Sudbury's sea cadets replace fading Canadian flags at veterans' graves

Local Journalism Initiative
·4 min read

It was a sunny May Sunday. So different from the traditional cold and wet of a Nov. 11th Remembrance Day event. At 11 a.m., young Navy League of Canada Sudbury Branch cadets, their parents and officers assembled in the dappled shade at Sudbury’s Second Avenue Civic Cemetery.

The bugle called out “Last Post” followed by a minute of silent reflection.

The purpose? “I was here with Bob Polmateer some months ago and we saw the Canadian flags at veterans’ plots tattered, faded pink, falling apart, torn,” remarked 91-year-old Gerald (Gerry) Bradley. The headstones have a holder for a flag, but it had been some time since there had been renewal.

“It has been left up to people to look after their relatives’ headstones and the flags. Some veterans have been gone for a long time. Some have no family anymore. We had to do something about the situation.”

Bradley says the 100 flags came to Sudbury via a complex route that started in Halifax.

Ultimately, it is about respect and remembrance. Polmateer and Bradley co-organized this event honouring veterans knowing it is also good for the young cadets to learn the importance of tradition.

A retired commander, Bradley has had many years of experience working with the Cadet Corps. He also ran many summer camps at CFB Borden and elsewhere.

He has positively impacted many hundreds of lives in his steadfast leadership role throughout the years. On April 17, 2018, he was awarded the Governor General's Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers for his more than five decades of service to youth and veterans.

“I’ve been with the Sudbury Branch of the Navy League since 1946," he says." I was born in the maternity hospital up on Elm Street near Gus’s. I’m committed to this town and this organization.”

In Sudbury specifically for this event, Bob Polmateer likewise is a faithful former cadet and officer, and now serves on the Navy League Sudbury branch executive. He is overseeing a major fundraising project to renovate the Boathouse and Training Centre on Ramsey Lake across from Science North.

“In 1968 to ’74, I was a sea cadet … along with some of my mates here today. I now am the president of the Mountbatten Sea Cadet Corps Alumni Association. We have over 220 members across Canada. Some months ago I was here with Jerry to show respect for his wife.”

Married to Gerry for 71 years Joan Bradley is interred in the columbarium adjacent to the rows of individual veterans’ graves.

Polmateer pauses and recalls: “We looked out from the cenotaph and saw the state of the flags and I was sad. I said ‘We need to fix this’ and so here we are.

"This gives the kids exposure to ceremony. We have some Legionaries out today, too. With their support and that of the Last Post Society, there were funds to do this. In October we hope to go to the other section of the cemetery and place more flags.”

Will it promote others across Canada to do the same?

“Where I live in southern California, people come out on Memorial Day and put out flags. Memorial Day is (May 27) and it is just a coincidence that we are doing it today. We could have done it on the celebration of the Battle of the Atlantic. It just happens it was scheduled for today and because of that, I could be here.

“The Navy League and Sea Cadets represent a wonderful opportunity for kids to grow. There is no cost. It launched friendships that have lasted a lifetime, it gave us skills that have served us, our careers, our country.”

Polmateer is adamant his life was enriched by the experiences.

LCdr Kristi Bahen is in the second round of commanding the Sudbury Branch of the Navy League. “It has been six years. I got involved because of my stepdaughter. I was just a parent, a spectator, but since I was there I felt I could step up. I had some experience, having served on the HMCS Cataraqui in Kingston.

“We see kids recruiting other kids. They are great ambassadors. We only have seven cadets on paper currently. Pre-COVID we were 32. Our summer camp is at Wilabosca on Windy Lake. The idea is to have fun … but also to learn.

"On Ramsey (Lake), we also have a sailing program that teaches the rules of the water, safety, transferable skills. There is also exposure to a 22-foot boat that brings them to the next level.”

What brings kids to join cadets? Bradley doesn’t miss a beat: “Nine- to 12-year-olds are anxious to do something. They have a great experience and they then are recruited for the Sea Cadets once they have their 12th birthday. It is a natural progression. Their uniforms are sponsored by the Navy League. We have space in Sea Cadets now. COVID shut us down. We need to rebuild numbers.”

