by Marcel Tetrault
Comox Valley Echo

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

The military marched through Cumberland on Saturday, bayonets fixed and drums beating, after being given the Freedom of the Village by mayor and council.

The Freedom of the Village, said Mayor Fred Bates, is rarely presented. When it is, it symbolizes a bond of friendship and trust.

Mayor and council unanimously decided to bestow the honour on both 19 Wing and HMCS Quadra, the summer sea cadet training base. The air cadets were given the Freedom of the Village earlier this summer.

Bates said the Freedom of the Village was given to all three branches of the military so as to recognize their contribution to the community.

"I mean that in two ways," he said. "Every day, just by being good solid citizens in our community and in the peacetime assistance they provide, as well as the obvious, when they put themselves in harms way to protect us and to maintain our freedom."

Awarding the Freedom of the Village to HMCS Quadra and 19 Wing, said 19 Wing commander Col. Michel Lalumière, is a demonstration of Canadian values and democracy.

"The symbolism that you see here this morning cannot be overstated," he said. "We don't have the right to walk through your city unless you give us the permission to do so. (Cont. on page 3)

"If anything, this is everything about Canada. The wing is a part of the community and the community, for sure, is certainly part of the wing itself."

The ceremony began when a formation of personnel from 19 Wing and HMCS Quadra marched to a barricade along Dunsmuir Street as a small crowd of onlookers watched.

They were met at the barricade by Inspector Tom Gray, the officer-in-charge of the Comox Valley RCMP detachment. There, Lalumière and HMCS Quadra commander Cmdr. Peter Kay asked Gray for permission to enter the village to see Mayor Bates.

The command contingent then marched, with Gray, to the village office, where they banged on the door with the hilts of their swords. Bates allowed them in to the village offices, where he was asked for, and granted, permission to march through the village.

Bates presented the military personnel with the Freedom of the Village and inspected the troops before they marched past the Cumberland Legion to complete the ceremony.

© Comox Valley Echo 2010