Alberta marks Remembrance Day with ceremonies that feel 'closer to home' in shadow of CFB Wainwright tragedy

Soldiers who responded to deadly CFB Wainwright fire take part in special ceremony

Hundreds of soldiers who helped rescue fellow service members from the deadly fire at CFB Wainwright last month will take part in the special Remembrance Day ceremony in St. Albert, Alta., today.

About 300 members of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (3 PPCLI), are expected to march from a nearby Royal Canadian Legion to the ceremony site, marking the regiment's first public appearance since the Oct. 17 fire that killed four soldiers and injured dozens more.

Members of the battalion were among the first responders to the fire, helping transport injured soldiers to helicopters and ambulances.

Two Griffon helicopters — the same type used to evacuate the wounded from Wainwright — will fly over the ceremony just before the moment of silence.

Several thousand spectators, including family members of the soldiers, are expected to be in attendance.

Speaking to CBC's David Common, military chaplain Lt.-Cmdr. Matthew Squires described the emotional toll of supporting grieving families and visiting injured soldiers in hospital.

"It's been sacred. It's been challenging. It's been heavy," he said.

"You enter into the pain that is experienced by the family and you just simply remain, and it's heavy."

The ceremony comes as the battalion prepares for another major undertaking. Most of the 300 soldiers participating are expected to deploy to Eastern Europe this winter as part of Operation Reassurance, Canada's military mission supporting NATO's eastern flank, primarily in Latvia.