Flags honouring 128,000 fallen and missing Canadian soldiers and RCMP officers line Highway 11 near Sylvan Lake.
Innisfail resident and veteran Michael Barclay helps out with the annual Flags of Remembrance efforts here in Central Alberta. Flags of Remembrance, which is part of Veterans Voices of Canada, erects flags along major roads across the country to pay tribute to the 116,000 Canadian soldiers who have died in armed conflict from the Boer War to present, and the 12,000 soldiers who are missing in action. It also includes 234 RCMP officers and the RCMP's predecessor, the North-West Mounted Police.
To remember these soldiers, 128 flags are put up. In Sylvan Lake's case, there are 128 flags on each side of the highway.
“The whole memorial tribute part of it is something that myself as a veteran, I want to be more involved in,” Barclay said. While not part of the organizing committee, he helps out if an extra set of hands is needed, like directing traffic during opening ceremonies.
The flags went up on the beach at Sylvan Lake on Oct. 7, and then after the opening ceremony they were taken to the highway to be erected there. The flags will be taken down just prior to the closing ceremony on Nov. 18, and the flags are then presented back to each flag's sponsor.
A “hero plaque” is attached to many of the flags, sponsoring a specific veteran or currently serving soldier, and Barclay says it helps remind people of the individuals behind the numbers.
Barclay has been helping for four years and is drawn to the effort because of a desire to remember and educate those who have sacrificed. He first got involved after hearing about the project at the legion.
“My thought process is that I need to No. 1 make sure history doesn't repeat itself by trying to make people understand the sacrifices that Canadian men and women have made over the years, and that their sacrifices will not be forgotten,” Barclay said. He's also served as a sergeant at arms for three Remembrance Day ceremonies and he and others have gone to schools to help reach out to students.
Barclay served in the military for 21 years, including a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo in 1999 and two different tours in Bosnia in 2003 and 2004. Since retiring from the military he settled in Innisfail.
More than a dozen communities from coast to coast are hosting Flags of Remembrance this year and Barclay said more communities are looking to get involved. The flags are raised at nearly the exact same moment in every community.
Sponsorship money helps raise money for Veterans Voices of Canada, a registered charity that collects interviews with veterans and provides the interviews to the veterans and their families, but also donates them as educational material. The money also goes back to local charities.
Donations can also be given straight to Veterans Voices of Canada. For more information on the Flags of Remembrance or Veterans Voices of Canada, check online at vetvoicecan.org.
