Legion member Kyle Scott receives great honour

Local Royal Canadian Legion member Kyle Scott has been selected to represent Alberta and the Northwest Territories for the Pilgrimage of Remembrance which will take place over 15 days. With the encouragement of his wife, Koren, Scott filled out the lengthy application and later received the phone call that he was one of 10 chosen to represent Canada. Scott, a retired corporal, endured two tours in Afghanistan and is currently the Service Officer for the Royal Canadian Legion in Whitecourt. As a Service Officer, Scott’s mandate and passion are to be an advocate for our veterans and their dependents helping with service records, health care, compensation, and benefits, and to help the veterans integrate back into society. “It’s all about veterans helping veterans; that’s why we’re here,” Scott said.

Legions across Canada were originally founded in 1925 by veterans in order that Canadians would never forget the sacrifices and courage of those who served during war fighting for our country and freedom including those who are currently serving. As part of that, the Royal Canadian Legion Pilgrimage of Remembrance was formed to provide widows and families the opportunity to pay their respects to lost loved ones. For veterans, the return to the battlefields allows them to visit their fallen comrades.

During WW1, soldiers were not returned home but buried on the battlefield. The pilgrimage will take Scott and other veterans to the more prominent battlefields such as Vimy Ridge in France, Passchendaele in Belgium where the first use of poison gas was unleashed by the Germans, and Hill 60 which to this day has been preserved and undisturbed for the most part. Lastly, there will be tours of Ypres, Belgium which is part of the Great War where three battles were fought, and over 23,000 soldiers killed. The veterans will then make their way to Dieppe, France as part of a pivotal moment during the second world war, and Juno Beach which was one of five landing beaches in the Normandy invasions.

The veterans will pay tribute to the fallen soldiers as the idea is never to forget. They were assigned a casualty from WW1 that they can research beforehand. Once members arrive at the specific battlefields, they will give a presentation on that soldier as they visit the gravesites. Scott was assigned Private Frank Milner from Okotoks, AB who was killed in the battle at Passchendaele in October 1917. Milner, a farmer, was 25 years old when he went to war and was in the trenches only four months before he was killed during an attack. He was not found until three years later.

Scott was a fourth-generation member of his family to serve Canada. His great-uncle was killed in Belgium. Scott will retrace the steps of his family history as well as others who fought for our country.

Scott and other comrades left Edmonton on Saturday, June 6 for France. “I’m extremely fortunate and thankful that I was chosen. It’s an honour to represent Alberta and the Northwest Territories Command on this trip,” he said. Scott will do his best to post photos and updates on the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 44 Facebook site.