'These were people just like us who lived here': Nanaimo remembers veterans with new video

Lest we forget.

The oft repeated phrase during the lead-up to Remembrance Dayis meantto remind us of the servicemen and women who devoted their lives to Canada during times of conflict such as the First and Second World Wars.

But a Victoria-based history professor wants to take the honouring of war veterans astep further. He says that while the names of men and women who served are commemoratedon monuments and during remembrance ceremonies, they move out of living memory over time to become mere names on a plinth.

"Being a century separated from World War 1, we have this collection of abstract names that we mourn every year, but we really know nothing about them," saidStephen Davies, a Vancouver Island University professor and the director of the Canadian Letters and Images Project.

"We're trying to put back some of that life who they wereand their connection to the community."

Not just statistics

To that end, Davies and a his team of historianscreated Nanaimo Remembers, a video that showcases the lives of the 200 fallen soldiers on the Dallas Square Cenotaph at the city's waterfront.

The video shows the names of the fallen, alongwith whatever information the historians could gather: the fallen soldiers' profession, rank, cause of death, age, final resting place and their connection to Nanaimo.

"Remembering them as members of the community and for what they gave us, rather than just names carved in stone and abstract statistics from the past."

Davies hopes that his team will be able to gather more information on each service person, as well as photosand use the the materials to form a comprehensive database of veterans.

Private Duncan Johnson of the 72ndBattalion lived on Nicole Street in Nanaimo. He was a miner and died in September of 1918 when he was 27. He was buried in France.

Private Robert Honeymanwas a carpenterwho lived on Wesley Street. He served with the 13thCanadian Force Ambulance and was killed in battle in September of 1918. He was buried in France when he was 19.

These simple facts make the remembrance all the more real, said Davies.

"When we talk about statistics, the individualsoften get lost in there. These were people just like us who lived here."

With files from On the Island