To find out more information about Navy League Cadet Corps Sudbury 44, go to its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/nlccsudbury.

The website is listed as “under construction” but here are two other routes to reach the organization: 705-222-6289 and info@navyleaguesudbury.ca.

Hugh Kruzel, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Sudbury Star

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Ukraine's US-provided Bradley armored fighting vehicles are turning heads in tough battles against Russia

    Ukraine is using US-supplied Bradley fighting vehicles in unorthodox ways and making an impact.

  • A naval chief described purposefully wrecking a ship to mess with China

    Vice Adm. Eduardo Santos discussed grounding the BRP Sierra Madre in the South China Sea to create an obstacle and disrupt China's territorial claims.

  • A US Navy fighter squadron scored a series of firsts fighting the Houthis from an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea

    Strike Fighter Squadron 105 was stationed aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and racked up a number of firsts during combat missions.

  • Defeating Russia's massive 6,600-pound glide bomb may mean risking Ukraine's Patriots if it can't take out the fighter-bombers on the ground

    The US has restricted Ukraine from using its powerful long-range missiles to strike air bases inside Russia.

  • Russia will have to scale back front lines assaults in 6 weeks due to losses, Ukrainian commander says

    A Ukrainian commander said Russia will be forced to scale back its frontline assaults in under 2 months due to losses, and will switch to defense.

  • Bodies of Israeli hostages were retrieved from Gaza tunnel, military says

    The bodies of five Israeli hostages retrieved this week from the Gaza Strip had been held in a tunnel deep underground, Israel's military said on Thursday. The retrieval operation was carried out using intelligence gathered and analyzed in recent weeks, said military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. It took place "in the heart" of the city of Khan Younis, where Israeli forces returned to operate this week, he said.

  • Ukraine says missile forces hit Russian air base in Crimea

    KYIV (Reuters) -Ukraine said on Friday its missile forces struck a Russian military airfield in Crimea that has been used for long-range attacks against it, the latest in a series of blows to the Russian military on the occupied peninsula. Ukraine has ramped up long-range attacks on Crimea in recent months and says the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet, which is headquartered in Sevastopol, has been forced to move its combat vessels to safer harbour elsewhere. The Ukrainian military's general staff said in a statement that Russia's Saky airfield in western Crimea was the latest target to be struck and that it was assessing the aftermath.

  • Russia would lose up to 1.8 million troops and take 5 years to capture the 4 Ukrainian regions it wants: UK army chief

    Gen. Sir Roly Walker said Russia's minimum goal of taking four oblasts would, based on current attrition rates, cost it more than 1.5 million troops.

  • Analysis-Battered Hamas confounds Israel's bid to declare victory

    Senior figures in Israel's government have said it is closing in on its war aims of defeating Hamas militarily and the return of hostages seized on Oct. 7. After nine months of pummelling by one of the most powerful militaries in the Middle East, Hamas is much weakened from the force that carried out the cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Early in the war, Hamas propaganda videos showed well-drilled fighters in body armour and battle fatigues, their torsos wrapped with ammunition belts.

  • Russia's efforts to copy Ukraine's wildly successful sea drones won't achieve much, expert says

    Ukraine said Russia is trying to make naval drones by learning from fragments of Ukrainian ones. A drone war expert said it's unlikely to help.

  • Russian man confesses in video to Moscow car bomb attack on military officer at Ukraine's behest

    Russia's RIA state news agency on Friday broadcast a video in which a Russian citizen said he had blown up a military officer in his car in Moscow earlier this week at the behest of the SBU Ukrainian security service. The Kommersant newspaper reported on Wednesday that a car bomb had injured an officer from Russia's military intelligence agency in northern Moscow. Other media said the injured man was a regular military officer.

  • Russia detains former deputy defense minister on corruption charges in the latest military arrest

    MOSCOW (AP) — A former Russian defense ministry official was arrested on corruption charges, the Russian security services said Friday, the latest in a series of high-profile military arrests.

