The Drumheller Genealogy Club, the Drumheller Legion and The Town of Drumheller unveiled its unique project to commemorate the service of veterans in our area.
The Mail reported in its July 11 edition of the Salute a Veteran Remembrance Project. This a project where residents can sponsor a banner to be hung in Drumheller with an image of a veteran, the branch of the military, and the conflict they served in.
At the time, the volunteers undertaking the project were aiming to have 20 banners in the first year. They nearly doubled the total with 39. The first of which was of Drumheller Legion life member Stan Baird.
At the ceremony on Monday, October 1, Debbie LaPlante said it was a collaborative effort. The Town of Drumheller was very supportive.
“The Genealogy Club and Legion members who spent a lot of their time doing various jobs required to make this project go smoothly. To all volunteers who helped with the project and to the newspaper and radio stations and Freson Bros. for all their help in getting the word out there,” she said. Image Crafters in Drumheller are making the banners.
Baird is a well-known veteran who served in World War II and the Korean War. He also served with NATO peacekeeping in Germany and did a tour with the United Nations in the Middle East. He was a very active Legion member until he moved away from the valley a few years ago. Now 94, the lifetime member of the Drumheller legion still keeps in touch with his comrades.
The banners will now be put up by town staff and will remain flying until after Remembrance Day.
“We hope everyone will walk around and look at these banners and be reminded our wish is to extend the period of remembrance leading up to Remembrance Day on November 11, to say thank you to those brave men and women who served, and that we must never forget the sacrifices any Veteran has made so that we can live in a free democratic society like we have in Canada,” said Laplante.
