Clockwise from top left, North Battleford Mayor David Gillan prepares to lay a wreath at the service, the Legion Colour Party begins the final march, veteran Byron Rodriguez, and (left to right) Tim Pruden, Tim's sister Valerie Doke and Rev. Trevor Malyon with a photo of Tim and Valerie's father, veteran Arthur "Archie" Pruden. (Angela Brown/BattlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Don Ross Centre service

Remembrance Day brings community together in the Battlefords

Nov 11, 2022 | 4:45 PM

It was a morning of thought and reflection, as the North Battleford community gathered together for the Remembrance Day service at the Don Ross Centre Friday.

The event was organized by the North Battleford Legion Branch No. 70. The North Battleford City Kinsmen Band was also among those participating.

This is the first time the public has been able to attend an open ceremony since before the pandemic, so there was a good showing for the event.

During the ceremony, Rev. Trevor Malyon shared a touching story of the life of a local veteran, Arthur “Archie” Pruden, one of many men and women who served in the Second World War. Pruden, who passed away in 2005, is also featured in the “Honour Our Veterans” banner program in the Battlefords.

Malyon said Pruden was the sixth child growing up in a large family, born and raised on a farm in the area. He spoke English, French and Cree, and was Métis. Pruden served in the Canadian Forces from 1941 after enlisting at the age of 23, with the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC). He was sent overseas in 1941, and was deployed in France in 1944.

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“His [Pruden’s] position was not only to fight as a soldier in the military but one of transporting supplies from the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (RCOC), their depots, fields, and other establishments,” Malyon said. “He was responsible for holding, moving and issuing to the fighting troops all food, ammunition, gasoline, and any other necessary equipment.”

Malyon said when Pruden later married and returned home to the Battlefords after the war, he did not talk to his family about his memories of the war.

“We often think of a hero as perhaps one who dies or is wounded in the thick of battle, and they are. But also heroes come home. And they get on with life, and deal with the scars of war in a variety of ways,” Malyon said. “Archie was quiet and didn’t talk about what took place. When speaking to Archie’s son, he asked his dad questions about the war. And [Archie’s] response was: ‘Oh son, you won’t want to hear about that.’ Perhaps, some experiences are to remain in memories alone.”

Malyon thanked all the veterans for their great sacrifices and their service, including those who serve with the Canadian Forces today.

Several local veterans who served in the war in Afghanistan took part in the Remembrance Day ceremony.

North Battleford veteran Byron Rodriguez served with the Canadian mission in Afghanistan from 2008 to 2010, on two back-to-back tours.

Rodriguez said, following Friday’s ceremony, that for many people Remembrance Day is a time to celebrate. But for many veterans it is a difficult time, fraught with pain and sadness.

“It’s so hard for us veterans because we never left the war,” he said. “The war came with us here. Some of us have PTSD and we have to deal with those injuries. It’s so difficult because people don’t know there is something wrong with us, because we look okay. But in your mind that’s where the injuries are, which sometimes don’t go away.”

Rodriguez said he recently lost two friends, who were veterans, to suicide. They weren’t able to tolerate their own pain.

“They couldn’t deal with the demons they had, and figured that [suicide] was the easy way out, which it is not,” Rodriguez said. “The easy way out is for you to go and talk to people about what we did, what we saw, and what we did it for. We’re here fighting those demons. It does have an effect on our families, our relationships with our wives and our children. But it’s not our fault. We went and did what we were supposed to do, but we came home damaged.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow