Keeping respect strong across generations

Transcona

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/11/2024 (341 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Transcona youth were invited not only to remember, but to experience.

On Nov. 4, enough students to fill four school buses flooded the Field of Honour at Transcona Cemetery for the annual No Stone Left Alone event, which has Grade 6 students learn as much as they can about fallen veterans who were born in Winnipeg and killed during the First and Second World Wars.

Transcona was the birthplace of around 123 people who fought and died in either war — almost a third of the neighbourhood’s population in the early 20th century.

The event is organized by Peter Martin, a self-proclaimed veterans advocate who was also a loud voice when it came to lobbying for free grave plots for Winnipeg veterans who made it back and were able to die at home, much later in life. The motion was passed by city council in 2022, but quietly cut from the city’s annual budget last year.

Martin, who is a veteran himself, launched the Winnipeg chapter of NSLA, which was founded in Edmonton, Alta. Leading up to the ceremony, he visits classrooms and teaches the students everything from the importance of the salute, and how to do it, to the meaning of Remembrance Day.

The students then visit one of the two fields of honour in the city — the other is at Brookside Cemetery — and each place a poppy on a grave site during a remembrance ceremony which is also attended by local veterans, politicians and members of the public.

When asked if it’s a challenge to connect with generations that are now so far removed from war, Martin explained that the best way to reach them, in his experience, is to offer them real-world examples.

“They have to experience something to remember,” he said. “I’m using more (of the appreciation) of what we have because of those who served … we have all this freedom, and they (the veterans) made it happen.”

“Imagine you’re at dinner with your family, and your 19-year-old brother announces he’s going to fight in Europe,” Martin explained. He said that it’s not an experience that many of the kids he visits have dealt with, but it asks the question ‘how would you feel,’ and the sadness and despair in itself can be relatable.

He remembers, with fondness, visiting a group of students six years after they took part in the event.

“Six years later, they still remember all that (I taught them),” he said. “I hope they always remember that experience, and that it changes how they feel about veterans for the rest of their life.”

Martin does a number of presentations to advocate for veterans, especially in November. This year, he spoke to the graduating class om Oakbank, Man., as well as several groups of local seniors. He said he never writes anything beforehand: “(I) just try to connect with them through real-life situations.

“Imagine your hockey team … any group. Every soldier was part of a team. On D-Day, they weren’t getting off the boat and yelling ‘Go, Canada, Go,’ they were watching their friends’ backs … You’re thinking about looking after each other,” he said. “They’re real people.”

Martin said he hopes NSLA and events like it can promote understanding and appreciation of the sacrifice soldiers have made, as well as recognizing the veterans who made it home so that they and their families can feel seen and acknowledged.

“It feels good,” he said.

“You can’t see it, but they’re in pain,” he added. “It’s about saying, ‘I wish I could fix this, but I can’t, but I can say thank you for your service.’”

This year, Martin and Princess Auto have began to produce ‘We support our veterans’ decals which businesses in Transcona can put in their windows. They can be picked up at the Transcona BIZ office, at 309B Day St.

He hopes to expand the project so the decals can be available everywhere in the city. Decals are free, but participating businesses are encouraged to contact pmcadvice@gmail.com so Martin can keep track.