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Stories of war heroes unveiled

Gravestones will be the backdrop for stories of honoured heroes who went off to war decades ago. Karen Peters, a member of the Okotoks and District Historical Society, is leading the Field of Honour tour in the Okotoks Cemetery on Big Rock Trail Nov.
Karen Peters in the Okotoks Cemetery on Nov. 7. Peters will lead a tour highlighting the history of Okotoks’ fallen soldiers on Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. in the cemetery.
Karen Peters in the Okotoks Cemetery on Nov. 7. Peters will lead a tour highlighting the history of Okotoks’ fallen soldiers on Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. in the cemetery.

Gravestones will be the backdrop for stories of honoured heroes who went off to war decades ago.

Karen Peters, a member of the Okotoks and District Historical Society, is leading the Field of Honour tour in the Okotoks Cemetery on Big Rock Trail Nov. 11 at 2 p.m. She will tell stories of men from the area who served in the First and Second World Wars.

“I like to give a personal touch to our veterans that are buried in the cemetery and also the parents,” said Peters. “Some of our veterans aren’t buried in the cemetery, but their parents are. It gives me a chance to talk about family sending off sons to war.”

For her fourth year, Peters will take people through the Field of Honour and other parts of the Okotoks Cemetery where veterans are buried.

“I tell whatever stories I can find in the obituaries and family history books for Turner Valley and Okotoks,” she said.

Among them is a short tale about Wilfred Raymond, who enlisted in the First World War in 1914.

“The enlistment papers show him as a 19-year-old farmer, but it turns out that he was just 14 when he enlisted,” she said, adding he enlisted in Ontario and ended up in Turner Valley after the war. “He added some years on to his age. Unfortunately, that’s all we have on him. He died at the age of 70.”

Peters will also talk about Frank Roy Jones who came to Okotoks in 1912 as a painter and decorator and also went off to war.

“It says that he was badly gassed at Vimy Ridge and suffered from being gassed for many years,” said Peters. “He never married and he had no family. He died at age 68.”

Peters said digging up stories about those who fought in the First and Second World Wars can be challenging, especially with there being no more surviving First World War veterans.

“For the World War One vets, at least their enlistment papers are public records so you get an idea of when they signed up, how tall they were, their eye colour, what were their jobs before they enlisted,” she said. “You get a sense of who they are.”

Peters said Second World War survivors are dwindling in numbers and their information is hard to find.

“Sometimes you can’t find out too much because they’ve moved away and their enlistment papers aren’t public record yet,” she said. “If they don’t have family history, it’s hard to get a sense of who they are so I can put a story to them.”

Attendance at the tours range from one to 30 people, depending on the weather, Peters said. No matter the temperature, the tour will go on.

“They had to do their duty, whether it was freezing cold or raining with mud up to their knees,” she said.

“I figure I can be out there in my winter clothes and my heavy boots and honour their memories.”

The tour is just another way to honour those who served their country.

“The Remembrance Day service is for the ones that didn’t come home and out in the cemetery these are the people who came home and who had to continue on or tried to continue on with their everyday life,” she said.

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