On Thursday, Nov. 9, students from Harold Peterson Middle School joined local and provincial dignitaries, and military service members, at Oromocto’s St. Vincent De Paul and St. John Anglican Church cemeteries to honour veterans as part of a No Stone Left Alone commemoration.
The commemoration, which originated in Edmonton in 2011 and started in our district in 2015, is intended to honour the service and sacrifice of Canada’s military members by educating and inspiring youth to place poppies on veterans’ headstones, according to the No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation.
As Remembrance Day approaches, ASD-W educators also use the event as a teaching tool.
Harold Peterson Middle School Social Studies Teacher Pam Thomas was the first district teacher to start participating in No Stone Left Alone back in 2015, after hearing about it from Major Dan Hone, the CFB Gagetown range control officer. In the run up to this year’s commemoration, she had her students pick the name of a New Brunswick veteran, then research that person’s life. On the day of the No Stone Left Alone ceremony, students find the grave of the veteran they’ve researched and place a poppy on it.
“I think the most important thing for me is an acknowledgement and awareness of history,” said Thomas.
Students at Minto Elementary Middle School and Summerhill Street Elementary School also took part in the commemorations this year, in their respective areas.
“Some of the kids have parents in the military and they just never noticed or never paid attention or never understood the significance,” said Thomas. “If they can build connections then they can… show appreciation.”
A poignant remembrance
After short speeches from the dignitaries and fellow classmates, students set about finding the graves of the veterans they researched.
For Marcela Izzard-Imocanin, a Grade 7 student at Harold Peterson Middle School, No Stone Left Alone was especially poignant. By chance, the veteran she randomly picked to research was her late grandfather, Joseph Richard Izzard.
“My grandfather served in the Army,” said Marcela. “He sadly passed away due to brain cancer when he was 38 and my mother was only 6. I never got to meet him, which was really sad, but now I’m here honouring him and it’s very special to me.”
Marcela’s mother, Andrea Izzard, said “it gives me goosebumps. It was kinda random that his name popped up and this is his granddaughter.”
“Even though I was six years old when he passed, I remember a lot about him and his work in the Service,” Izzard said. “When I was a young child I was able to be around him in his work environment. I remember going in the trucks with him, being at his office, seeing him interact with his troops. So the service life was a big part of my memories of my father.”
No Stone Left Alone “taught me that you have to be grateful for the people who served you,” said Marcela.
Hone is quick to remind us that veterans’ sacrifices have given us all something we value: peace.
“I think the biggest thing is to be appreciative of the peace we have and remember why we have the peace,” he said.
Aiden MacMaster, another Harold Peterson Grade 7 student, genuinely enjoyed researching his veteran, Hughie J. Larracey.
“It took some time but we got some good research,” said Aiden, whose father is an active-duty member of the Army. “I’ve learned how important it is to remember the contributions veterans and [current] military members have made and what it means to keep your country free. It’s very important.”
Hone, who has worked with Thomas on No Stone Left Alone commemorations since 2015, wants to see the event happen in more district schools each November.
“Pam’s a powerhouse, a spark,” he said. “And it all starts with teachers taking an interest.”
