Upwards of 700 people gathered in the warm weather Wednesday to honour our veterans at the Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Chatham cenotaph.
Ed Broad, master of ceremonies, said it’s the third year Branch 628 Legion has overseen the outdoor event, and it continues to grow.
“There’s so much more meaning holding it here,” he said in the shadow of the cenotaph.
Broad appreciates how the public has warmed to the concept as well.
“We couldn’t ask for anything more,” he said of the support Wednesday from the community. “It was a great turnout.”
Sgt. At Arms for the ceremony, Bill Horton, described the participation as “beautiful.”
Twenty-year Legion member Pauline Horton – Bill’s sister – said the day was perfect, capped off by a fly over of four aircraft, including a biplane.
She also happened to have a brother who served in the air force.
For Broad, the Nov. 11 ceremonies are a way of saying thanks to Canada’s veterans.
“I grew up knowing it was a day where we remember our vets who gave us the life we have today,” he said.
There was subtle increased police presence at the Chatham ceremony Wednesday, as well as other Remembrance Day events around the municipality. This comes in the wake of the killing of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo last month at the War Memorial in Ottawa.
In Chatham, tactical officers armed with assault rifles were on the roof of the Downtown Chatham Centre, and several more were scattered around the cenotaph, as well as at the walking bridge to Tecumseh Park.
Insp. Jeff Littlewood of the Chatham-Kent Police Service said police weren’t at every event in Chatham-Kent, but rather “definitely where the military was present. They were the targets of terrorism,” he said.
“Since the (cenotaph) ceremony was to do with the war memorial, we thought to beef up the security a little bit, as well as show support.”
Littlewood said officers did their best to remain vigilant but not be a distraction.
“We didn’t want to scare anyone either. There was no intel saying anything was going on. This was more of a precautionary measure,” he said.
It was a measure that was well received.
“Afterwards, people were saying to our guys, ‘Thanks for being there,’” Littlewood said.
Broad said it was indeed appreciated.
“You have to give the police service credit for providing the extra security,” he said. “You think that nothing like what happened in Ottawa is going to happen in Chatham, but you never know.”
