'Veterans need to see that students care': Hundreds participate in Winnipeg’s No Stone Left Alone service

More than 500 Grade 6 students in Winnipeg took a moment from their Monday morning to remember and reflect.

Students from Transcona took part in a “No Stone Left Alone” service in the Field of Honour at the Transcona Ceremony.

“They are going to take a poppy that they have received already, and place it on the gravestone of a veteran,” said Peter Martin, coordinator of No Stone Left Alone in Manitoba.

Students also offered a salute of appreciation to several veterans who were in attendance.

“You have to show respect to the veterans to let us have all of this freedom in Canada and Manitoba,” said Clayton Massner, who participated in the ceremony.

“They really risked their lives for us, for us to have a good rest of our lives,” said Peyton Argel, one of the students in attendance.

“It’s very good that we can all come together to respect the people who did this for us,” added Mayla Gauthier, another student in attendance.

More than 500 Winnipeg students participate in a No Stone Left Alone service on Nov. 7, 2022. (Image source: Jamie Dowsett/CTV News Winnipeg)

No Stone Left Alone started in the 1970s when Maureen Purvis of Edmonton promised her veteran mother she would remember her. Since then, hundreds of thousands of poppies have been placed on the graves of veterans.

“Veterans need to see that students care, and they do,” Martin said.

The service included the last three veterans living in Transcona who served in the Second World War. Martin says services like No Stone Left Alone are needed to keep paying tribute to veterans.

“We’ve got to carry it on because we need to keep expressing our appreciation about our country, and our freedoms we have here came at a very high price,” Martin said. “And we need to always appreciate that.”