With the pandemic forcing this year’s Remembrance Day service to move online, Moose Jaw’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 59 is also taking a digital approach to highlight the community’s veterans.
From Thursday, Nov. 5 to Tuesday, Nov. 10, the legion will feature on its Facebook page one veteran each day for the six days, including a picture of the individual and a short paragraph about his or her service and what Remembrance Day means.
Justin Eddison is the branch’s new public affairs officer and is responsible for the project. Eddison, 31, is a veteran himself after serving in Afghanistan, and now works at 15 Wing airbase as an air traffic controller. He explained that he wanted to highlight veterans from different generations to show their contributions locally and globally.
“It can be a touchy subject for people who have deployed or witnessed or experienced different things, so I originally started with just asking the legion president if there was any veterans that would like to be interviewed and would like to contribute,” he said. “Obviously, veterans, some are reluctant to talk about their experiences, so it’s not always the easiest to get them to talk to you about it, even more so once it gets to the public.”
The featured veterans range in age from 31 to 70, while their experiences — from peacekeeping to combat — occurred worldwide, from Canada (RCMP) to Cypress to Afghanistan.
Eddison focused on veterans from the Cold War and modern era since he thought their contributions are often overlooked or forgotten, he explained. He pointed out that many people remember both world wars and the Korean War, while less is known about operations that have occurred since then and those who participated in them.
For example, Eddison pointed to Canada’s peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia in the early 1990s, including repulsing the Croatian army during a battle in the Medak Pocket.
“I think those veterans are not highlighted enough, and I think that’s unfortunate, so I really wanted to showcase that these members are veterans and those were real contributions toward global peace,” he added.
Eddison reached out to the veterans by email and explained more about the project. He indicated that they could write as little or as much as they wanted about their experiences, while it would be on a volunteer basis. Eventually, they all replied and said they would participate.
Some veterans are reluctant to share their stories since there is stigma and misunderstanding about what they went through, while speaking about Remembrance Day can also be emotional since it’s a solemn time, Eddison continued. He reached out to the individuals since he could understand their experiences, making it easier for them to share.
“It was very well received. They thought it was a great idea,” he said, “especially with everything going away from the physical due to COVID-19.”
One of Eddison’s goals is to record veterans’ stories and create video testimonials. This would allow him to create a database that the public could also access.
Eddison hopes the project brings more attention to these veterans and their efforts globally, while he also hopes it encourages residents to have more appreciation for these people. He would also like to see the community give the legion more attention since it exists to support veterans and their needs.
