Today, I had the honor of participating in the inauguration of the Petite-Vallée Cenotaph, a monument that pays tribute to veterans of past and present conflicts.
Let us remember that during World War II, Gaspé became a highly strategic port for supplying Allied forces in Europe. Beyond the soldiers who fell in battle on European soil, twenty-three (23) ships and four hundred (400) souls were lost to the torpedoes of German submarines in the waters of our Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Let us also remember the alliances formed between Francophones and Anglophones, between non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples, the latter who fought side by side to preserve our rights and freedoms… rights and freedoms to which, under the Indian Act, they themselves were not entitled at the time.
When we say “Lest we forget” and when we honor our veterans, it is our duty to remember the full history.
#PetiteVallée #Veterans #Reconciliation
