KAGAWONG – There will be plenty of uniforms on hand at the Park Centre in Kagawong as the community’s Remembrance Day ceremonies get underway this November 11. This year’s theme is D-Day as 2019 marked the 75th anniversary of the day thousands of Canadian and Allied troops stormed ashore on the beaches of Normandy.
There will be three very special individuals honoured at this year’s ceremonies, two Island veterans and a medic. The two veterans are the late Peter Fletcher and the late Allan Tustian, while the third individual is a medic who was captured following the invasion and then murdered by his Nazi captors.
Old Mill Heritage Centre curator Rick Nelson notes that this year marks a number of important milestones for veterans and their families. These include “the 75th anniversary of D-Day, obviously, the 80th anniversary of the start of the Second World War, the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall,” said Mr. Nelson, “and, this past September, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mindemoya veteran Allan Tustian, a regular member of our Remembrance Day services.”
Mr. Tustian’s service will be highlighted with a display in the museum, which will be open from noon following the November 11 services, and Mr. Fletcher, a former chair of the cenotaph committee will be the subject of a little shrine, including uniforms, set up at the front of the Park Centre hall.
Master of ceremonies for the Remembrance Day services will be Kagawong Cenotaph committee member Dianne Fraser, who will introduce those in attendance to the story of the murdered veteran.
Along with the Irish Regiment honour guard, many Manitoulin Sea Cadets will be in attendance and a choir made up of Island singers will provide music.
The late Peter Fletcher, left, and the late Allan Tustian, right, will be among those honoured at this year’s special Remembrance Day ceremonies at Kagawong’s Old Mill Heritage Centre.
