The roster of commemorative banners paying tribute to area residents who have served their country continues to grow with the addition of eight new ones last week.
The unveiling of the banners last Tuesday at the Morden Legion had family members connected to the service men and women on hand to celebrate the occasion.
“I’m very proud that we are able to honour my grandpa,” said Daneen Johnston, who is the granddaughter of Don McNaughton. “His brothers were honoured prior to this, and he deserves this, and it makes us very proud.
“And Grandpa would be proud that two of his grandchildren were here and two of his great grandchildren were here,” she added. “I was only five when Grandpa died … so I can only vaguely remember Grandpa … but my dad sort of remembered stories that had been told to him … like one where he says the sea was red with blood. That kind of sticks in my mind.”
“The families remember,” said Legion comrade Ken Wiebe, who spearheads the banner project. “Too often, wars happen, but we’re now four generations, five generations after World War 2, and so much of that history can be forgotten … and it’s just not right.”
Wiebe noted he feels good to now have Winkler getting involved in the project, with three of the eight new banners slated to go up in that community for the first time.
“It’s just really good because there are quite a number of names on the Winkler cenotaph, and some of those are also on the Morden and Stanley cenotaph, so it’s good to see,” he noted. “And Harvey Friesen [one of this year’s banner honourees] was a big driving force [in recognizing veterans in the community], and I’m glad to have seen that happen.
“It’s good that the City of Winkler recognizes that freedom isn’t free, and it came at a cost, at a cost for residents in Winkler and people in the RM of Stanley,” he added. “The City of Winkler is supporting the program, so the City of Winkler is named on the bottom of the banners as opposed to just Morden, so it’s good to see.”
Carol Van Wyck, who is a daughter of Harvey Friesen, agreed it will be great to see some banners up on display in Winkler this fall.
“It’s been a long time coming, but I’m very glad it’s finally happening,” she said. “My dad was a tireless advocate for so many things for so many people and for the community that he was so involved in, and we’re very proud of it.”
“It’s an incredible honour. It really is … so many gave so tirelessly of themselves and in particular in this area with the pacifistic attitudes … he and many others went to war against their religion … so it was tough that he did it, and we are so very, very proud that he did, as did others from this area as well.”
She especially cited her father’s impact in terms of having experienced the impact of mustard gas testing and his advocacy on behalf of all of those who paid a price for it.
“It was his hard work and research that really brought that all to the forefront and brought recognition to those who deserved it,” said Van Wyck.
This unveiling was also extra special for Wiebe, as his own daughter, Makenzie George, is among those being recognized with a banner.
“I didn’t know why I was coming today but that it was for the banner reveal, and I realized they had supported a banner for me,” she said, sharing that she served in the naval reserves, though she was never called to serve a term of duty overseas. “I really felt unworthy to receive a banner. I feel like people who have received banners have fought in wars, have really done something to protect our country and our freedom, and I never got a chance to do that.
“[But] my dad was saying when you do join the military, you sign on the dotted line that you would give up your life to protect your country, protect the people you love. And I would have done that if I had the opportunity.”
She fully appreciates the value of the banner project.
“I think it’s important to recognize people. As time goes on, you kind of forget that there was war and that people were involved … so to be able to see their faces and hear or read their stories is really important.”
Wiebe noted it doesn’t surprise him that they keep coming up with more people to honour and more stories to tell through the banners.
“When you look at our cenotaph, there’s more names on there, and we know there’s way more names than that who served,” he said, noting they will continue with this project in the years ahead
He also admitted to being a very proud father.
“I’m very proud of the fact that she served and that she consented to have her banner put up.”
Other new banners will honour Rifleman Cornelius Fehr Klassen, Lt./Nurse Ethel Large (Bayliss), Pilot Officer Cornelius Krahn, Pilot Officer Clifford Clarence Reichert, and Sgt./Petty Officer Allan Christian Bjarnason.
