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"Mount McKay: Native vets pay respects" by Jeff Hurst - Chronicle-Journal Staff The man struggled to get out of the car. Sitting in the back seat, the legs just didn't seem to function the way they used to. No one was there to help, but he finally coaxed enough will to straighten out his frame and stand up erect from the vehicle. Perhaps a mere shell of the fighting machine he once was, the Native veteran still walked as proud and tall as possible. The medals on his chest shined like the day they were first pinned to his coat. But today there were no awards being handed out. No rowdy sharing of war stories in some foreign beerhall. This was a quiet celebration of another kind: the first time members of the Northwestern Ontario Native Veterans Association paid their Remembrance Day respects to the cross on Mount McKay. Only a dozen or so veterans from the Second World War an Korean War turned out in conditions one might expect on a mountain top - in November, in Northwestern Ontario. A cruel, powerful wind blew unmercifully blowing over the wreaths, while flags billowed in full glory. Organizer Frank Michon - who served in the Canadian Armed Forces during peace times - said meeting on the Mount McKay reserve was important to all members. Two years ago they paraded in Thunder Bay and the year before they joined members in Fort Frances. But the white cross on Mount McKay overlooking the city was of special importance to Michon. "The cross there, there's a plaque on it for Native Indians that served in the First World War and it was presented by the mayor of Fort William in 1933. So this, of course, being a reserve and you know it is a Native place. Ald. Betty Kennedy represented the city, providing a wreath and a moment of silence, while one of the veterans graciously laid another cluster of green by the cross, halting for just a second in recognition of what the white symbol meant. The unceasing wind cut the proceedings short as the 30-40 people gathered and made a quick exit to warmer, waiting cars. The elements were against the day, but the veterans didn't seem to mind. The cold pain of mother nature seemed rather lost on these souls who had experienced much more for the sake of us all. For a brief moment, Meech Lake and Oka disappeared in the bigger picture of a shared war and shared suffering. |
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