Restored cenotaph rededicated as oak with Vimy roots is planted nearby

A Fredericton cenotaphwas rededicated Friday after two brass plaques bearing the names of war dead stolen two years ago and sold as scrap were replaced.

The province paid $30,000 for new plaques for the New Brunswick Provincial Cenotaph in the downtown.

They plaques list soldiers from the Fredericton area who died in the Firstand Second World Wars, and unlike the stolen plaques, these cannot be pried off, says the the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 4.

The refreshedmonument at the intersection of King and Queen streets also features permanent flags and new landscaping. New lights will be installed later.

"The city has put in these interlocking bricks, flagpoles," said Don Swain, the branch president. "Thanks to the city and the government, the whole cenotaph has been washed down."

Pointing to the newly cleaned monument, Swain said the sun helps the cenotaphshine.

But he is still troubled that a man stole the plaques, ground off the soldiers' names and took them to a local metals company. The man later turned himself in to police.

"Hopefully, we're going to get security on the cenotaph," Swain said.

In 2007, the Fredericton monument became the Canada's first provincially designated cenotaph.

"As far as the general feeling goes, after the plaques were taken, I think the numbers roseat the Remembrance Day ceremony, and I hope to see those numbers continue."

Vimy Ridge oak

Along with the work at the cenotaph,the city planted a sapling not far away that has roots in a First World War battlefield.

The tree, planted near the St. John River on Queen Street, is a descendant of an oak destroyed during the fighting atVimyRidge oak.

A soldier, Leslie Miller, gathered a handful of acorns and sent them home to his family in Scarborough, Ont., where there is nowa Vimy Ridge oak tree farm.

The VimyOaks Legacy Project had hoped tosend trees back to Vimy, but it wasn't allowed because of restrictions on the movement of plants.

That'swhen Landscape New Brunswick got involved with the Vimy Oaks Legacy Project, whichplanted saplings all across Canada to keep the tree's history alive.

"They've become quite important to me personally," said Jim Landryof Landscape New Brunswick.