A lone veteran kept vigil at the New Westminster cenotaph Friday in solidarity with active Canadian soldiers targeted in two deadly attacks this week.
Wayne Laviolette, who served with the Royal Canadian Dragoons and the Canadian Forces Military Police between 1993 and 2000, stood guard in his red military police beret in defiance of advice to military personnel to avoid wearing uniforms except for official duties following the fatal shooting of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War Memorial in Ottawa Wednesday.
“It’s disheartening,” Laviolette said of the fatal attacks on Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent in Quebec earlier in the week.
Canadian soldiers have rarely been targeted on home soil, Laviolette said.
“I know a lot of countries aren’t like that,” he said, “but Canada is one of those countries like that. We’ve been pretty fortunate, and we’re just outraged that some people want to take that away from us.”
His vigil is part of a countrywide, grassroots response from Canadian veterans to the targeted killings.
“This is a way that as a community of veterans we can give back and stand shoulder to shoulder with those that are currently carrying the torch,” he said.
A nationwide cenotaph vigil has been organized for 7 a.m. Saturday through a public Facebook page called On Guard for Thee.
Organizers are urging veterans across the country to converge on their local cenotaph wearing berets and medals.
