GLACE BAY, N.S. -- Jimmy MacNeil usually honours his son by attending a service on Nov. 11, but this year, with no traditional ceremonies to attend, he marked the day alone at his son’s grave.
“It’s hard, really. It’s been 10 years, but it seems like yesterday for me,” says MacNeil.
Remembrance Day took on new meaning for MacNeil in June 2010, when his 28-year-old son, Sgt. James MacNeil, was killed in a blast from an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.
More than 10,000 friends and strangers lined the roadway as the soldier’s body arrived home to a sombre tribute -- a tribute that would not be possible today, in the middle of a pandemic.
Now, MacNeil’s days are often spent at the Glace Bay, N.S., graveyard where his son was laid to rest 10 years ago.
“I come here every morning. I’m here at 7:10 every morning and I come back in the afternoon. It’s hard not to come here,” he says. “I tell him I love him. I have a good feeling being with him all the time. If I didn’t have this, I’d be heartbroken.”
Meanwhile, Velma MacNeil honoured her son with a private ceremony at home. With most Remembrance Day events cancelled or limits on who can attend, she spent the day with close family members who have been by her side from the beginning.
“I found it personal this year, with all of the family,” she says. “It still hurts. It’s still raw. Every day I think of him. Every day I talk to him.”
While she continues to grieve the loss of her son, she says her family has received an incredible amount of support since his death.
“It means a lot. I would have never got through these 10 years.”
While the pandemic may have kept the family from marking Remembrance Day in a traditional sense, they vow to continue to honour the fallen soldier’s memory, no matter the circumstances.
