Two minutes of silence are never enough for veteran Dan Graham to remember his fallen friends.
Graham, who served in the Canadian Air Force since 1959 and was stationed for 11 years in Germany during the Cold War has seen many comrades die.
Not in direct warfare but they still lost about four pilots every year in accidents, he said.
“We lost a lot of the aircraft. I lost a lot of my friends,” he said. “So on Remembrance Day I try to think of all those and the good times we had together and the bad times when they died.”
Wrapped up in thick clothes, still wearing the uniform with the shining medals beneath his parka in the cold minus 12 C morning, Graham was one of 2,000 to 3,000 St. Albertans who came out to this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony.
They gathered along the road, surrounded the cenotaph, and watched from the top of city hall. They applauded as the first veterans began to pass by on St. Anne St., the sound of marching feet muffled by the falling snow.
It was the largest crowd the St. Albert Legion had ever counted to attend the ceremony said president Bob Fagan. The recent attacks on two soldiers in Ottawa have brought many people out, he said.
“We always had good crowds but we had more this year,” he said.
To many who came out to the ceremony, Remembrance Day is about remembering family and friends, those who served in the wars then and now, and the sacrifices they’ve taken here and abroad.
Ev Reay can still recall the few words her late brother spoke on the rare occasion that he did talk about the war.
Her brother, who carried his wounded friend across enemy lines in the Second World War, did not grow up in a generation that would share their loss and grievances, she said.
“But I remember him saying you just do what you do, you just do,” she said. “He would have done the same for me, he said.”
Reay comes out to the ceremony every year to remember her brother and the toll the war took on his life. She also comes out in respect of all the others who served this country, she said.
Today, soldiers face a lot more criticism for the actions they have to take, she said. But when she was young, you were brought up to respect those who fought for their country, she said.
In light of the recent attacks on military personnel in Ottawa, she hopes that people will take the time to understand the role of the military, study the history of wars, and remember the sacrifices of those serving now and then.
“The war has its toll on the people,” she said. “It’s the least we can do to come out and honour them and remember them on this very special day.”
