COVID-19 can't stop this Vancouver Island community from Remembrance Day tradition of marking veterans' graves - Action News
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British Columbia

COVID-19 can't stop this Vancouver Island community from Remembrance Day tradition of marking veterans' graves

White crosses honouring veterans are traditionally placed in Cowichan Valley cemeteries by cadets and other uniform personnel who are unable to do so this year because of the pandemic.

Crosses in Cowichan Valley cemeteries usually placed by cadets who cannot this year

Since the 1950s, veteran graves in Cowichan Valley cemeteries have been marked with a white cross on Remembrance Day. The act is usually carried out by army and sea cadets who, this year, are unable to do so because of COVID-19. (Mike Bieling)

A long-standing Remembrance Day tradition in the Cowichan Valley that honours veterans laid to rest in local cemeteries will not be waylaid by COVID-19 ifMike Bielinghas anything to do with it.

Bieling, a member of the Old CemeteriesSociety, is leading the charge in the Vancouver Island community to make sure white crosses are placed at the headstones of veterans who are buried in the valley in the days leading up to Nov. 11.

Marking the graves with the simple wood crosses has taken place every year since the 1950s and is usually done by local army and sea cadets with participation from legionnaires. According to Bieling,those uniformed personnelcould not carry out the custom this year because of COVID-19 restrictions.

"We were a little bit stuck," he told CBC's On The Island,adding that one cemetery,Mountain View in Duncan, had about 500 crosses that need staking at that site alone.

Mike Bieling places a cross on a veteran's grave in a Cowichan Valley cemetery on Oct. 31, 2020. With the help of local volunteers, Bieling has made sure the act of honouring those who served the country was completed despite COVID-19. (Facebook/Mike Bieling)

So Bieling turned to social media to appeal for help.

And help came.

Local volunteers answered the call and assistedBieling, armed with a list of local veterans' graves he inherited from "old legion personnel,"in marking them.

The simple wooden crosses, standing about 55 centimetres high and 30 centimetres across, are each adorned with a poppy and a sprig of cedar.

Mountain View Cemetery in Duncan, B.C., where an estimated 500 veterans' graves have been marked with a white wooden cross with a poppy and sprig of cedar in a display of honour and gratitude for Remembrance Day. (Mike Bieling)

Bielingsaid most area cemeteries are laid out in chronological order andonce the grave markers are placed, you can stand back and see clearlywhere the First and Second World War veterans have been laid to rest.

"You can read a certain pattern in history just by looking at little white crosses," said Bieling.

Bieling is also always interested in hearing from people who know of a veteran buried locally that may not be on his list.

To add the name and burial site of a veteran interred in one of the Cowichan Valley's cemeteries, contact Mike Bieling at oldcemeterian@shaw.ca.

Tap here to listen to thecomplete interview withMike Bielingon CBC's On The Island.

With files from On The Island