Grande Prairie veterans have been honoured for the sacrifices they made for our country. On Saturday, Royal Canadian Legion Branch #54 hosted its second annual Veterans Appreciation Day and dinner.
President Ken Buckle says the event was created to pay tribute to those who fought, whether they’re still here or not.
“We have to recognize what they did for us and show them our appreciation. We don’t have too many World War II veterans left or many Korean war veterans [left]… It’s just what we feel we should do for our veterans. ”
The day was originally supposed to be held on April 6th but due to some scheduling conflicts, it was moved to May 11th. The legion is expecting to see around 50 people for dinner, down from the 75 it served last year. Buckle says that could be due to the date change or the age and health of the veterans still living.
“I know there are some that, even though they are still around, are in pretty frail health so some of them won’t be coming which is sad because those are the guys we really want here.”
Buckle says they plan to continue holding the event every year as long as they have the people to go.