Retired brigadier-general Duane Daly spearheaded the creation of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
The former brigadier-general who successfully advocated for the establishment of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa won’t be on site at Tuesday’s Remembrance Day ceremony.
Instead, Duane Daly will be at home in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata as the tomb is featured in the ceremony for the 25th time.
Mr. Daly, who retired in 2009 as the dominion secretary for the Royal Canadian Legion, doesn’t want to fight traffic or find parking to attend. But he makes a solo trip every May, on the anniversary of its unveiling.
“I think of all the challenges that we went through to establish it as one aspect, and then the overwhelming gratitude to the Canadian people in supporting the establishment of a Tomb to our Unknown Soldier as a commemoration of all those who we lost,” Mr. Daly, now 83, said in an interview.
“I touch the grave and, shortly thereafter, I leave.”
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In May, 2000, an unknown Canadian soldier, who was killed in the First World War and whose remains were recovered in France, was laid to rest by the National War Memorial in Ottawa to give the country a national tomb on its own soil for commemorating fallen warriors.
The installation of the tomb involved various parties, including the Legion and departments of the federal government, but Mr. Daly got the idea rolling, making the case that Canada should have its own tomb.
There was a time when the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in England’s Westminster Abbey was intended to represent all of the Commonwealth’s unknown soldiers, but other countries later decided to honour their dead at home. Australia, for example, created its tomb to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the First World War.
The tomb’s installation involved numerous parties, but Mr. Daly got the idea rolling.DAVE CHAN/The Globe and Mail
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a sarcophagus, or stone coffin, made of granite from the southern Beauce region of Quebec. It has a bronze overlay created by British Columbia sculptor Mary-Ann Liu. On the tomb is the inscription “The Unknown Soldier,” in both English and French.
The tomb represents approximately 116,000 Canadians who have given their lives for Canada, including 28,000 whose resting places are not known.
This past May, King Charles and Queen Camilla, as well as Governor-General Mary Simon, were on hand to mark the 25th anniversary of the tomb. But its quarter-century milestone will also be acknowledged in the Remembrance Day ceremony.
Nujma Bond, communications manager for the Royal Canadian Legion, noted in a statement that the tomb has become a place of collective visual remembrance after the national ceremony, when countless people stop by, place their lapel poppies on the tomb, and pay their respects.
“The Tomb covered in bright red poppies is an emotional sight to behold. People will often continue to place poppies there into the night of November 11. It’s a touching part of the day,” she said.
The body of an unknown Canadian soldier was brought back from France and interred in front of the National War Memorial in Ottawa in 2000. Since then, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has become an integral part of war remembrance in Canada
The Globe and Mail
Veterans Affairs Minister Jill McKnight said the tomb has become a powerful addition to events at the National War Memorial, including Remembrance Day.
“[It] stands as a powerful tribute to all those who have served, those who gave their lives, and those who still serve,” Ms. McKnight said in a statement.
The memorial hasn’t always been a peaceful place. In 2014, a gunman fatally shot Corporal Nathan Cirillo, a 24-year-old father and Canadian Armed Forces member who was at the tomb on sentry duty. The tomb has also been subjected to hateful vandalism and used as a rallying point for convoy protesters.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier represents around 116,000 Canadians who gave their lives for Canada, including 28,000 whose resting places are not known.Dave Chan/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Daly has opposed suggestions that a barrier be placed around the tomb in response to “foolish people” doing things there.
“The whole aim from the beginning was to allow Canadians to do exactly what I do, to be able to go up and pay respects, touch the grave of our fallen soldier, say a prayer and move on.
“And, of course, that’s what happens throughout the year.”
Mr. Daly said the 25th anniversary will add meaning to this year’s event.
“I think it is significant to the Canadian people as a whole. More and more, I think it is becoming important to promote remembrance and highlight the fact that we’ve had our Unknown Soldier home now for 25 years and that it is a monument to Remembrance that will last,” he said.
The Lancaster bomber at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum bears the Victoria Cross emblem on its side, honouring a Manitoba airman who was killed on a mission over France.
In the 1990s, he began making the case for the tomb.
He had retired from the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1995 as a brigadier-general, and was hired as the dominion secretary, leading the Legion’s national professional staff and managing national finances and programs.
In time, the government, National Capital Commission and others came together to support the project.
Last week, the Royal Canadian Mint announced that it is launching a $2 commemorative circulation coin to honour the 25th anniversary of the repatriation of the Unknown Soldier.
“It’s going to be in the hands of millions of Canadians,” Mr. Daly said. “To put the tomb on a circulation coin is a real positive aspect of Remembrance.”
The Royal Canadian Mint has launched a $2 commemorative circulation coin honouring the 25th anniversary of the repatriation of the Unknown Soldier.Supplied