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Memorial to honour vets

A dedicated group of Longview volunteers is working to ensure veterans and wartime sacrifices are remembered not just on Remembrance Day, but year round.
Longview Mayor Ivor McCorquindale (far left) and members of the Memorial Garden Organizing Committee (from left) Rhoda Parnell, Doreen Kirk, Ken Kirk, Brenda McIntosh, Louise
Longview Mayor Ivor McCorquindale (far left) and members of the Memorial Garden Organizing Committee (from left) Rhoda Parnell, Doreen Kirk, Ken Kirk, Brenda McIntosh, Louise Perwiznuik and Winnie Hayden show off the large memorial rock in the garden which will be dedicated to veterans when the entire memorial garden project is complete.

A dedicated group of Longview volunteers is working to ensure veterans and wartime sacrifices are remembered not just on Remembrance Day, but year round.

The group is working on creating a memorial garden in front of the Town of Longview office, which when complete, will include a garden, a large memorial rock dedicated to veterans, and smaller rocks dedicated to serving military members and EMS workers. The MD of Foothills donated the large memorial rock, which is already in place. There will also be flags, an oil derrick, benches and a mural depicting people working in a garden with a farm in the background and the mountains further in the distance.

The eight-person Memorial Garden Organizing Committee has been working on the project for about a year now, explained Mayor Ivor McCorquindale.

“ The support we got from people in respect to donating their time and energies and not charging us for certain things was phenomenal,” he said.

The project, which McCorquindale said will cost about $35,000, has received a funding boost from the government and a private company.

Legacy Oil + Gas donated $20,000 to the project, $10,000 per year for two years, and the federal government recently provided $4,680 as part of its Community War Memorial Program.

Macleod MP Ted Menzies said the project was important, as not every community has a place for residents to remember those who died for freedom. He said many small communities are trying to raise funds to create such memorials.

“ Minister (of Veterans Affairs Steven) Blaney thought it was appropriate to help some of these smaller communities be able to acknowledge the sacrifice that their members of their communities have made,” he said.

As there are fewer Second World War veterans, funding from Veterans Affairs is available for the program for which the government has set aside $5 million, he added.

Turner Valley Legion Sgt-at-Arms Malcolm Hughes helped guide committee members to apply for the federal grant and said it will help them with the project.

Hughes said he was happy to help, as he completely supports any public projects relating to the remembrance and sacrifice of veterans.

McCorquindale said the memorial must adhere to specific criteria Veterans Affairs sets out, so they are not sure about the plaque details. He said they were able to find the names of five First World War veterans from Longview, some of which still have relatives in the area, but finding the names of Second World War veterans is more difficult.

He said the committee is well on its way of raising its goal, and hopes to bring in close to $10,000 with a raffle it is planning. He said they plan to hold a dedication ceremony in September once the garden is complete and he has asked Lieutenant Governor Donald Ethel to officiate.

For McCorquindale, whose grandfather and father fought in the First and Second World Wars, creating such a memorial is important to express gratitude to veterans.

“ We have to respect the sacrifice that so many made so that we can live in the phenomenal country that we do and have the freedoms that we do.”

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