New cenotaph honours African Nova Scotian soldiers

About a hundred people gathered in the historic black community of Lincolnville for the unveiling of a new Afrocentric cenotaph. It's a community-led project to honor African Nova Scotian veterans from across Guysborough County. I just feel so much pride over seeing the names being honored on a cenotaph finally in a prominent Nova Scotian black community. The memorial pays tribute to 104 veterans from the First and Second World Wars. They answered the call to serve their country at a time The aim is to recognize their sacrifices and preserve their legacy of service. We have never had our history known, and when I realized that we had a war hero in Sunnyville Almost nobody knew about him. It was discouraging. Howard William Pelley from Sunnyville served in the Second World War and was awarded the Military Medal for bravery. His family a proud people are finally hearing about it. I think it's great and I think the ones that was on this committee did a wonderful job. Brings a lot of clarity for those who served that weren't recognized in the black community. Either side of the maple leaf there are African symbols representing perseverance and bravery. The stone commemorates the grace and determination of African Nova Scotian veterans while remembering the injustices they endured. Well my great uncle George Reddick is one of the members on the cenotaph and uh well it's my uncle George I joined the military he was uh he was with the number two construction battalion that's why I have his uh the medals the apology medal and uh I was with the construction engineers for 25 years. Those who worked on the project say it's been challenging gathering information through historical records, so they've left spaces to add names or make spelling corrections to some that have already been identified. Community organizers are hoping this becomes a gathering place where people can learn about the contributions of African Nova Scotians in the military. And there are further plans for the site too, such as interpretive signs to add to the memorial. Gareth Hampshire, CBC News, Lincolnville.