Hundreds of Winnipeg students take part in remembrance ceremony

Hundreds of grade 6 students filed into the field of honour in Transcona Cemetery to honour veterans in a solemn ceremony. There, they laid poppies at the graves, part of No Stone Left Alone, an effort to engage children in remembrance. Peter Martin says in 12 years of organizing the event, it's the most students he's ever seen. And as you can see, the students are very, very respectful of the ceremony, and they take it sincerely. Martin says, literally, no stone was left alone, and each headstone had a student assigned to it to lay a poppy. The poem In Flanders Fields was recited, the national anthem sung, and a moment of silence was held, and students from the River East Transcona School Division learned of the history of those who served. They left Transcona, went to Europe, and fought for their country, and helped others who couldn't help themselves, and they never returned home. I was thankful for all the soldiers that fought for us so that we can have good lives. You learn a lot about Remembrance Day? Yeah, like how they were really young people and they had their own families that they had to leave behind. It's so incredibly special that we get to do this amazing experience with all of these people, all these students. I was thinking about my loved ones and how these people also had their own loved ones. Martin himself served in the Signal Corps. His son served. His grandson now serves in the artillery. And his father stormed Juno Beach during D-Day in 1944. First wave on Juno Beach. He lost his best friends from Transcona on that wave. And he started speaking at schools for 30 years, and then he got me involved as well. Martin says honouring the 325 graves passes the act of remembrance onto the next generation. I'm hoping this will stick with them and they'll remember their experience today and take the responsibility into the future. Now the torch is theirs to hold on high. Matt Humphrey, CBC News, Winnipeg.