  • US upgrades Australia's northern bases amid tensions with China

    STORY: From above, it's clear to see that Tindal Air Base, set in remote shrub-land of northern Australia, was designed as a small airfield with fast jets in mind.Now, it's buzzing with new construction.The United States has quietly begun overhauling it...... constructing hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of facilities there to support B-52 bombers, F-22 stealth fighters, and refueling and transport aircraft.The expansion aims to help U.S. ally Australia project power into the South China Sea, if any crisis erupts with Beijing.The Australian government also has its own program of new projects at Tindal...... spending US$980 million on hangars, a new airport terminal, and other facilities, which are near completion.Fiona Pearce is a Royal Australian Air Force Wing Commander."What we are moving towards is a multi-purpose base so we are going to be big enough to take any aircraft in the world and to park and fly every different variant of aircraft. So there's runway increases, fuel increases and a whole bunch of other facilities that are being worked on as well."Australia is the top overseas location for U.S. Air Force and Navy construction spending under 2024 and 2025 U.S. Congressional Defense Authorizations, totalling over $300 million.A few hundred miles north, a base in Darwin is also being upgraded with U.S. help.Tender documents show intelligence briefing rooms, runway upgrades, warehouses and maintenance hangars are in the works. U.S. Marine Corps have routinely trained in Darwin since a 2011 agreement between Canberra and Washington.Commanding officer of the U.S. Marine Rotational Force Colonel Brian Mulvihill says that's now evolved into a regional deterrence role of about 2,000 Marines each year, and future upgrades to RAAF Darwin aim to support specific needs of the Marines."The United States paid to have larger fuel storage put in place at RAAF Darwin in support of our aviation assets. As well as, that's done, and then the next project is to expand the parking apron for the MV-22 Ospreys to give them more space in and around the busy airport that is Darwin and RAAF Darwin."While remote locations pose challenges to sourcing materials and a workforce...... Indigenous Australian residents also have complaints about the new developments.Seventy-five-year-old Tibby Quall, is among several Traditional Owners who say growing demand for defense-related housing in Darwin has led to land-clearing of forests they want protected, while rising prices have pushed Indigenous families out of the city.While U.S. and Australian officials say they can visit sacred sites on the bases...Quall says his family has no real voice on how the land is used.

  • NORAD intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers operating together near Alaska in first such flight

    NORAD intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what a US defense official said was the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.

  • India and China agree to work urgently to achieve the withdrawal of troops on their disputed border

    NEW DELHI (AP) — India and China have agreed to work urgently to achieve the withdrawal of tens of thousands of troops stationed along their disputed border in a long-running standoff, India's government said.

  • Finland suspects Russian vessel of territorial violation

    COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Finland suspects a Russian vessel violated the Nordic country's territorial waters on Friday, the government said, in the latest incident to cloud relations between the two countries. The government said Friday's incident took place in the eastern Gulf of Finland. "The Border Guard is investigating the incident and will provide further information as the investigation progresses," the Finnish defence ministry said in a statement.

  • US military, seeking strategic advantages, builds up Australia's northern bases amid China tensions

    The U.S. military is building infrastructure in northern Australia to help it project power into the South China Sea if a crisis with China erupts, a Reuters review of documents and interviews with U.S. and Australian defence officials show. Closer to the Philippines than Australia's east coast capital, Canberra, Darwin has long been a garrison town for the Australian Defence Force and a U.S. Marine Rotational Force that spends six months of each year there.

  • Myanmar violence, South China Sea tensions are top issues as Southeast Asian diplomats meet in Laos

    VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) — Southeast Asian foreign ministers and top diplomats from key partners including the United States and China are gathering in the Laotian capital on Thursday for the start of three days of talks expected to focus on the increasingly violent civil war in Myanmar, tensions in the South China Sea and other regional issues.

  • Israeli military recovers five hostages' bodies in Gaza

    The remains of a teacher and four soldiers were found in an operation in Khan Younis on Wednesday.

  • Man appears in court charged with attempted murder of Army officer in uniform

    Anthony Esan, 24, is accused of repeatedly stabbing Lieutenant Colonel Mark Teeton in Gillingham, Kent, on Tuesday.