“Remembrance reminds us that our nation has been through even more challenging times. Whether at war or during peace support operations, Canada’s veterans and fallen heroes alike can take comfort in our remembrance.” – Larry Murray, Grand President of the Royal Canadian Legion
Our fallen war veterans have indeed connected us as Canadians. They are the individuals who paid the ultimate sacrifice: their lives. They protected this land for hope, freedom, democracy, and diversity, which are the essential cornerstones upon which this country was built.
On this Remembrance Day, we need to take the time, young and old alike, to reflect upon the sacrifices made for the generations to follow and to those who made it possible.
The virtual wall of honour and remembrance
In 2013, the Royal Canadian Legion organized and introduced a Virtual Wall of Honour and Remembrance in Ottawa, Ontario, to pay tribute to our fallen war veterans. The Virtual Wall presents a video montage, a collection of submitted photos of fallen servicemen both past and recent. These photos, which number in the thousands of deceased veterans, are submitted by family members and friends to the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command in Ottawa.
The Virtual Wall of Honour and Remembrance will display these photos during the Remembrance Day ceremony at the capital’s National War Memorial. This initiative has received a great response from the public. Dominion Command encourages the submission of photos to put a face to the names of our fallen heroes. The Remembrance Day ceremony is for and on behalf of all Canadians. Thousands attend the ceremony with many people placing poppies on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and laying wreaths at the Memorial site and millions watching the televised ceremony.
Displaying the photos on Remembrance Day
Photo submissions can include pictures of any family member with military service who has passed away. They can be from any war – WWI, WWII, Korean War, Afghanistan, the War of 1812, the Cold War, or peace support missions.
The Virtual Wall of Honour and Remembrance will include three large video screens placed at various downtown locations around the National War Memorial. Submitted photos will be displayed for an hour prior to the ceremony so that the sanctity of the ceremony is not impacted. The focus is on the most sacrosanct and solemn of any Remembrance Day ceremony – two minutes of silence at 11 o’clock.
In the poem In Flanders Fields, John McCrae summarized the Legion’s sentiment to never break faith, never forget, and immortalize those who have fallen.
Photo submission process
For those interested, one photo submission can be sent to Ottawa’s Dominion Command to be viewed on one of their video screens. This can include those who served in the Merchant Navy and Ferry Command and those whose death was attributable to any cause.
High resolution images are best and should include the veteran’s name, years of service, and the regiment that the deceased belonged to. For 2023’s Virtual Wall of Honour and Remembrance, the submission must be received by October 20, 2023. Late submissions will be viewed in 2024. Photos can be sent to remember@legion.ca.
As former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau so aptly put it, “Our hopes are high. Our faith in the people is great. Our courage is strong. And our dreams for this beautiful country will never die.”