Global News announced today that it will be paying tribute to the men and women who lost their lives serving in past and present conflicts worldwide this Remembrance Day with Canada Remembers. Anchored by Global National’s Dawna Friesen, this commemorative hour-long program airs commercial-free on all Global stations coast-to-coast this Thursday, November 11.
Beginning at 10:30 am EST, Canada Remembers will feature live coverage of Remembrance Day ceremonies taking place at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. In addition to honouring those who gave their lives in war, Canada Remembers will pay tribute to those survivors who have returned home with life-altering injuries. In the first of a two-part series, Global National’s Alberta Correspondent Francis Silvaggio will provide an exclusive look at how injured veterans are rehabilitated at Edmonton’s Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.
Canada Remembers will also include Remembrance Day coverage from around the world. Global National’s Mike Armstrong will be at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan to provide a glimpse into what Remembrance Day is like for the men and women serving our country overseas. Global National’s Shirlee Engel will be in Seoul, South Korea to cover Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s tribute to Canada’s fallen soldiers as he prepares for the upcoming G20 summit.
Canada Remembers will be streamed live at Globalnews.ca, which will include a live blog of the event, special video content featuring Canadian war veterans, and background stories on Remembrance Day itself. Globalnews.ca will also pay tribute to Canada’s fallen soldiers with the Days of Remembrance micro site, now live at www.daysofremembrance.ca. Nominated for a 2010 ‘Canadian New Media Award’, the Days of Remembrance site uses news stories, interactive maps, in-depth features and biographies, to immerse users in the final weeks of the First World War.
In addition to Canada Remembers, Global BC will air a special one-hour broadcast beginning at 10:30 am PST that includes Our Heroes, highlighting memorable stories of Canadian war heroes presented by master storyteller Mike McCardell. Global BC News Hour anchor Chris Gailus will host live coverage of Remembrance Day ceremonies at Vancouver’s Victory Square.
Canada Remembers will also feature interviews with four veterans of the Second World War, including:
· Bill Lockwood: 92-years-old, from Renfrew, Ontario
An RCAF Flight Lieutenant stationed in South-East Asia, Bill spent more than three years as a Japanese PoW. When Bill Lockwood was liberated in 1945, he weighed less than 100 pounds.
· Edwin (Doug) Whillans: 90-years-old, from Campbellville, Ontario
Doug was an RCAF Wireless Air Gunner who left for war when his son was six weeks old. He was part of a seven man crew who flew Lancaster bombers on overnight bombing raids in Germany.
· Fred Andrews: 89-years-old, from Barrie, Ontario
Fred was a Gunner who went to war at 18 years of age. In 1944, Fred picked a poppy in Flanders Fields and mailed it to his mother. Fred still has this fragile and faded flower, which is symbolic of the fragility of Second World War veterans 65 years after the end of the war.
· Ellison Hunt: 88-years-old, from London, Ontario
As a Military Policeman, Ellison participated in covert missions with plenty of close calls. Haunted by his memories of the war, Ellison began writing to help him cope. Ellison’s daughter is using his five binders of recollections from the war to create compelling book.
Global News’ Remembrance Day coverage airs at the following times (all times are local)
Global Maritimes
* 11:30 am AST – Canada Remembers LIVE
Global Montreal/Toronto
* 10:30 am EST – Canada Remembers LIVE
Global Winnipeg/Regina/Saskatoon:
* 9:30 am CST – Canada Remembers LIVE
Global Edmonton/Calgary/Lethbridge:
* 8:30 am MST – Canada Remembers LIVE (Note: Morning News in all three markets will end 30 minutes early at 8:30 am MST to carry this special presentation)
* 10:30 am MST – Canada Remembers, encore airing
Global BC:
* 7:30 am PST – Canada Remembers LIVE
* 10:30 am PST – Our Heroes
* 10:50 am PST – Vancouver Remembrance Day Ceremonies LIVE
Global Okanagan:
* 7:30 am PST – Canada Remembers LIVE
Continuing Remembrance Day coverage will be available that coming evening on Global National with Dawna Friesen. Global National airs at 5:30 pm nationally; 6:30 pm in the Maritimes; and 7:30 pm in Newfoundland on NTV.
