A Coquitlam man will play a unique role next month at the 100th anniversary commemorative services at Vimy Ridge, France.
Between April 1 and 9, Keith Witney and 13 other Canadians — as well as two French citizens — will run an amateur radio station near the historic battleground to tell the world about Canada’s contribution.
The Canadians’ success at the German-held Vimy Ridge, in April 1917, proved a turning point in the Great War and put the country on the map for its military prowess. Historians have described Vimy as “the moment when Canada leapt in spirit from colony to nation.”
In 1922, a liberated France recognized the war effort by ceding 250 acres of the former battle site to Canada for a national memorial.
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