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The private ceremony outside a wartime home in Kitchener started out quite innocently.
Reg Kirby, 83, says he takes a stroll on Remembrance Day through the Kitchener neighbourhood he grew up in to “visit my old haunts” and would stop at certain houses that brought back some childhood memories.
On Remembrance Day this year, a security camera captured an unknown man placing a Canadian flag in the front lawn and saluting the house. The homeowners told CBC News they’ve noticed a flag in their garden for at least the last eight years.
Kirby says that has been him leaving the flag.
The house is one he moved into with his parents when he was five years old.
“I decided that I was going to do this every single year because I’m honouring my mother, my father and all their hardships that they sacrificed for us kids,” Kirby said.
“I also have uncles and aunts that lived in this neighbourhood. One of my uncles was in the Korean War. Three of my uncles were in the Second World War. My grandfather was in the Second World War. So it was just something that I had to do.”
The yearly tradition takes place after a Remembrance Day ceremony at the Veterans’ Green Interpretive Area in the neighbourhood. Reg’s brother, Kerry, organizes the ceremony that is open to the public and has been held since 2009 at 11 a.m. every Nov. 11.
No idea brother had own ceremony
Kerry Kirby says he had no idea what his brother was doing in front of the house they grew up in during the 1940s.
“I know when I got here on the morning of the 11th, my brother was always walking up to the house,” Kerry Kirby said, adding when he realized his brother was leaving a flag and saluting the home, “that made me so proud.”
WATCH | Security camera video of Reg Kirby:
Mystery man places flag and salutes Kitchener home on Remembrance Day
A Kitchener family is trying to piece together who is planting a flag on their front lawn every Remembrance Day. The owner of the Second World War-era home in the St. Mary’s neighbourhood captured the moment this year on their security camera. The video appears to show a man dressed in a soldier’s uniform and using a cane put the flag on the lawn and then salute the house.
Kirby was instrumental in 2009 in designating the St. Mary’s neighbourhood a Heritage Conservation area. It started during his time serving on the Kitchener Heritage committee.
Homeowner Bailey Binns-Franchetto says she’s pleased to know the story behind the flags in her garden.
“I am grateful to the family for their kindness and to the community for their support in [making] the connection,” Binns-Franchetto told CBC News.
“The history and tradition uncovered through their story were more than I ever imagined.”
The two are planning a future visit.
LISTEN | The Morning Edition interview with Reg Kirby:
The Morning Edition – K-W5:45CBC K-W unravels mystery of man seen placing flag on Remembrance Day
The Remembrance Day mystery has been solved. We have an update to a story about a home in Kitchener that has a flag placed on the front lawn every Nov. 11. CBC K-W posted a story with security camera footage of the man, and someone came forward who knew him. Reporter Joe Pavia met up with the mystery man to find out why he visits the home each year.