THE Guyana Legion Sunday hosted at its headquarters at Coghlan House, Carifesta Avenue, its annual observance to mark Remembrance Day and to pay homage to those who lost their lives in  World Wars 1 and 11, and conflicts after the Great Wars, and those who continue to do so today.

At the reception, the umbrella body of World War veterans and other ex- servicemen was able to raise more than $2.2M in support of its cause, and this included a pledge of $1M made by President Donald Ramotar who was in attendance at the reception.
Also in attendance were Minister of Public Works Robeson Benn; President of the Guyana Legion, retired Colonel Carl Morgan; Chief-of-Staff, Guyana Defence Force, Commodore Gary Best; and British High Commissioner Andrew Ayre.
President Ramotar, addressing guests at the reception, said that he had the opportunity to visit some of the countries that were afflicted by wars and see the horrors that the wars produced.
“I have a very good idea of the destruction that wars cause on human beings and on human society; and these are the things that we have to continue to fight against in our lifetime” the President declared.
He said, “…we cannot therefore, ever say enough thanks and gratitude to those who participated, those who survived…to pay homage to them for the tremendous sacrifices that they must have made in real terrible conflict and terrible times.”
The president stated that one of the positives that had  emerged from those terrible times was ‘hope’ that led to the establishment of institutions such as the United Nations, which is 67 years old; and vindication of its existence is the fact that during this period, there has been ‘no total world war.’
There has, however, been local wars and conflicts, he said, and he called on everyone to play a part in bringing these to an end. “As part of the war on community, we have a job to try to contribute to keeping peace in the world,’ the president said.
He noted that keeping the peace is important because the world, and more so, Guyana, will not be able to “realise our aspiration to build a strong, healthy economy, a strong social service, where all our people can be equal and all our people can enjoy the fruits of their labour.”
He warned that the world is so interconnected today that it is impossible to think about development in isolation.  “All our prosperity, our aspirations, are linked with each other,’ he said.
President Ramotar said that for a small, developing country, Guyana needs to have a big interest in having peace throughout the world, and it is for this reason that Guyana has been orienting its foreign policy and promoting its diplomacy towards peace and to preserve peace and safeguard its democracy.
The Chief-of-Staff, in his brief remarks, stated, that “as serving and former members, military men and women, we understand the risk of war. We feel however, that the pride and distinction of service to one’s country outweigh those very risks.”
Commodore Best said that most have not had the experience of war, or the emotional damage that it inflicts on loved ones, or the greater grief of separation made permanent.
He stated that Remembrance Day should be therefore a time for persons to “develop a deeper understanding of vital contributions veterans make and continue to make to the development of Guyana.”
He called, therefore, for citizens to provide and maintain services to all veterans.
The British High Commissioner said that the fallen heroes had his deepest respect and gratitude for the contributions they would have made in making the world a better place.
He paid particular tribute to the Guyanese soldiers who fought alongside the armed forces of the United Kingdom in the two World Wars.
“Without the support and partnership of  Guyana and other Commonwealth countries, the world we live in would be very different and our shared values of democracy, accountability, tolerance, human dignity, respect and the value of service might have been lost forever,”. Mr Ayre stated.
Among other donations made at the reception include those of Commodore Best on behalf of the Guyana Defence Force and himself. The GDF Chief-of-Staff pledged $500,000 on behalf of the agency, and made a personal pledge of $150,000. Dr Jose Da Silva of Modern Optical Services pledged $100,000 and there were other individuals who made smaller contributions to the total.
During the reception, prizes were also handed out for winners and runner-up of the Legion’s annual Remembrance Quiz, which was sponsored by Digicel. The competition involved eight secondary schools and questions selected were based  on topics surrounding World Wars 1 and 11.
President Ramotar had earlier in the morning attended the wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph, on Church Street and Avenue of the Republic.