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Banners of Remembrance fly in Morinville

Honour 10 locals killed in war
0411 MorinBanner 2065 km
REMEMBRANCE — Town of Morinville public works officials put up 10 Banners of Remembrance made by the town's historical society Oct. 30. The banners profile 10 soldiers who lived in Morinville and died in war and would hang in front of the town's fire hall until shortly after Nov. 11. The red star shown here is a Christmas decoration. KEVIN MA/St. Albert Gazette

Few Morinville residents today remember Richard Albert McDonald.  

Even his niece, Paulette Houle, only knew him second-hand. When Houle's grandmother came to visit her mother in the hospital shortly after Houle was born, the family had just learned that McDonald had been declared dead in Germany after fighting in the Second World War.

“My grandmother came to see my mom in the hospital when I was born, and she said, ‘We lost one, but today we have another new one in the family,’” Houle said. 

McDonald was one of 10 Morinville soldiers killed in action in the last hundred years.  

On Oct. 30, town officials hung 10 banners that featured the names and (with one exception) faces of those men from the lamp posts in front of the Morinville fire hall on 100 St. The banners were part of a project by the Morinville Historical and Cultural Society to honour the town’s war dead.  

Town officials had planned to hold a small ceremony to unveil the banners but had to cancel it due to the pandemic. 

Society board member Loralee Elliott said she got the idea for the project in 2016 while visiting Ireland with her grandparents for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.  

“Every little village had these banners of remembrance,” she said, each detailing a soldier that had died in the war. 

“I thought, why are we not doing this in Canada?” 

One year of research later, she and the society had 10 Morinville soldiers to profile on the banners. 

“Now their faces are back in the public eye, and hopefully we’ll remember these people who made the ultimate sacrifice,” Elliott said. 

Storied heroes 

The banners feature two soldiers from the First World War, seven from the Second World War and Master Cpl. Byron Garth Greff, who was the last Canadian solider killed overseas during Canada’s war in Afghanistan. 

Pvt. Jean Ferrat was the earliest of the lot. Originally from France, Ferrat enlisted on Jan. 6, 1915, and headed back to France to fight, Elliott said. He died from shrapnel wounds on Sept. 27, 1916.  

Pvt. Louis Bourassa was the only soldier not to have a photo on his banner, as Elliott couldn’t find one. This five-foot, five-inch blond-haired, blue-eyed Roman Catholic technically survived the First World War, but died in 1920 after years of illness caused by that conflict.  

Elliott said some of her research illustrated changing attitudes in Europe during the Second World War. When Pilot Officer Louis Max Lavallee died in 1943 after his plane was shot down, German troops helped some 5,000 French citizens hold a lavish funeral for him, complete with a military band, what was likely a three-volley salute and two carriage-loads of flowers. 

By the time Pilot Officer George Parker died in a crash the following year, the Germans were losing the war, Elliott noted. This time, German troops forbade villagers from holding a funeral, and the local commandant threatened to shoot them after they secretly placed flowers on his grave. 

Houle said McDonald was one of the 12 children of Louis McDonald and Alice Lake, seven of whom served in the Second World War.  

“He liked street hockey and stuff like that,” she said, and worked as a lumberyard clerk for Steffes Brothers before the war.  

Houle said McDonald served his first three years of the war with the Calgary Highlanders as he was too young for the air force, which he joined in 1943. McDonald had been recommended for officer status just two days before his plane went missing over the Heligoland archipelago in Germany on April 18, 1945. His body was never found. 

Elliott said she hoped the Town of Morinville would hang these banners in future years prior to Remembrance Day, and encouraged other communities to create similar tributes to the troops. 

Additional information about the soldiers on the banners can be found at the Musée Morinville Museum. 

Banners of Remembrance 

The 10 Morinville soldiers featured on the banners are: 

• Louis Bourassa (Oct. 17, 1895 – June 29, 1920)  

• Paul Emile Caouette (March 3, 1925 – Feb. 8, 1945) 

• Jean Ferrat (April 4, 1880 – Sept. 27, 1916) 

• Byron Garth Greff (Aug. 11, 1983 – Oct. 29, 2011) 

• Louis Max Lavallee (Jan. 18, 1920 – July 23, 1943) 

• Russell John Majeau (Nov. 1, 1915 – April 28, 1942) 

• Richard Albert McDonald (Sept. 17, 1923 – April 18, 1945) 

• George Parker (Oct. 20, 1915 – Mar. 15, 1944) 

• Leon Theberge (July 3, 1922 – Dec. 29, 1943) 

• Jean Paul Therrien (Sept. 20, 1922 – Nov. 2, 1944)


Kevin Ma

About the Author: Kevin Ma

Kevin Ma joined the St. Albert Gazette in 2006. He writes about Sturgeon County, education, the environment, agriculture, science and aboriginal affairs. He also contributes features, photographs and video.
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