Heather Latter
Leading Seaman Chelsea Barron, with the 144 Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Fort Frances, learned plenty of war history while taking part in a pilgrimage to France and Belgium earlier this month.
The Grade 8 student from J.W. Walker School here was one of 40 cadets who travelled to Vimy Ridge to join more than 4,000 Canadian students from across the county to pay their respects to our fallen.
“I had a really good time. It was filled with lots of opportunities,” enthused Barron, adding they visited many tourists attractions in Paris, plus museums and beaches in the Normandy and Vimy regions, which were her favourite parts.
They stopped at such locations as Arromanches, Pointe Du Hoc, and Juno Beach, as well as several cemeteries like Nine Elms Military Cemetery and Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery.
The cadets also visited the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, where soldiers killed during the early stages of the Battle of Normandy in World War II are buried.
Here, Barron enacted on her soldier assignment which was handed out prior to leaving on the pilgrimage. She had been given the name of a fallen soldier and was to find out as much about him as possible—and even attempt to contact a living relative.
She indicated not many of the cadets were able to track down a living contact, but she was.
Her soldier’s name was Sulo William Alanen, who was a rifleman with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, R.C.I.C. She was able to locate his nephew, Harold Alanen, in Thunder Bay.
“He was excited,” Barron said about when she called the retired teacher.
He e-mailed Barron a photo of his uncle right away, which she used to create a memento, laminating a piece of blue paper with the photo and known information about the soldier.
She placed this at his gravesite at Beny-sur-Mer and took a photo of the headstone to send back to Alanen in Thunder Bay.
“It really put some validity into the trip,” Barron remarked. “And it provided that emotional and real connection, which was the whole point of the trip.”
The final days of the pilgrimage were dedicated to the Vimy Ridge 95th anniversary commemoration, attending the “Last Post” ceremony at the Menin Gate the night before.
“I woke up early that morning—at 4 a.m.—and [prepared] my uniform,” she noted.
Then they braved cold, rainy conditions as they led the 45-minute silent march from Givenchy to Vimy, where a ceremony was held.
Later, they joined Gov. Gen. David Johnston and the minister of veterans affairs at the memorial to mark the 95th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
The weather was reminiscent of that in April, 1917.
“The bitter cold, wind, and rain caused suffering but taught us we have a responsibility to lead a life worthy of their sacrifice,” tweeted trip leader Conor Lloyd.
“It felt like you were really there,” Barron said, adding there was wreath-laying, poems, and a song about Vimy Ridge.
The cadets also had the chance to tour through the Canadian and German trenches, and take in what it must have been like for the soldiers battling 95 years ago.
“I’ll never forget this trip and what we were a part of,” Barron stressed. “It was an amazing experience and it changed my perspective on history.
“I now like war history.”
Barron knows she was able to see and do things many students her age don’t have the opportunity to take part in.
“You hear about the history, but being there changes it. It makes it real, makes you feel a part of it,” she reasoned, adding she also made many new friends.
“We all enjoyed it. Whether the weather was good or bad, it didn’t matter,” she said.
“I learned so much from this experience.”
Thanks to her participation on this pilgrimage, Barron now knows she wants to do more travelling.
And she also has a new perspective when looking at possible future careers as she was captivated by the architecture in France and the artifacts in the museums.
Barron will make a presentation about her trip to her class at school and the local corps.
