OTTAWA — Fighter jets roared overhead and howitzers boomed a 21-gun salute as the country bade farewell Friday to “a generation of remarkable Canadians.”
The commemoration at the National War Memorial marked the 93rd anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and was a formal tribute to the country’s First World War veterans.
The ”End of an Era” ceremony followed the death of John Babcock, Canada’s last-known veteran of the Great War and the final flesh-and-blood link to the 1914-1918 conflict.
Flags throughout the capital and on the Peace Tower were lowered to half mast in tribute.
Grey, stooped veterans of the Second World War, Korea and dozens of peacekeeping missions stood with uniformed comrades fresh from Afghanistan as the ceremonies opened with O Canada. Four CF-18s growled past in a “Missing Man Formation” under the overcast as the artillery crashed out its salute.
A crowd estimated at 8,000 braved chill spring temperatures and occasional light showers to watch the rituals.
Native veterans conducted a smudge ceremony before comrades representing vets from the Second World War, Korea, NATO, peacekeeping missions and Afghanistan passed a flickering memorial torch from hand to hand. The last in line handed the flame to two teenagers.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean, and Gen. Walt Natynczyk, the chief of defence staff, shook hands with veterans in a range of uniforms.
Four re-enactors in khaki First World War battle gear, each with the unique shoulder patch of one of the four divisions Canada fielded during the war, stood guard around the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The bronze-capped grave holds the unidentified remains of a Canadian soldier killed at Vimy.
In contrast to the paper-and-plastic wreaths used for Remembrance Day, Harper and Jean placed fresh flowers at the foot of the memorial. Others laid fresh, blood-red poppies on the tomb.
A bugler sounded the Last Post, a piper skirled the traditional Lament and Metis fiddler Sierra Noble played her haunting “Warrior’s Lament,” a composition she played at Vimy itself in 2007.
The British Union Jack and an old Red Ensign — a replica of the flag the Canadians carried at Vimy in 1917 — flew alongside the Maple Leaf during the ceremony.
Harper told the crowd that with Babcock’s death, Canada has “lost our last living link to this generation of admirable Canadians.”
He said their “fearlessness in war and selflessness in peace first defined our young nation in the eyes of the world.”
“These Canadians did not fight the First World War to expand our dominion. It was not over old hostilities that they battled.
“No, these young people risked their lives so that other nations could live in the same peace and freedom that had taken such deep root in Canada.”
“Fierce warriors with tender hearts, rock-ribbed patriots with a sense of international responsibility, these men embodied a greatness that later generations of Canadians have striven to emulate.”
The Governor General said the heroism of Babcock’s generation “determined the fate of all of humanity.” She urged Canadians not to forget him and his comrades. Then she turned to the present.
“While it is important that we acknowledge the magnitude of the contributions made by our veterans,” she said, “it is just as important to recognize that of the men and the women who still today go to trouble spots around the world to free entire populations from the yoke of tyranny.”
The Queen sent a message lauding “a truly remarkable generation.”
She said Babcock and his cohort “helped to end the most terrible conflict the world had ever known.”
“These gallant men and women went off to Europe to . . . defend the principles of peace, freedom and justice for their country and, indeed, for all mankind,” she said in a statement.
“Theirs was a story of unspeakable horror, unmitigated heroism and — ultimately — of inspiring victory. This tremendous sacrifice can rightly be regarded as a defining moment in the history of Canada and is one which we will never forget.”
As the ceremony ended, a First World War Sopwith biplane droned over Parliament Hill and a flock of doves — white homing pigeons, actually — was released to circle the monument.
About 650,000 Canadians served between 1914 and 1918; 68,000 were killed in action, another 170,000 were wounded.
Babcock died Feb. 18 at the age of 109.
He was only 15 when he enlisted and the Kingston, Ont., native was denied the chance to serve on the front lines. He was transferred to Britain, where he trained until the war ended.
Because he never saw combat, Babcock never made much of his veteran status. He moved to the United States after the war, where he became an electrician.
He turned down a state funeral. “They should commemorate all of them, instead of just one,” he said.
Shortly after Babcock’s funeral in Spokane, Wash., the federal government announced plans to mark his death and commemorate all who fought.
The ceremony was one of several to be held across the country on the anniversary of the Easter Monday in 1917 when Canadians famously stormed Vimy Ridge.
Earlier British and French attempts to take the ridge had been repulsed with tens of thousands of casualties. But the Canadian Corps drove three divisions of the German Sixth Army off the heavily fortified height in four days of fighting. About 3,600 Canadians died.
The victory became a national symbol of achievement and sacrifice. It is considered by many to mark the birth of the nation, independent of its British roots.
A 100-hectare portion of the former battleground is set aside as the Vimy Ridge National Historic Site, home to a towering white memorial. Ceremonies were also held there Friday, as well as at the Canada Memorial in London.
The federal government is displaying special books of reflection for people to sign at locations across Canada, including Parliament Hill and in all legislatures.
Books will also be available overseas, including at Vimy Ridge and the Canadian Forces Base in Kandahar, Afghanistan.