Capt. Matthew Winters salutes after laying a wreath for the West Nova Scotia Regiment at the Remembrance Day service in Kentville on Nov. 11. Photo by Jason Malloy /Annapolis Valley RegisterArticle contentRemembrance is personal for Andrew Zebian.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle contentKentville’s mayor shared the story of his mother’s uncle with the crowd gathered at the cenotaph on Veterans Lane for this year’s Remembrance Day service in town.Article contentArticle content Kentville Mayor Andrew Zebian shares his family connection to the Second World War with those gathered for the Nov. 11 Remembrance Day service in the town. Photo by Jason Malloy /Annapolis Valley RegisterArticle contentFlight Lieut. Charles Mohamed Slyman Awad, of Truro, served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. The 22-year-old wireless air gunner with 429 squadron died in April 1943 when his aircraft was lost in action over Europe. He rests in the Bergen-op-Zoom war cemetery in the Netherlands with 967 other Canadians.Article contentZebian remembers as a child his grandmother travelling to the Netherlands to visit the gravesite.Article content“She used to tell me how she went through those 900 graves looking for her brother,” he said.Article contentHe remembers the sadness in her voice, but also the immense pride she felt.Article contentZebian told the crowd that Remembrance Day is not a single day on the calendar, but a call to carry on the soldiers’ memory with gratitude and responsibility every day.Article content“We carry it in the way we live and the values we uphold and the respect and care we show one another. The world they fought to preserve is the world we are called to care for with kindness, courage and compassion.”Article contentArticle contentArticle contentRoyal Canadian Legion Kings Branch 6 chaplain Greg White echoed those sentiments.Article content“November 11th is a day of love to remember those now up above,” he said. “Men and women far too great to be remembered on one single date.”Article content Royal Canadian Legion Kings Branch 6 chaplain Greg White led the Remembrance Day service in Kentville. Photo by Jason Malloy /Annapolis Valley RegisterArticle content Royal Canadian Legion Kings Branch 6’s Barbara Quesnel lays the silver cross mothers’ wreath Nov. 11 at the Remembrance Day service in Kentville. Photo by Jason Malloy /Annapolis Valley RegisterArticle contentKings North MLA John Lohr, the son of Dutch immigrants, thanked those who served and continue to serve. He said his parents were liberated in 1944 and 1945.Article content“(My mother) lived through three months of very brutal war,” he shared. “She said the first Canadian soldier she saw stepped up out of the ditch, covered head to toe in mud, and her father immediately went up and shook his hand.”Article content Kings North MLA John Lohr lays a wreath on behalf of the province at the Kentville Remembrance Day service. Photo by Jason Malloy /Annapolis Valley RegisterArticle contentMaura Ryan, representing Kings-Hants MP Kody Blois who laid a wreath at a ceremony in Elmsdale before travelling to Wolfville, said each year during the lament and moment of silence she tries to imagine what the young men and women serving their country had witnessed.Article content“For many of us, we have no concept of that horror, and it is difficult to appreciate what their sacrifice entailed,” she said.Article content“What is most important is that we turn out in numbers, as we have this morning, to ensure that those collective sacrifices are never forgotten. And that the next generation appreciates and learns from those who have protected their freedoms.”Article content North Alton’s Jack Terris lays a wreath on behalf of his Valley Wildcats under-16 hockey team during the Remembrance Day service in Kentville on Nov. 11. Photo by Jason Malloy /Annapolis Valley RegisterArticle contentArticle content Parade marshal Lt. Col. Atif Rizvi from 14 Wing Greenwood leads the parade from the cenotaph following the Remembrance Day service in Kentville on Nov. 11. Photo by Jason Malloy /Annapolis Valley RegisterArticle content Royal Canadian Legion Kings Branch 6 past president Mike Samson salutes during O Canada at the Remembrance Day service in Kentville on Nov. 11. Photo by Jason Malloy /Annapolis Valley RegisterArticle content People gather at the cenotaph on Veterans Lane in Kentville on Nov. 11 for the Remembrance Day service. Photo by Jason Malloy /Annapolis Valley RegisterArticle content Kentville Police Chief Marty Smith salutes after laying a wreath at the cenotaph in town on Nov. 11. Photo by Jason Malloy /Annapolis Valley RegisterArticle content
Residents gather in Kentville to ensure those collective sacrifices are never forgotten
