On Nov. 11 Penticton remembered.
In the somber setting of the darkened convention centre auditorium, over 1,000 people paid tribute to the men and women who made and continue to make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
One of those people in attendance was 17-year-old Quincy Ngo, who along with his friend Jeff Swetlikoe, read a memorial to the fallen called I Want to See the Soldiers.
“I just felt that there was something I should do to give back to the soldiers for the freedoms I have today,” said Ngo, afterwards about his reasons for participating in the service.
“When I think about it, the soldiers have done a lot for us. I don’t know where we’d be if it wasn’t for them fighting for us in the first place. I think it’s a good opportunity to take this day every year to say thank you for their hard work.”
Waiting for the start of the parade in the chilly breeze on Power Street earlier in the day was Amanda Fitzpatrick and her six-year-old daughter Natalie.
“I think it’s very important that kids learn at a very early age why it is they have what they have and who it was that is responsible for them to live in freedom,” she said.
In Okanagan Falls, there was also a good turnout for Remembrance Day with more than 200 people attending the services at the elementary school and the march to the cenotaph.
In his closing remarks in Penticton, master of ceremonies Comrade Ron Bannister talked of the men who died in the recent, hostile military deaths of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent in Quebec and Cpl. Nathan Cirillo in Ottawa at the National War Memorial.
“So we must remember that the price of freedom is not cheap,” he said. “We must forever remember their sacrifices, lest we forget, lest we forget.”