A crowd gathered at Quesnel’s cenotaph on Tuesday, Oct. 3 to celebrate the addition of three new plaques to the monument, recognizing the contribution of soldiers in peace time, and those who served in the Persian Gulf in 1990-91 and Afghanistan in 2001-14.
The new plaques have been installed after a group of Kersley Elementary students were moved by a presentation from the Communities for Veterans Foundation in January this year.
After writing letters to veterans expressing appreciation and respect for their service, the students decided to do more to recognize the soldiers, and spearheaded a project to have the plaques added to the monument. Quesnel’s cenotaph had previously only recognized soldiers in WWI, WWII and the Korean war.
In her speech during the event on Tuesday, Grade 6 Kersley student Erin Doerksen said: “We wanted to update the cenotaph because of all the soldiers who were not recognized on it. We want those soldiers to feel appreciated and know that we are grateful for what they did.”
Fellow Kersley student Whitney Magnuson continued: “This experience will stay in our hearts and community forever and has taught us how working together with many can support others and help us be successful.”
During their campaign, the Kersley Grades 5/6/7 students and their teacher Sarah Guest made presentations to the Communities for Veterans Foundation, the City of Quesnel, and the Rotary Club of Quesnel, among others. They raised funds for the project and created awareness within the community.
The Communities for Veterans Foundation is a not-for-profit society that provides transition services and community awareness for the mental and physical challenges of Canadian veterans.
In 2015, Paul and Terry Nichols of Quesnel started the foundation and rode on horseback across Canada to raise awareness for the country’s veterans.
“This group of elementary students has taken a real leadership role. This was their project; they realized there were three generations of military not recognized on the cenotaph,” said Paul.
“We’re so proud of these kids. This is a legacy.”