The sounds in the Rimbey Elementary School gymnasium were hushed as the normally rambunctious students stood respectfully as the Last Post was played.
The brief, but poignant service held Nov. 9 at 10:45 a.m. was no doubt reflective of many similar services held throughout the country to honor and remember those who gave their lives for their country.
Rimbey Legion president Barb Patey held the students’ attention as she told them about growing up in Calgary during the war.
“I have never been in the war or seen a war, but my father was in the air force. We were safe and we felt safe, but when we heard a siren we had to turn out our lights and stay in the darkness.”
She talked about having to use coupons to buy sugar.
“Coffee was rationed,” she recalled.
When she was a young girl, it cost less than a quarter to go to a movie. When she and her friends went out trick-or-treating for Halloween, they were given only apples — no candy.
She was eight years old when the war ended and her father came home safely.
She was a teenager during the Korean War.
“Will we ever have a world without conflict?” she questioned.
During the ceremony, Grade six students recited a poem entitled, Only Two Minutes and Grade four students recited In Flanders Fields.
The assembly closed with the singing of God Save the Queen and the retiring of colors by Legion members.