Ocean Falls residents and members of a BC Ferries crew gathered in ceremony as four veteran headstones were replaced in September.
Once a thriving mill town, today Ocean Falls has a population of about 50 people, and relies on ferry rides as one of the main modes of transportation in and out of the community.
Paul Dexter is the chief steward of the BC Ferries Northern Seawolf which provides regular service to Ocean Falls, along with other small communities like Bella Bella and Shearwater. Dexter and his crew wanted to do “something good” for the communities they visit, and the crew’s chief engineer Jamie Neil had the idea of replacing unmarked graves of veterans.
“It ended up blooming into something very nice,” Dexter told the Tribune in an interview.
In July 2023, Dexter reached out to the national office of the Last Post Fund (LPF), seeking help replacing the headstones in Ocean Falls. He was put in touch with Ted Usher, president of the Last Post Fund BC Branch who was coincidentally doing research on the Ocean Falls cemetery.
Usher is one of many volunteers with the Last Post Fund who does research to find and replace veteran headstones that have become illegible over time. When the Seawolf next docked in Ocean Falls, Dexter and Neil visited the cemetery with a map and the list of veterans Usher had found.
“When we found it, Jamie and I were high-fiving in the cemetery,” Dexter said.
They identified four veterans’ graves with headstones which deteriorated beyond recognition. All four veterans served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War.
Private Oscar Breault (1895-1922) was born in East Angue, Quebec and in 1918 joined the 1st Depot Battalion, British Columbia Regiment. He commenced training but was unable to complete it due to a medical condition. He died as a result of an accidental drowning near Ocean Falls.
Private William Robert Bruce (1884-1934) was born in Invermere, Scotland and served in France. He was part of the 102nd Battalion from January 1916 to February 1919.
Private William Hawthorne (1888-1944) was born in Belfast, Ireland and served with the 152nd Battalion from February 1916 until February 1918 when he was wounded in action in France.
Private Donald Alexander Robinson (1896-1943) was born in Plumas, Manitoba and served in the 2nd Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps from August 1915 to May 1919 and served in France. He died as a crew member aboard a ship which capsized near Langara Island, just off Haida Gwaii.
Dexter and Neil raised funds to replace the veterans’ headstones by selling raffle tickets to Ocean Falls residents, BC Ferries staff and people across B.C. The LPF also provides funding to replace veteran headstones, but it can take years as they get lots of applications and retirement was approaching for Neil and Dexter who wanted to witness the refurbishing.
Dexter and Neil sold all 2,500 of their raffle tickets and on Sept. 16 of this year a ceremony was held in honour of the veterans and their new headstones. The ceremony was attended by local villagers along with several crew members of the BC Ferry Northern Seawolf. Amazing Grace was played and a representative of the Royal Canadian Legion Bella Bella Branch, Ron Richards spoke about the four Veterans and their service.
“It felt really gratifying giving back to the community,” Dexter said. He wasn’t able to make it to the ceremony, but said he called his coworkers afterwards who were all in tears.
“I was very proud to have been a part of it,” Usher said. No matter how long they served, Usher said veterans deserve to be respected and should be honoured.
“This is our way of thanking them for what they did."
With files from Ted Usher.
