A4

By Jamie Ross

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

NORTON - Almost 80 years after his death, a Canadian Veteran who fought in the First World War has a proper resting place.

Enlarge Photo

Submitted photo

Rob Moore, Fundy-Royal MP; Gordon McKenzie, Service Officer & Public Relations; Maurice Byrne, nephew of the late veteran Charles Byrne; Carol Byrne; Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson (MP NB Southwest); Bev Harrison, MLA, Hampton-Kings; Bruce Northrup, MLA Kings East; and LGen (Ret'd) Lou Cuppens, national president, Last Post Fund.

Charles Byrne's grave site was unmarked since his death in 1930, until Norton resident Gordon McKenzie stumbled upon the soldier's grave while walking through Sacred Heart Cemetery in Norton.

"I realized there was no headstone, and I wondered who was buried there," he said. "I saw there was a legion cross, and I asked around, and someone said there was a solider buried there."

After some poking around, McKenzie found out that the man's last name was Byrne, and had a nephew still living in the area.

He spoke to Byrne's nephew, Maurice, and then went to the Last Post, a veteran affairs group that ensures no Canadian soldier goes without a proper funeral or burial, who searched their archives for the soldier's name.

McKenzie suspects it was the misspelling of Byrne's last name that caused the confusion, and led to the grave being unmarked.

On his military papers, McKenzie said Byrne's last name was spelled Burns.

"They thought we were talking about two different people," he said.

There are at least five more unmarked soldier's graves around the region, McKenzie said, citing cemeteries in Young's Cove, Cambridge-Narrows, Hampton and Wickham.

He asks around the community, churches and funeral parlours to identify the unmarked graves, he said, and then passes along his findings to the Last Post, who then look after arranging marking the grave sites.

A special ceremony was held at the Royal Canadian Legion branch in Norton Aug. 22, to recognize Byrne's proper resting place.

Fundy-Royal MP Rob Moore, Kings East MLA Bruce Northurp, Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson and Byrne's nephew Maurice were on hand for the announcement.

"There is no greater gift we can give our veterans than the Gift of Remembrance," Thompson said.

Veterans Affairs will also repair any damaged soldier's headstone free of charge.