell other people what to do. I think this is a democratic country and they can make their own decisions and I don't need to influence them," she said.