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Amherst mayor receives first poppy

Korean War Veteran Jack Perry paid tribute to Canada’s veterans on Oct. 26 when he pinned a poppy on Amherst Mayor David Kogon’s vest.

“The poppy is worn to honour Canada’s Fallen,” Perry, the organizer of the local poppy campaign and the Sergeant at Arms of Royal Canadian Legion Br. 10 Amherst, said.

The poppy pinned on the mayor’s jacket marked the start of the local Poppy Campaign, which will see poppies available in a variety of locations throughout the Town of Amherst.

“It’s an honour to receive the first poppy,” Kogon said. “My own father was a bomber pilot in the Second World War. We have a duty, as Jack said, to remember the sacrifices he, my father and all veterans have made, including those who paid the supreme sacrifice, so that we can live in a peaceful, democratic society.”

Donations raised by the Poppy Campaign help support programs run by the Royal Canadian Legion that provide aid to the veterans of Canada’s conflicts and their families.

Poppies are worn from the last Friday in October to Remembrance Day as a visual pledge to never forget those who sacrificed for our freedom, the Legion’s website says.

The website also says a poppy should be worn on the left side, over the heart, and because it is a sacred symbol of remembrance, it should not be affixed with any pin that obstructs the poppy.