Representing the 128 thousand Canadian military and RCMP personnel killed in the line of duty from the Boer War to present day, the Flags of Remembrance ceremony will once again be held in Sylvan Lake on September 22nd.

The ceremony is organized by Veteran Voices of Canada, a group dedicated to honoring and telling the stories of Canadians killed protecting our freedoms and liberties.

It's the main fundraiser for the group which was started in 2014, and includes 6 communities this year, with the goal being to get 128 communities across the county to eventually participate.

Executive Director of the group Allan Cameron says 128 temporary flag poles will be erected in Centennial Park, and will remain there until Remembrance Day.

“We have an opening ceremony, which here in Sylvan Lake consists of the unfurling of the flags one by one… we’ve got two horses, we’ve got two veterans who walk the flag line as the Red Deer pipe and drum band play Amazing Grace, which is a really, really amazing moment. They walk the flag line, and each one of the flags unfurl one by one.”

Cameron says this has evolved into more than a way to pay tribute to a fallen veteran.

“We travel across Canada, we sit with veterans and interview and document their story on camera for history and education, and that’s what I feel is so important and that’s why I started the organization initially, was to do veteran documentation. That’s not a cheap endeavour. We are trying to raise our own funds and become self-sufficient so we can continue to do our work in that way.”  

For more information on this, and if you are interested in sponsoring a plaque and flag, you can visit their website, vetvoicecan.org.