REGINA – Two fallen Mounties who died more than a century apart were honoured during the RCMP’s national memorial service Sunday.
Families and RCMP members in red serge stood solemnly by as the names of Constables George Johnston and James Lundblad were added to the cenotaph and memorial wall at the force’s training academy in Regina.
Lundblad died in May after his vehicle was hit by a grain truck while he was on a speed enforcement operation near Millet, Alta.
Johnston was accidentally shot in the chest when a colleague’s rifle went off in May 1882 at Fort Walsh.
But the cenotaph and memorial wall didn’t exist at the time and historical additions weren’t allowed until two years ago, making Johnston’s name one of the oldest to be etched in stone.
RCMP Commissioner William Elliot says it’s a shame it’s taken so long to add Johnston’s name to the cenotaph, calling it an appropriate move, even after 127 years.
