Commemorative banners to honour veterans who lost their lives in the First World War and Second World War will once again be displayed along the Island Highway and the Alberni Highway from Oct.1 to Nov. 25.
Approved by Parksville council in 2020, this annual program honours the veterans whose names are listed on the Parksville Cenotaph, according to a news release from the city.
"We appreciate the many residents who shared personal stories and valuable information about family members, not otherwise found through archives or museums," the release said. "We encourage you to read the many heartwarming, yet tragic stories of the World War I and World War II veterans featured on Let’s Talk Parksville, gathered through extensive research."
Many of the local young men who enlisted, especially in the First World War, were recent arrivals from such places as the United Kingdom and Australia and were too young to have started families, adding to the challenge to find photographs and details.
This year, thanks to his family, the city was able to include a banner for Second World War veteran, Fredrick Stanley Strouts, whose story may be read online at https://tinyurl.com/kpy7takz.
The city's search for missing information continues and our website identifies those veterans; if you can help, please contact Deb Tardiff at communications@parksville.ca.
