A long-time guide for the BC Legion. lays special wreath at National Remembrance Day Ceremony

John Goheen knew that the Royal Canadian Legion wanted to do something special at the National Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa this year to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

But when he learned that the Legion had chosen a special crown to pay tribute to Canadians who lost their lives during the Great War, the long-time Legion member and Coquitlam, BC, the director The school never suspected that organizers would ask him to drop it at the National War Memorial. the 11th of November.

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On Sunday morning, Goheen, who had three members of his family serving between 1914 and 1918, said his initial shock and surprise had turned into a gloomy anticipation.

"I think that in this country, I will think about the sacrifices of my family during the two world wars, but, again, bearing in mind the enormous cost that this country has paid," he said. told Global News before the ceremony. "To think, one man in three was wearing a uniform at that time.

"It's amazing, the immensity of it all."

The 51-year-old Port Coquitlam resident has been a volunteer guide to the Legion Memorial Pilgrimage for more than 20 years. The visits, which take place every two years, lead the participants to major or less known sites of the First and Second World Wars.

Goheen, who joined the local Legion at age 19 and was hired for the post of tourist in his late twenties, has never served in the Canadian army, but is conducting research on both wars for a good part of his life. To this day, he can identify when his fascination for world wars, commemorations and veterans began.

Goheen recounts that he was seven years old and that his father took him to the annual Remembrance Day ceremony in Vancouver, at Victory Square, where he saw many World War I veterans, probably at the late 70s and early 80s.

"There was something – I can not say exactly what it was – but it did seem to me very helpful to see these guys," Goheen said. in a phone interview before the Sunday morning ceremony. "And so I think I started to interest myself, wanting to know what it was about."

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After decades of research, travel to Europe and collaboration with the Legion, it is no surprise that Goheen has already planned to attend the Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the 'Armistice. And then, he received a call to drop the special crown a little over a month ago.

According to Goheen, the crown was patterned on that used in 1919, particularly a wreath used for commemoration by the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

Goheen said he was "grateful and honored" for this opportunity.

"IIt's hard to express, even, "he said earlier this week.

Although they were unable to reach him in Ottawa, Mr. Goheen said that his wife and four daughters would attend the ceremony from their home on the west coast.

"It takes you a little in the throat"

Goheen said that his interest in the First World War had become a pbadion for reading and "voracious" research throughout his teens and twenties. At the same time, he also discovered the story of his family, which made the connection with his research more personal and meaningful, he said.

Goheen's maternal grandfather was beaten with the 26th Battalion of New Brunswick after rigging his age on his attestation papers. On his 18th birthday, in 1916, Francis Niles was fighting on the front line south of Ypres, said Goheen. Niles was wounded weeks later, ending his service and "probably saved his life," Goheen said.

"He never talked about his experiences, as many of them … and my family, his daughters, knew very little about him," said Goheen about his grandfather who died in 1971 "It was only when I started reconstructing his story. "

On his father's side, the younger brother and cousin of Goheen's great-grandfather also served. They were killed towards the end of the war, in September and October 1918, respectively. The great uncle was buried and Goheen visited his grave; The body of the cousin has never been found, but his name is engraved on the Vimy memorial in France, said Goheen.

BC A man first traveled to Europe to visit sites of the World War as a participant in one of the Legion's pilgrimages in 1995, a trip that he believes has deeply touched.

"TThe first time I went to the Vimy Memorial and saw (my last name), it took you by the throat, "he said. "You have a thrill in the spine. It's quite emotional. And it does not change because I've been there many times and it's the same feeling. "

"I just knew that when I got home after this trip, I had to go back."

The following year, Goheen undertook a personal journey and returned in 1997 as a newly created tour guide. Since then, he has continued to make personal trips to Europe to discover new sites and artifacts, revisit the grave of his great-uncle and trace certain events, such as the last days of his relatives.

Mr. Goheen said that many people were pbadionate about history, but he felt that his travels and his research on Canadian military history were something different because they are "always underlined by this idea of ​​remembrance. ".

"I had always been aware of the memory aspect … wanting to know more to be able to understand who these guys were and what they had been through, "he said.

Goheen received a commendation from the Minister of Veterans Affairs in 2012 for his advocacy of "military history and remembrance".

Goheen explained that he was talking to his daughters about their family's story and what he was doing when he saw them showing interest. This year, he declared, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War, the message he tried to convey to them is that this commemoration also marks the "beginning of the beginning of our modern memory. ".

"Because of the First World War, the high number of deaths and the number of ongoing bereavements, the memory was born because of the enormous cost to the country," he said. "There were legion formations and commemorative buildings in every little town, so I try to put them in perspective.

"… It's a long time, but it's really where everything starts."