Volunteers from the Somme Branch Legion in Dartmouth, N.S., are continuing a project this year that makes sure local veterans are not forgotten. The group decorates veterans’ grave markers in Mount Hermon Cemetery and Christ Church Cemetery with crosses complete with poppies and Canadian flags. Glynis Mullen, the membership chair at the Somme Legion, says they first must catalog the veterans to know who they were and where to place the crosses. “A lot of that information comes by hearsay or by word of mouth. They are investigated and to ensure they have a military background and then they’re added to the list,” she told CTV Atlantic’s Paul DeWitt. “It is so important that we remember people that served in Canada for our country, for the freedoms we enjoy today.” This year, the Legion also had the help of several cadets in the Navy League of Canada. “We’re really wanting to get them more involved, so we actually had the Navy League Cadet Corps Bidwell, they took on the task of cleaning the existing stock, which was upwards to 100 crosses, which they cleaned up, put flags on, put the poppies on,” says Cynthia Thomas, a parent volunteer with the Navy League. Mullen says Thomas was “paramount” in bringing everything together this year. “I grew up in a military family. I saw firsthand the sacrifices that the military members make,” Thomas explains. In addition to decorating the markers, the group is also working to create a permanent online photographic record of the veterans’ graves with help from the Sackville Photography Club. “We can then categorize that, put that onto the website, and that will give the public an opportunity to know where their loved ones are buried. It’ll be a place to give online condolences if they’re not in the province themselves,” Thomas says. The group says they have documented “hundreds” of veterans’ graves so far and hope to expand to St. Peter’s Cemetery, Dartmouth Common Cemetery and Woodlawn Cemetery. However, they say without more help from the community, opportunities to identify, record, and preserve veterans’ grave markers may be lost. Anyone with an interest in veterans, remembrance, local history, genealogy, photography or community service is invited to help. Mullen says one of the reasons she got involved in the project was because of Paul O’Boyle, a retired veteran and a member of the Somme Branch Legion. “Paul unfortunately passed away this October. It was a little strange doing it without him this year, but he will long be remembered for his work for veterans,” she says. “It’s people like that that keep it in the forefront for Canadians – they’re why we’re here and that’s what it’s all about.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
