Unknown soldier finally laid to rest

Hundreds in St. John’s pay tribute to serviceman who died in First World War

- SARAH SMELLIE

ST. JOHN’S , N.L. Hundreds of people filled the downtown streets in Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital city on Monday to pay their respects to a soldier from the First World War who died on the battlefields of France and has finally returned home.

The unknown Newfoundland soldier was lowered into a black granite tomb at around 11 a.m. local time at the National War Memorial in St. John’s. N.L. The morning was grey and wet, but the rain stopped for the soldier’s reinterment, which was proceeded by a powerful performance of the “Ode to Newfoundland.”

As members of the Royal Canadian Armed Forces gently lay a temporary cover over the soldier’s final resting place, more than 100 years after he was killed, the skies opened up again.