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MOSSEL BAY NEWS AND VIDEO - Judging from the attendance at this year's Remembrance Day parade held on Sunday, 12 November in Mossel Bay, fallen soldiers who paid the ultimate price, as well as others who served their country in uniform, are far from forgotten.
In his message MOTH Adjudant for the Garden Route district Bill Frost emphasised that a memorial service was, in fact, a building process, a living thing, as people brought together pieces of memories.
He said, quoting from Ezekiel 37, that the day represented a process of building on to a history of destruction and loss of life.
Frost reiterated that the day was non-political, a day commemorating immense sacrifice. He urged the adults present to set an example to the younger generation by honouring the memory of fallen soldiers. "We will remember them."
Councillor Anton Dellemijn, who served in the military along with his wife, represented the executive mayor of Mossel Bay, Alderman Harry Levendal, at the parade. Dellemijn reminded former miltary veterans of their responsibility to remind their children of the sacrifices made by others.
Deputy president of the South African Cape Corps Military Veterans' Association (SACCMVA), Cornelius Murphy, in his address commented that World War 1 was hailed as the "war to end all wars", although the world was a long way from achieving peace, ironically.
He specifically referred to the conflict between the United States of America and North Korea. "These two countries are threatening each other openly, while the world is still struggling with the pain from yesterday."
Murphy lamented the fact that not all former veterans had received their dues after serving their country. This had led to the birth of the SACCMVA.
"All military veterans across the spectrum must be commemorated. This is why we as an organisation decided to make our presence known at events such as these: not to fight, but to remind people of the role we too played and the sacrifices made," he said in an interview with the Mossel Bay Advertiser after the parade.
To view a video of the parade and the interview, visit www.mosselbayadvertiser.com
More on Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day or Armistice Day, also known as Poppy Day, is a memorial day observed in the Commonwealth of Nations member countries since the end of World War 1 to remember the members of their armed forces who died in the line of duty.
Armistice Day is celebrated on 11 November each year and marks the day the armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany that brought the end of WWI.
This armistice took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, which is why the UK holds two minutes of silence at 11:00 every 11 November. Remembrance Sunday is celebrated on the second Sunday in November.
Watch a video below
The attendance of the youth was notable at Sunday's Remembrance Day parade. Here are members of the Scouts.
Members of the Scouts participated in the wreath-laying ceremony.
Mossel Bay Police Station commissioner, Lieut-Col Albert Haggard during the wreath-laying ceremony.
ARTICLE, PHOTOS AND VIDEO: CORNELLE CARSTENS, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER JOURNALIST
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