Vancouver's 99th Remembrance Day ceremony reflects on Korean War ceasefire

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Vancouver on Saturday for a sombre Remembrance Day ceremony that reflected on the ceasefire that ended the Korean War 70 years ago.

Ceremony director James Stanton noted the war remains Canada's third-bloodiest overseas conflict, claiming the lives of 516 of the country's soldiers and wounding more than 1,200 others.

"On this hallowed day, we pause to remember what is often called Canada's Forgotten War," Stanton said. "We will not forget these young soldiers who bravely fought for peace."

The conflict was labelled the Forgotten War because for years, it was referred to as a "police action," and there was much less awareness of the fighting back home than there was during the Second World War.

More than 26,000 Canadians served in the Korean War, and the survivors returned without parades, fanfare or official recognition.

Stanton led the crowd in acknowledging all of the country's veterans, including 100-year-old Percy J. Smith, who fought in the Second World War and attended Saturday's ceremony.

"We salute Percy and his fellow veterans for their service to Canada, wish them good health, thank those who care of them, while we proudly wear our poppies to keep their memory alive, as well as that of their former comrades," Stanton said.

Smith enlisted in the Merchant Navy during the war and served from 1942 to 1946.

"The way I look at remembrance, it's not about us that survived that, it's about the thousands of service men and women who didn't come back,” Smith said.

After all the wreaths had been laid, Smith placed a single white rose at the Cenotaph as a symbol of farewell to the fallen.

Speaking to CTV News after the ceremony, Smith, who knows the horrors of war all too well, lamented the conflicts happening now in Ukraine, and Gaza.

"I think the more people get together and realize that we are all one group of people in this world, we are no different from our colour, our creed and from our religions, it's all the same,” he said.  

The emotional service at the Victory Square cenotaph is the oldest annual ceremony in Vancouver, with this year's event marking the 99th Remembrance Day held in the city, without interruption, since 1924.

The ceremony featured several performances, including by soloist Andy Greenwood, the Vancouver Bach Family of Choirs, and the Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services band.

Jacqueline Murray, a Grade 12 student from Little Flower Academy, was this year's winner of the Cam Cathcart Youth Poem of Remembrance Award, and read her original poem, "They Do Not Chill Us So":

As the seasons change, the winds grow cold
They sweep through empty fields
Through arms and coats of those stood silent
In silence, the mind reels

Though seasons change and winds grow cold
They do not chill us so
The warmth of our thoughts, a burning hearth
Remembering those lost long ago

The red of flowers, the red of fire
Of blood and gore and veins
Friends and fighters fought to fend
These lakes, mountains and plains

Though bodies lie in empty fields
Under crosses gone unnamed
Their souls fly high with those they loved
As we here, still remain

Their freedom that they passed to us
Their memory we surround
Their death brought peace to land on earth
As poppies bloom all ‘round

The poetry award was created in 2006 by its namesake – long-time ceremony director Cam Cathcart, who died two years ago – to engage young people in Remembrance Day.

After the reading, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim presented the high school student with a certificate of appreciation from the city, describing her winning poem as "absolutely beautiful."

"To our veterans and the individuals who are currently serving and your families, we owe you a debt of gratitude. We love you, and we are so thankful that you are willing to serve selflessly so we can live the lives we live," Sim said.

Stanton also took a moment to commemorate the Chinese-Canadian soldiers who volunteered to fight in the Second World War, despite being treated as second-class citizens.

At the time, Chinese immigrants were denied the right to vote, and subjected to a "Head Tax" that discouraged many from coming to Canada.

"Those who wanted to volunteer argued that if Chinese-Canadians wanted to gain full citizenship, they needed to demonstrate their commitment to Canada," Stanton said. "They didn't want to be better than other Canadians, but rather to garner the same rights and privileges as other Canadians. They no longer wanted to be non-citizens in their birth country."

There was a deep divide in the community, with others hesitant to volunteer for a country that didn't want them, but in the end, upwards of 600 Chinese-Canadians served in the army, air force and navy. The federal government would go on to repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act two years after the war ended, and by 1949 all eligible Chinese-Canadians were given the right to vote in provincial and federal elections.

Those volunteers' tradition of service is continued by many Chinese-Canadians today, Stanton added.