War Memorial guard program is designed for dignity

Members of the Royal Canadian Navy stand as a honour guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the War Memorial. There have been full-time guards at the memorial since vandals desecrated it in 2007. Pat McGrath / Ottawa Citizen

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They stand guard holding rifles that aren’t loaded, in a show of respect for those who have fought and died for this country.

It was only months ago that members of the Canadian Forces started spending longer hours standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The first sentries were posted for the full working day — 9-to-5 — in August after restorative work on the National War Memorial was finished. Their last duty was to be Nov. 10, the day before Remembrance Day.

The rotation was then to begin anew on April 9, which marks the anniversary of the start of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

The armed forces have served as sentries at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during July and August since 2007 — a year after three young men were photographed urinating at the monument on Canada Day and caused a national outcry — especially from veterans groups.

Outrage heightened when the Citizen published a front-page photograph of the incident, and it moved then newly minted Prime Minister Stephen Harper to phone an area radio station.

“Obviously, it’s a terrible thing to do,” said Harper. “Certainly, my impression is that doesn’t represent in any way the views of any segment of Canadian society.”

Those skateboarding and pulling bicycle wheelies in and around the monument also contributed to the decision to have a greater military presence at the site and to re-enforce the message that the site was to be treated with dignity rather than as a public playground.

The National Sentry Program expanded the rotation of sentries to the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Special Operations Command.

The plan was to recognize special military anniversaries with sentries from units whose history is associated with those events.

The remains of an unidentified Canadian soldier who died in the First World War were repatriated from France in May 2000 and, in a special ceremony, buried in a special tomb in front of the war memorial.

It honours more than 116,000 Canadians who died in the Great War.

ccobb@ottawacitizen.com

twitter.com/chrisicobb

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