Brigden Legion has plans to upgrade cenotaph
It has been over 55 years since the Brigden cenotaph was dedicated and the Brigden Legion believes it is time to update the monument.
The effort is expected to cost $12,000 and the Township of St. Clair has decided to kick in $8,000. Fundraising will be conducted within the Brigden Legion and the local business community.
Chuck Stevens, chair of both the poppy and remembrance committees for the Brigden Legion, made a presentation to St. Clair Township council on Feb. 20. The Brigden Legion has been planning to make changes to the cenotaph since 2022, said Stevens. Right now the cenotaph only recognizes the contributions of Canada in the First World War, the Second World War and the Korean War. The cenotaph does not mention any other conflicts or operations that Canada has been involved.
Stevens said Canada has been involved in numerous conflicts since the end of the Korean War. Stevens said there have been 130 Canadians who have perished in peacekeeping missions since 1948, while Canada has also been involved in 400 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations since 1949.
There is also the Afghanistan War, which raged from 2001 to 2014. There were 150 Canadians who died in that conflict. There were also six Canadians who died in a training mission in 2020 when a helicopter crashed into the Persian Gulf.
The Legion wants to install a riser on the cenotaph where Afghanistan 2001-2014 will be engraved. Two smaller monuments are also planned to commemorate Canada’s contribution to United Nations peacekeeping, will be placed to the left and the right of the cenotaph. Two benches are also planned on the Jane Street site.
The cenotaph was dedicated in November 1968 after the Brigden Veterans Association was formed in 1964. One of its efforts was to create a cenotaph in Brigden. This was before the Brigden Legion was established.
Blake Ellis, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Independent
