CORNER BROOK Just like a First World War gunner trying to gain momentum in the trenches, the Forget-Me-Not campaign in Corner Brook will be completed step-by-step with a lot of hard work and determination.
Even if the triumphant battle to complete the cenotaph project is concluded with an iota of the relief and exuberance as Armistice Day, David Higdon will be satisfied.
The chair of the campaign committee has been one of the main cogs keeping the wheel going on the Forget-Me-Not campaign for more than a year. He met with the Humber Rotary Club Tuesday evening, trying to continue the fundraising momentum for this $400,000 endeavour.
The bronzed caribou statue was unveiled atop the cenotaph at Remembrance Square on West Street during the annual July 1st Battle of Beaumont Hamel parade Sunday. It was met with grave reviews and pride, according to Higdon and reports from those in attendance. However, the cenotaph revitalization is far from complete.
Two more statues are expected to be erected at Remembrance Square — a First World War soldier, of the Lewis gunner profile, and a modern-day soldier, styled after the comrades serving in Afghanistan today. All three are, or will be, created by Corner Brook native Morgan MacDonald. The plan is to have the statues installed and unveiled Nov. 10, possibly coinciding with a dinner and an auction. It will be ready for this year’s Remembrance Day ceremony Nov. 11.
With the years passing, he said it is important to provide this kind of visual to help people always remember.
“It’s about time something was done to recognizes the sacrifices of our World War One soldiers right up through,” he said. “There are so many with relatives involved in this, that it effects everybody. In every household there is somebody that has somebody in the war or has kids who are in the militia. There is a lot of pride here.”
The committee is holding an ongoing “support your troops” bracelet campaign, will be selling tickets on a camera system, and have had golf tournaments. Higdon is hoping the public continues to support the cause.
“We are committed to this job,” he said. “One step-at-a-time it will come. There’s always doors banging in your face, but it is not as a worse as those poor regiment guys went through in those trenches. You have to keep going, and we will get through it.”
