(PHOTO: A bagpiper plays in front of a backlt Remembrance Day display in front of Dennis Burton’s home on Flewellyn Road.)
Dennis Burton is a Navy veteran who served Canada for 21 years. For him, Remembrance Day is as much about fallen soldiers as it is about the veterans who came back, and continue to struggle with injuries and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) long after their career has ended.
“I want to remember the ones that actually stood up to the plate and did something. Not that they were forced to, but they wanted to and volunteered to do better for their country, for their community,” he says. “It’s to remember them, and remember the ones who struggle with PTSD and don’t know how to deal with the situation.”
Every night at 6:30pm leading up to Remembrance Day, he’s showing a video on a 10-foot projection screen in front of his home at 6702 Flewellyn Road (just west of Black’s Side Road). It’s a video that he created to honour his colleagues and raise awareness for veterans who struggle with mental illness and disability.
Thank you for creating this moving #monument. Take a drive by #FlewellynRoad #Stittsville. #WeWillRememberThem @StittsCentral 🇨🇦🕊 pic.twitter.com/QduWX4bnMZ
— Valerie Schock (@VSchock) November 3, 2017
He’s inviting the public to visit and watch. (A group of Cub Scouts will be dropping by on Thursday evening.) He says he’s been overwhelmed by the response of people who’ve visited, and on comments he’s received through his Facebook page.
“It’s outstanding. people have been stopping by the road, taking pictures, people have been PMing me, thanking me for this, and they don’t know my background,” he says.
“This is for remembering all the people who have passed, the serving members, the veterans who are with us and struggling,” he says. “There are veterans who are having a difficult time in their personal lives. There are some vets who can’t get a job because of issues that they currently have.”
Burton wants to remind people to thank a veteran on Remembrance Day: “Don’t be afraid when you see someone in a Legion, or in a uniform anywhere, just go up and say thanks. That’s all that it takes.”

Dennis Burton’s Remembrance Day video presentations happen nightly starting at 6:30pm. The video includes music and is projected on a 10-foot canvas in front of his home at 6702 Flewellyn Road. The last night for the videos is on Saturday, November 11. For more information visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/372335286521968/