The Square is guarded today by a veteran army with flags. Medals glisten on the shoulders of women and men. On some, the row of medals span their narrow shoulders. Now it has been replaced by the bicoloured Maple Leaf. But there are still Red Ensigns around the Cenotaph today.
Clarinets take the second verse, Trumpets the third and so on.
The Loudspeaker announces that after the official wreath- laying party is finished it will be permissible for anyone else with wreathes to approach the Cenotaph. One of the unofficial wreathes is laid on behalf of a very strange-looking group, who also march in the parade. Dressed in dress suits or T-Shirts or battle fatigues are a group of Canadians who served in the American Army in the War in Vietnam. Now, their requests for pensions brushed off by American authorities, and lacking any recognition in Canada at all, they are using this moment to remind us and each other that they exist. When the last group passes it is time to head for the bus.