This year’s poppy campaign coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Canadian peacekeeping effort.
Steve Zurbrigg, branch president of the Stratford Royal Canadian Legion Branch 8, said those efforts have included sending Canadians to far flung corners of the globe to assist "desperate locations" and to help keep the peace.
“Some of them have been injured. Some of them have had … PTSD, and some of them have been killed," he said.
“For the people of Stratford, it's good to remember that there are people walking the streets here that have served on peacekeeping missions.”
In 1948, the United Nations (UN) Truce Supervision Organization was established to call for a cessation of hostilities occurring in Palestine, creating a proto-peacekeeping force of military observers.
Later, during the Suez Crisis in 1956, Lester B. Pearson, then Secretary of State for Canada, proposed at the UN that an armed, impartial peacekeeping force could be inserted between Israeli and Egyptian forces to enforce a ceasefire and stabilize the situation.
This action set the precedent for future UN peacekeeping missions and won Pearson the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize.
Since Pearson’s suggestion at the UN, more than 125,000 Canadian Armed Forces members have served in international peacekeeping over the years. About 130 of them have lost their lives and many more have returned home with physical and psychological wounds.
Money raised from the sale of poppies are held in trust to support veterans and to educate youth so they can remember the sacrifices of veterans.
Last year, the Legion raised approximately $60,000. Most of that money stays local, with some proceeds going towards other regional endeavours, like training support dogs to assist veterans.
The 2023 poppy campaign is off to a good start, Zurbrigg said, with local air cadets helping with the kickoff. Poppy sales are taking place across the city. There is also a machine accepting tap payment at Stratford Mall, for cashless donations.
Poppy sales continue until Remembrance Day.
Zurbrigg said the Remembrance Day celebration begins with Legion Branch 8 and the Army, Navy, and Air Force Veterans Association Unit 261 marching to the cenotaph for a ceremony that begins at 10:45 a.m. There is a moment of silence at 11 a.m.
The public is invited to attend and leave their poppies on the steps of the cenotaph after the parade leaves.
Additionally, Zurbrigg is reminding the public of the services that the Legion provides. Branch Service Officer Bill Rothernal is available to help veterans with navigating Veterans’ Affairs and the Legion holds a “Buddy Check Coffee” for veterans and first responders, regardless of if they are a part of the Legion or not.
The coffee house provides free muffins and coffee every Tuesday (except holidays) from 10:30 a.m. to noon. It is a comfortable spot to talk about experiences and to socialize with fellow responders and veterans.
