Remembrance Day organizers are very impressed with the large crowd that gathered at the downtown Chatham cenotaph on Thursday.
A few hundred people attended the solemn service on an unusually sunny November day.
Len Maynard, Zone Commander for the Legions across Chatham-Kent and Remembrance Day Parade Commander, said it was great to have a sea of people pay their respects at the cenotaph.
"I was impressed but I've always said Chatham-Kent has got a lot of heart. They've never let me down at that cenotaph yet and I don't think they ever will," said Maynard. "You could tell this year that they wanted to be out there and they wanted to remember and all I could say to that is a great big old-fashioned hooyah."
Maynard said the crowd grew quickly and it was a nice surprise when the parade approached the cenotaph.
"More than I expected. When I went over there before we got going, there were only maybe five or six people and when I came across the bridge and saw that, I couldn't believe it. It was just amazing," Maynard said.
It was a traditional service this year with ceremonial volleys, a bugler, a pipe band, and several wreaths laid. The service concluded with God Save The Queen and a march back to the downtown Armoury accompanied by applause from the grateful crowd.
Some citizens paid their respects after the service by saluting the cenotaph.
Maynard, who is a 30-year veteran, hopes people never forget the veterans and the military members currently serving because they're willing to put themselves on the line to protect our country.
