Ponoka soldiers who died in the First World War are being remembered in a vigil that will scroll their names around the world.
Ponoka Secondary Campus and the Ponoka Legion are taking part in The World Remembers, a worldwide scroll of names of soldiers killed in action during the Great War — for this year the soldiers who died in 1916 — 100 years ago. The vigil occurs each year before Remembrance Day and will eventually conclude at sunrise on Nov. 11, 2018, which marks the centennial of the close of the war.
Social Studies teacher Ron Labrie said this is the third year the school is holding the vigil, which will show Ponoka soldiers who died in 1916. There are a lot of names being honoured this year, 597,000 soldiers in total. That includes soldiers on both sides of the fight.
“It’s really a reconciliation project,” said Labrie.
From Sept. 29 to Nov. 11 the soldiers’ names will scroll during the day, from 8 a.m. to 7:15 p.m., and residents are invited to visit the school’s Hall of Valour where a large monitor and seats will be set up. Times of when the Ponoka soldiers’ names are remembered can be searched through the World Remembers website: www.theworldremembers.org.
The vigil is not only a scroll of names; each quarter hour the names will fade and photos from the Great War will be displayed for 25 seconds.
“We’re hoping because this is a five-year deal people will start to get into it,” said Labrie.
He added that the Ponoka Legion is showing the vigil as well in its Juno Beach conference room. Scrolling the names is an important piece to the project.
Labrie says residents are welcome to call the school or the Legion for times or to let them know their interest to see the vigil