By Makeida Antonio
Scores of dignitaries and military officials attended the 2021 Remembrance Day Ceremony at the War Memorial, also referred to as the Cenotaph, on Independence Avenue yesterday morning.
According to Minister of Foreign Affairs EP Chet Greene, the event was significant as it highlights that the peace and freedoms enjoyed today are because of those who gave their lives to service.
“World Wars I and II claimed 100,000 lives and on this day annually, the global community pauses to remember the sacrifices of lives for all the freedom that we enjoy. We should not take any of this for granted, neither should we allow it to slip into nothingness. It should always be a revered day where we really come out and show gratitude and a recommitment to maintaining global peace,” Greene told Observer yesterday.
He also believes that viewing and participating in the annual ceremony will serve as a reminder for everyone to keep peace going forward, both on a personal and international level.
“Today’s world is what it is because of sacrifices, and tomorrow’s world will be made better by remembering and avoiding those instances,” he added.
Governor General Sir Rodney Williams, Prime Minister Gaston Browne, President of the Senate Alincia Grant, and uniformed bodies such as the Royal Police Force of Antigua and Barbuda, Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, the Seventh-day Adventist Pathfinders, as well as ambassadors and dignitaries who gathered to pay their respects to the former veterans who sacrificed their lives during World War I (1914 – 1918), and World War II (1939 – 1944).
The of laying wreaths at the Cenotaph and a march pass by the uniformed bodies were among the highlights of the annual ceremony.