It was a battle of wills last Wednesday evening at Fairview Cemetery as 13 dedicated volunteers tried to keep swarms of mosquitoes at bay. Determined to place a Canadian flag on the grave of every military veteran and North West Mounted Police and RCMP officer, they persisted against the bloodthirsty opponents.

Jackie Wiens says in the 24 years since the project began, the mosquitoes had never been this bad.

“It was unbelievable. They just rose up in clouds around you,” she says.

Project lead Darren Moen agrees. “They were relentless,” he says.

Volunteers placed Canadian flags on veterans’ graves at Fairview Cemetery on June 24. From left are Aynsley Nelson, David Bruder, David Glass, Jeremy Nelson, John Radvak, Jackie Wiens, Craig Haines, Sue Johnson, Justin Davis and Darren Moen. Missing are Francine Sorge and Brenda Sorge.

Photo by Angie Moen

Behind the twice-yearly ritual lies a story that stretches back generations.

In 1947, Jackie’s grandmother, Alma Dilworth, travelled to Adegem, Belgium, and Nijmegen, Netherlands, to visit the graves of her sons, James and Herman, who lost their lives in 1944.

The family believes Alma may have been among the first Canadian mothers to visit these cemeteries. She was deeply moved by how lovingly the Dutch and Belgian people had adopted the graves of the Canadian soldiers, even planting maple trees around the cemetery perimeter.

When she returned to Canada, Alma was interviewed by the Winnipeg Free Press. She explained how well the Canadian graves were being cared for, with flowers placed throughout and a white-painted cross bearing the fallen soldier’s name and number at every grave.

This image never left her daughter, Emily Rainford.

In 2002, Emily approached the Pincher Creek Legion, wanting to recognize the sacrifices of local veterans around Remembrance Day and Canada Day. She had a list of 120 veterans buried in local cemeteries and flags were placed on their graves.

But flags are not permanent, so the following year, the group followed the lead of the Quill Lake Legion in Saskatchewan, installing permanent metal markers. The silhouetted words One Who Served Their Country are inscribed on the maple-leaf-shaped markers.

Emily again took the lead, approaching the Town of Pincher Creek for permission to place the grave markers.

As she put it then, “We have to tell the story. I’m 80 years old and we have to start teaching our young people what our veterans gave up for their country.”

In January 2004, four retired Shell Waterton employees requested $3,800 to purchase 200 metal maple leaves through the Shell Community Service Fund. The funding was directed through the Pincher Creek Senior Citizens Recreation Society.

Shell also donated the aluminum tubing to be attached to each leaf and filled with cement provided by the Town of Pincher Creek. Through the work of Bob Millar, Dave Millar and Matt Rainford, by June 2004 the first 120 metal leaves were installed. By Nov. 11, 2004, 184 veteran graves were marked at Fairview Cemetery and seven more in smaller cemeteries in the region.

Both Emily and Jackie received certificates of recognition from the Pincher Creek Legion for their services related to the Veterans Grave Remembrance project.

Over time, the project has grown to more than 300 flags on graves in five local cemeteries: Fairview Cemetery, the old Pioneer Cemetery, Trinity Lutheran Cemetery on the Waterton Highway, St. Henry’s Catholic Church Cemetery off Highway 505 and the Fishburn United Church Cemetery on Highway 507.

The project goes far beyond the twice-yearly flag placings. Until he stepped down four years ago, Dave Millar also checked the graves in all five locations throughout the year, looking for lawnmower damage to the maple-leaf markers, repainting or replacing them as needed.

Now Darren Moen walks in Millar’s footsteps. He says new names are added to the list only when family members tell the Legion about a veteran’s grave.

“That is the only way the register is built. We don’t get the information unless family members come forward,” he says.

While Darren’s great-great-grandfather served in the Boer War, he stresses that people do not need a military connection to be involved with the Legion or in veteran-related projects like this.

The flags will be removed after Canada Day to prevent them from becoming litter in the next big windstorm.