Duffy, pictured above, is expecting a crowd on Sunday. (Adrian St.Onge/CHAT News)

By Adrian St.Onge

EVENT

‘Connect you with where you came from’: Veterans’ Memorial Park tank to be honoured Sunday

May 31, 2024 | 4:44 PM

A historic tank in Riverside Veterans’ Memorial Park will be honoured Sunday by the Medicine Hat community after receiving new paint earlier this week.

Mayor Linnsie Clark, the South Alberta Light Horse Corps, the Medicine Hat Legion and veterans will be present for the occasion.

Duffy has a storied history, having been named after two Medicine Hat friends who later became World War Two volunteers at the same time.

Restorations like the one for Duffy, the decorations of the memorials and even the recognition of the cenotaph at the park are crucial to remember and celebrate veterans, said South Alberta Light Horse Regimental Museum curator Wes Krause.

“What happens when that is removed from a community, it’s a vacuum that disappears. An integral part of the community disappears,” Krause said.

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“The South Alberta Light Horse will stay here. Veterans are still going to be here. So connecting with veterans and recognizing their contributions to the community through memorials like this, through the cenotaph, through the decoration day and through the regimental museums and the Royal Canadian Legion,” he said

“That connects you with where you came from and who you are as a Canadian.”

Decorations at Hillside Memorial Park, where community members can remember veterans and place a poppy will begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday with speeches scheduled for noon.