Monday, November 18, 2024

Remembrance Day 2024

Two Cadet Instructor Cadre (CIC) officers travelled to Arctic Bay in early November to visit 3045 Cadet Corps & assist its commanding officer.  (I’m the commanding officer).  The officers were sent from the regional headquarters (HQ) to see how I was managing, ask what help I needed from the community & HQ, and assist me with cadet activities while they were in town.  I’m still the only CIC officer staffing 3045, but I do get help from parents, guardians, and community members when necessary. 

The visiting officers were present at the International Inuit Day Assembly at Inuujaq School on November 7 and were impressed by the performances.  They worked with the cadets & I over the November 9 & 10 weekend to get ready for the Remembrance Day Ceremony on November 11.  Frank lent me one of his pickup trucks to transport decorations & a piano keyboard from Inuujaq School to the local community hall where the ceremony would take place.  The decorations were made & donated by students & teachers.  Thank you!  I would provide piano accompaniment to two hymns.  More on this coming up.  I spent the evening of November 10 printing programs, readying my dress uniform, polishing my dress shoes, and practicing piano.

The cadets, visiting officers, and I converged on the community hall on the morning of November 11 at 9:30am.  (There’s no school on November 11 in Nunavut if the day occurs during the work week).  We spent the next hour decorating and setting everything up.  A table was placed in the main lobby for the box of poppies, programs, hymn sheets, and Remembrance Day resources for people to read.  The piano keyboard was placed to the far left of the podium, near the mixing board.  I played a few chords to make sure everything was working.  I plugged my tablet computer into the mixing board because I needed to play music through loudspeakers.  We were ready to go when guests started arriving at 10:30am. 

The cadets were formed up in the lobby for roll call by the cadet Chief Warrant Officer (CWO).  The officers & I then inspected their uniforms and made sure each cadet was wearing a poppy. 

The ceremony began at 10:45am with the cadet flag party marching into the hall carrying the Canadian & cadet flags.  They deposited the colours to the left of the main stage and then their positions as left markers.  The CWO then marched in the cadet platoon and halted them next to the left markers.  The local RCMP & Canadian Ranger followed them.  The CWO left dressed the platoon and then faced the audience.  An Elder then came up to the podium to lead everyone in the opening prayer.

My Welcome Address was mostly the same from last year, but I did change & add a few sentences in certain places to keep things up to date.  I did mention the ongoing wars in the Middle East & Eastern Europe and wishing both conflicts come to an end soon.  Everyone then stood for the playing of the national anthem, O Canada.

The audience took their seats and then two people read a Bible verse.  I then sat behind the piano keyboard and began playing the hymn Abide With Me.  The audience sang two verses in Inuktitut & English.  I’m glad there were several confident singers in the audience because I don’t sing.

The audience & cadets remained standing for Last Post, Minute of Silence, Piper’s Lament, & Reveille.  Excluding the Minute of Silence, the other three are musical pieces played by a bugler & bagpiper.  Since we don’t have the musicians, I played recorded tracks from my tablet computer.  This part of the ceremony is the most demanding for the cadets because they must stand at attention for 6 minutes.  We practiced a few times before the ceremony.

The audience took their seats again and two volunteers read the Act of Remembrance in Inuktitut & English.  Then came another Bible reading.  An Elder spoke about their thoughts on Remembrance Day & what it means for Inuit. 

Several cadets had their turn at the podium by talking about why we wear the poppy, giving a brief biography of Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, and reciting McCrae’s famous poem In Flanders Fields.

The ceremony continued with the laying of wreaths.  Two cadets laid wreaths, one on behalf of the corps and another on behalf of the Canadian Rangers.  An RCMP officer laid a wreath as well as the mayor of Arctic Bay.

I sat at the piano again and played the hymn O God Our Help In Ages Past.  The confident singers in the audience led everyone in Inuktitut & English.  Everyone remained standing for the playing of God Save the King. 

An Elder did a closing prayer, and I concluded the ceremony with the Closing Remarks.  I thanked the people who volunteered to participate in the program, the cadets, and everyone for attending.  The CWO then marched the cadets, Ranger, & RCMP out of the hall.

The cadets, visiting officers, & I had our photos taken by cadet parents & guardians.  We then took a break and mingled with the people in attendance before cleaning up the community hall.  The cadets were formed up for a debriefing where the officers & I congratulated them for a job well done.  They were then dismissed for the remainder of the day.

LEST WE FORGET


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