In a moment of solemn unity, hundreds of residents in Lethbridge sang the national anthem at the Cenotaph during one of two Remembrance Day ceremonies.
“It is really important to take time out of our busy schedules and come and remember those that have sacrificed for the great country we live in today,” said Maj. Mitch Montminy, commander of the 20th Independent Field Battery.
Showing up to a ceremony may seem like a small gesture, but the impact on families who lost children in combat is huge.
“It’s very meaningful to recognize that the community also recognizes that there has been a sacrifice,” said Linda Learn, a mother who lost a son in Afghanistan.
She says the act of remembrance has become a cornerstone of the life of her family.
“It’s an absolutely essential part of our life, both as individual people and a community as well.”
Despite the love felt from Lethbridge, Learn says Nov. 11th is always a challenging day to navigate as the memories of her son become clearer.
“This would be our 19th Remembrance Day. It’s a very difficult day, it’s probably the worst day of our year to remember Mark so specifically,” she said.
Pte. Mark Anthony Graham was born on May 17, 1973, in Jamaica and moved to Canada with his family as a child.
In 2004, he enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces with the Royal Canadian Regiment.
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Two years later, on Sept. 4, 2006, Graham was killed in a ‘friendly fire’ incident when an American warplane mistakenly targeted his platoon during an operation to capture a Taliban stronghold west of Kandahar. He was 33 years old.
Graham was more than a soldier. He was a son, a brother, a friend and a father.
“He had a wonderful sense of humour. He was a person you could have a conversation with and, before you knew it, he was arguing on the same side as you and you hadn’t realized he switched himself around,” said Learn.
Graham even represented Canada at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona as part of the men’s 4×400 metre relay, running the fastest leg on his team.
His excellence in athletics earned him a scholarship from the University of Nebraska, and he later also attended Kent State University in Ohio.
“He was a perfectionist — he demanded a great deal of his colleagues. We heard that, both from his friends who were on track teams and basketball teams with him, we heard it from other students when he was at university, we heard it from the military too. He was very demanding of people who were in the same squads as him and training with him. He had very high standards,” said Learn.
His sports career continued when he represented Canada at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria.
Having grown up in Hamilton, Ont., a park he once practiced in was renamed in 2010 in his honour as the Mark Anthony Graham Memorial Olympic Park.
However, his family remembers him most fondly as one of their own and a true role model.
“He loved movies, he liked watching Band of Brothers with his brothers. He was dedicated to his daughter.”
His legacy lives on as his family commits to serving, honouring and remembering.
“I’m very proud of him,” said Learn.
Graham is not only remembered and honoured by his family. Active-duty soldiers say they are honoured to wear the uniform that Graham once did.
“They know the sacrifice their loved one made, (which) they’re still carrying on today, wasn’t in vain, and people respect it,” said Montminy.
Graham is buried at the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa.
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