Sounds of cannons could be heard echoing across the field and the trumpet played the familiar call of The Last Post. Hundreds gathered at the largest training establishment in the Canadian Armed Forces to honour those who have fallen, sacrificed their lives for our freedom and those who serve today. Rows of soldiers lined Legacy Park and hundreds more attended the Remembrance Day ceremony at Base Borden on Wednesday. “Today is a very important day for us. We have been standing on the shoulders of giants who have fought for the peace for this country,” Commander of the Canadian Forces Chaplain School Eloi Gunn tells CTV News. “And so, for us, it’s a great way to remember them, to remember that they brought a lot to the country, the fourth heart. And then they gave us a lot of inspiration. And to be here to support them, to support their family, not only those in the past, but also those who are continuously serving here and abroad.” Gunn recalls Base Borden as a strong training ground for many. “This is a very important base because many before us have been training here and especially in the trenches,” Gunn says. “So, it’s a wonderful place of memory. So, it’s also, for us, a duty of memory, not only for the base, for the history of the base, but also for the members and their families.” Another soldier just how important it is to be present at the ceremony. “It’s a day you want to be on parade,” Sean McLeod, Drill Sarjeant Major at Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical School of Engineering tells CTV News. “It’s a day that the whole country gets to reflect why we have the freedoms that we have, and who paid the price for that.” To see large crowds like the one on Wednesday was something McLeod says unites us all. “It’s always good as a service member to see that happen, because it shows that Canada cares. We’re not chest beaters and flag wavers,” McLeod says. “But when it comes to what’s important, we gather together as a people and we show ourselves as a nation.” There are roughly 4,700 people serving at the base with 10 of the units at various ceremonies throughout the community.
