Belgian war memorial refurbished and rededicated

St. Boniface residents can now see a newly refurbished Belgian war memorial as they travel down Provencher Boulevard.

Veterans, their families and loved ones gathered on the boulevard across from the Belgian Club, 407 Provencher, for a rededication ceremony at the memorial Sunday afternoon.

The Belgian Veterans Association has been trying for some time to raise enough money to fix their crumbling war memorial, “It’s been long overdue, but we’ve finally been able to do the fundraising to get it done,” said association president Cam Fransoo, “It was in bad disrepair, and we got to get it all refurbished and presented the way it was originally built.”

The statue of one soldier standing over the body of another was the work of Winnipeg sculptor Hubert A. Garnier, first built in 1938. The monument was re-dedicated once before in 1995, but Fransoo says it’s important to maintain the statue for future generations.

“For us of Belgian descent it's very important,” he said. “Our forefathers saw to it that we build a statue to remember the Belgian veterans, and all veterans of course.”