|
 This
is a photograph of a cairn and the other of some of our members paying
tribute and showing some of the Arakan jungle look in the background. It
is beautifully situated on Vancouver Island, close to the city of Duncan.
Even so it is rather remote and was chosen because of the similarity of
terrain found in Arakan in Burma. A river runs close by and this Arakan
Park as it is know, is itself within the boundaries of a large Provincial
Park.
The upper inscription is the
traditional and well loved "Kohima Epitaph" and the middle
inscription which we chose reads as follows:
"Through this stone you touch the hearts of those who gave their
lives for our freedom."
I think this is a very
memorable verse, and reading it in such a setting sends shivers through
me.
The lower engravings
simply informs people that the British Columbia Branch had this
monument erected plus the date of dedication.
It is frequented by
fishermen, campers and hikers and because of this our Branches approached
the Parks Board for permission to erect a roofed information board. This
was done and we all gathered there to dedicate it. One side of the board
depicts maps of some of the fighting areas of Burma and the reverse side
is a subdued graphic of a Dakota on the ground with an army patrol
marching beneath it's nose. Overlaid on this graphic is a list of all
members of our two branches since their inception. |
