Peacekeeper and Korea veteran honoured with stone at London’s Remembrance Gardens

Sam Carr had no clue his son had arranged for a stone to be placed in his honour at Remembrance Gardens in London, Ont.

The 92 year old who served in Korea and did UN peacekeeping and NATO peacekeeping missions was recognized Sunday during the annual ceremony on River Road.

“He didn't let me know that this was happening, and I really feel great grateful for it,” said Carr. “We've got to remember our veterans who did the peacekeeping role and they should be remembered to the same as all the other.”

Fifty years ago this week (Aug. 9, 1974), nine Canadians on board a United Nations-marked Canadian military transport were killed when the plane was shot down in the Middle East.

Korean War and Peacekeeping veteran Sam Carr poses with a new stone in his honour at London’s Remembrance Gardens on Sunday Aug. 11, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)It was the largest single-day loss of Canadian Armed Forces personnel during a peace support operation.

Each year, the Remember November 11 Association (RN11A) holds a ceremony to remember those who have served.

“We don't do that many peacekeeping missions anymore, but we have 125,000 peacekeeping veterans in this country and their service matters,” said Sean ‘Seumus’ Wilson, director of the RN11A. “Our politicians always talk about being a nation of peacekeepers, but we never know who that actually is. This is our chance to honor these people and remember those fallen soldiers and, try to keep that spirit alive.”

Wilson has poured his heart into these annual remembrance ceremonies, and continues to expand Remembrance Gardens.

A stone honouring Sam Carr was in London’s Remembrance Gardens on Sunday Aug. 11, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)“Seumus is one of a kind,” said Mike ‘Smokey’ Cashman, who did a peacekeeping tour in Golan Heights in Israel in 1978 and is president of the Canadian Army Veterans motorcycle unit. “It's very important for what he's doing. He is keeping everything alive from peacekeepers up all through all the wars. This garden is a work in progress, and he's always looking for help from donations, to work on the gardens.”

Wilson is proud of his newest edition to the grounds.

“Every year we add a new stone or a new relic,” said Wilson. “This is a very historic bell that represents the Liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two. During that war, the Germans melted down all the bells in the Netherlands and used it for bullets as a punishment because the Netherlands would not comply. After the war, they created these liberation bells, and we are happy to have one here.”

Sean Wilson, director of the Remember November 11 Association, rings a new bell – which has been placed at Remembrance Gardens in London, Ont. – to honour the Liberation of the Netherlands on Sunday Aug. 11, 2024. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)150-year old relic, donated, refurbished, placed and paid for by the Dutch Canadian Society of London and District, has been installed permanently.

“Our friends at Militex did the restoration and it's a very big piece. When we’re doing our ceremonies on Remembrance Day, we ring the bell, and also on May 5th, when we remember the Liberation of the Netherlands.”

Wilson encourages those who have never been to the site, to come look around and remember.

“I wanted to build something tangible that people would come and look at and read the stones and basically inhale that history and become part of it,” said Wilson. “When people come out here, they get lost in it for a while. They wander around, read and look, and I'm sure they all go to their phone afterwards and say, well, what else happened there?”