Burlington Remembrance Day Parade

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Hundreds packed the streets of downtown Burlington to honour Canadian men and women who lost their lives in our country’s wars and peacekeeping missions.

It takes a community to remember the service and the sacrifice of the individuals who gave up so much for their country. People like Fred Davies, an RCAF member in WWII.

“I got shot down May ’44. I walked from Holland to Belgium to France and then I got caught.”

After he was captured and interrogated by the gestapo, Davies was a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft III in Poland, the Nazi-run camp depicted in “The Great Escape.”

“The Russians came too close and they marched us all to Germany and I ended up by Munich. Then I was liberated by General Patton, the big tank commander.”

Remembrance Day is emotional for Davies’ daughter Deidree. It wasn’t until the 90’s that she learned details of her father’s service.

“Since then my dad has taken us over to Europe to see where he was shot down and to retrace his steps where he tried to escape using the underground. What he did for us. How much we have to be thankful for.”

Burlington residents stood together in a somber moment of silence, for survivors like Davies, and for those who never got the chance to come home to share their stories.