Yukoners in France to mark Vimy Ridge centennial

A century after nearly 3,600 Canadian soldiers died at Vimy Ridge, their sacrifice will be remembered Sunday at a commemorative ceremony in France with a number of Yukonersjoining the crowd.

"It's going to be very overwhelming, in many respects," said Yukon Senator Dan Lang, one of three Canadian Senators selected to go to the event at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.

"It gives you a real sense of the commitment that Canada made, and the sacrifices that people made on our behalf."

Langhas already visited the grave this weekof a Yukon prospectorwho died in the Battle of Vimy Ridge HerbertLawless.

• PHOTOS | Blank pages in the history book: Yukon during the First World War

Lawless was born in Ontario, but enlisted in Yukon in 1914. He was killed during the taking of the highest point on Vimy Ridge on April 11, 2017, aged 44.He's buried at the Cabaret-Rouge British cemetery, in France.

"It certainly brings it home to you when you actually are there, and you can see a tombstone where a fellow Canadian gave his life during World War One," Lang said.

Other Yukonersare also expected to visit Lawless' grave this weekend, including a couple from Dawson City who will lay a wreath on behalf of the Dawson Legion.

Sasha Emery, a 14-year-old Whitehorse student, will also be at the Vimy memorial on Sunday, as part of the Vimy Foundation ambassador program. Seventeenstudents were selectedto take part, and Emery is the only one from the territories.

Emery's great-great-grandfather fought at Vimy, so she expects the commemorative ceremony to be "a bit more, like, sentimental to me.

"I really wanted to go see where he fought, and walk where he walked, 100 years ago," she said.

For Lang, it's important that young people like Emery"take some time and reflect on what's happened in the past, because that's why we're able to have the life we lead today because of the sacrifices they made.

"You have to remember your past in order to go into the future," he said.