Dedication Wednesday morning at Legion Branch 61

By Eric Bourque

THE VANGUARD

NovaNewsNow.com

Dennis Clarke recalls the evening he thought of a way of honouring the memory of Canadian soldiers who lost their lives in the war in Afghanistan.

The sergeant-at-arms for Royal Canadian Legion Branch 61 in Yarmouth, Clarke was on his way to the legion hall when he thought the branch perhaps could acquire a bench and dedicate it in memory of the fallen in Afghanistan.

“I was driving to a meeting here one night and I got the idea in my head and I presented it to the executive committee and they liked the idea and I went ahead,” Clarke explained in an interview at the Branch 61 hall.

He approached Kent Building Supplies and “they were only too happy,” he said, to donate a bench to the legion and have it serve as a memorial to Canadian military personnel who died while serving in the Afghan mission.

A dedication ceremony for the arbour bench happens Wednesday morning.

Discussing it last week, Clarke said other legion branches in the area and the zone commander had been invited to attend the Aug. 15 event.

Political representatives are also among those invited to the ceremony.

Memorial Club members were slated to take part in the ceremony, as well as the RCMP.

Clarke also was looking into the possibility of having someone on hand from the military who has served in Afghanistan.

Asked why he opted for a bench, he said, “I just figured it would be sort of a nice thing to have and people would take notice of it…We are going to have planters that sit inside this, with flowers and everything done up.”

The bench will be installed in front of the flagpole.

Those planning to attend Wednesday’s ceremony were being asked to be at the legion hall by 10 a.m., with the ceremony starting probably around 10:30.