To honour and remember the fallen
Saluting those who have fallen. (Daniela Ginta photo)
By DANIELA GINTA
The morning was a busy one at Riverside Park on Saturday where a couple of hundred people gathered to honour the two soldiers killed this past week.
Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, 53, was killed in an intentional hit-and-run in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. The second victim, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, was shot while standing guard at the National War Memorial on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
The mood was somber today, as was the weather. The cloudy morning chill saw members of the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP officers and firefighters, veterans, members of the Legion and public officials, as well as the general public sing the anthem and listen to a series of speeches by Lt. Col. Kevin Tyler, Mayor Peter Milobar, and Sen. Nancy Greene Raine, among others.
(Daniela Ginta photo)
The speeches brought forth the tragedy of having lost two more lives to senseless, cowardly attacks by two individuals allegedly adhering to terrorist ideology. Both WO Vincent and Cpl. Cirillo were attacked and killed while wearing their uniforms and performing their duty to the country. The general tone was one of mourning, punctuated by the condemnation of the senseless acts that ended the lives of the two soldiers, while also emphasizing that Canadians stand united and strong in front of any threat as this is a land where peace prevails.
Wreaths were laid quietly and solemn salutes were addressed to the fallen soldiers. Among the official wreaths, bouquets and a couple of teddy bears were left by the Cenotaph by members of the public. The sun came out for a short while as the sad notes of The Last Post draped over those present. Soldiers held their hands up in saluting those who fell, past and present, and all those who bear the scars brought by war and terrorist attacks, veterans and their families.
A prayer and the piper-led marching off of the flags by veterans ended the ceremony that managed to gather more than a handful of people. This, said Craig Thompson, President of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 52 in Kamloops, can be credited to social media: “We had very little time to spread the word, but thanks to social media, here we are today, happy to be honouring the two soldiers and their families with a great turnout.”
After the ceremony, the doors of the Legion were opened to both official personnel and the general public for a meet and greet.
(Daniela Ginta photo)
ArmchairMayor.ca 
I don’t think there are any well-founded allegations that Zehaf – Bibeau adhered to a “terrorist ideology” as mentioned in this article. It was falsely reported in the media that he was trying to travel to Syria when in fact he was planning to visit Saudi Arabia. Apparently, he was a devout Muslim who wanted to know more about Islam. There is no hard evidence that both events of the last week were connected in any way, either by a common group or motive. But it seems politically convenient to construe events in this way. Terrorism is not limited to Islamic extremism. Many more people die each year from random acts of violence committed by disgruntled people who own weapons.
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