Editor:
Re: Historic Memorial Park pays tribute to our fallen soldiers, Community Comment, Oct. 14
I just wanted to thank Doug Husband for his column on the cenotaph in Memorial Park. I have many memories of standing at the cenotaph on Remembrance Day with the Beavers, Cubs and, eventually, the Scouts.
I moved to Ladner as a boy in 1976 and grew up there. Recently attending the 30-year reunion of the class of 1986 was a great trip down memory lane.
I left Ladner in late 1986 to serve in the armed forces. After 27 years and counting, I will likely be retiring medically as my lungs were permanently damaged in Afghanistan.
I stand each year on Nov. 11 and pay my respects to those who did not make it home from that place. I have stood on the runway in Kandahar and watched the flag-draped coffins go on to the aircraft and carried the coffins of friends who lost their battles with PTSD after we came home.
I hope one day to come back to Ladner and do so at the cenotaph so prevalent in my childhood memories to do the same in a place that always meant home, safety and peace to me.
Cpl. Sean Ellis
Lord Strathconas Horse (Royal Canadians)
