The people of Windsor are and continue to be extremely grateful to the brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives for us to continue to live in the amazing country, that is Canada. Throughout the year we acknowledge the sacrifice that our soldiers make, but on November 11th we take the time to verbalize and memorialize everyone who fought for our country. In Windsor-Essex County, there are plenty of wonderful events planned to honour our veterans.
Pinning of the Poppies
The Essex County Council they have taken on the tradition of the pinning of the poppy ceremony. This ceremony comprises of a group of local veterans pinning poppies on the Mayors and Deputy Mayors of the surrounding Municipalities. The Veterans will also do a march through Essex from their legion branch through the rest of the county.
The Legion's Poppy Campaign
At the grocery store, in the mall, or anywhere else around Windsor-Essex you have probably seen Veterans campaigning, distributing poppies, and accepting donations. This is something they do every year from the last Friday in October until November 10th and all of the proceeds go to Veterans and financial outreach for them and their families.
Remembrance Day Ceremonies
There will be ceremonies across Windsor-Essex County for Remembrance Day. Here is a list of a few of them to look out for at their respective Cenotaphs:
- Tecumseh: November 9th from 10:30 – 11:30am
- Belle River: November 9th at 1:00pm
- Comber: November 11th at 10:50am
- Harrow: November 11th at 11:00am
- Kingsville: November 11th at 11:00am
- Lasalle: November 11th at 11:00am
- Riverside: November 9th at 1:00pm
- Windsor: November 11th at 11:00am
Theresa Charbonneau
This mother unfortunately lost her son Andrew Grenon in 2008 when he was deployed in Afghanistan. Although this was a tragic thing to happen to anyone, Theresa transitioned her grief into inspiration. She has dedicated the last 15+ years of her life to helping and comforting families of soldiers and veterans. Theresa has done this by working with organizations such as HOPE (Helping Our peers by Providing Empathy) as well as commemorating her son every year on Remembrance Day and every day in her heart and in her memories.
Honourable Mentions
There are a couple of more intimate events that happen in Windsor not just to commemorate our veterans, but for veterans to find community amongst one another:
- Windsor Warriors, this is a local group of veterans and their spouses that meet up weekly for breakfast
- Afghanistan Veterans Lunch Group, this is another local group that meet up together weekly for lunch
- Windsor Veterans Memorial Services Committee, a collection of Veterans that attend funerals for other veterans out of respect (led by Paul Lauzon – 519-300-0875)
- Military institute of Windsor, monthly guest speakers come in to speak on a specific topic to an assembly of Veterans (led by Mr. Roy Embury – 519-735-6767)
