Young cadets and veterans gathered in the pouring rain to remember the 120 soldiers dedicated on the cenotaph at the Royal Canadian Legion Aldergrove branch in Langley on Sunday afternoon as well as the 108th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge.
Candles for the fallen at Aldergrove Legion pic.x.com/zUSgtFWGcL
— Langley Advance Times (@LangleyTimes) April 6, 2025
Organizer Shaun Francis explained the theme was "Passing the Torch of Remembrance to our next Generation."
"Veterans will pass the lit candle to cadets or youth, and then they'll place it, and it's a symbolic significance," Francis told the Langley Advance Times.
The candlelight ceremony started in the Netherlands with Dutch children placing candles on the graves of the Canadian soldiers that had fought and liberated their country in the Second World War, Francis said.
"From that, the Royal Canadian Legion has taken it up in Canada, and here today we're placing it around the cenotaph, not only remembering the battle of Vimy Ridge, but also the 120 names that we have on our cenotaph. All those soldiers are from the local area."
It was an emotional moment for 101-year-old Aldergrove RAF veteran Jack Airone, who was the first to place a candle.
"I was thinking of the guys who didn't make it," said Airone.
"I lost two friends [in the war]."
Originally from Hastings, in Great Britain, Airone served as a mechanic in South East Asia Command, which saw him take part in the Burma Campaign against Japan.
While he had applied to join the aircrews, his eyesight wasn't good enough to let him fly.
While the former Cpl. Airone was described as a 102-year-old at the ceremony, he said that won't actually be the case until his next birthday, in July.
