Remembrance Knows No Borders

November 9, 2026

An assembly in Airdrie, Alberta, helps Italian students honor Canadian soldiers buried in Cassino

By Megan Stibley

November 9, 2026

Poppies and Canadian flags adorn soldiers’ graves at Cassino War Cemetery in Italy, with the rebuilt Abbey of Monte Cassino in the background. (Photo by Pino Valente)

At 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2025, silence fell over Cassino War Cemetery in Italy as about 150 students from local schools laid red poppies at the graves of soldiers who died during World War II. More than 4,200 Commonwealth servicemen are buried there, including 855 Canadians.

The remembrance was organized by the Cassino Red Poppy Association, which educates students about the Battle of Monte Cassino. Fought between January and May 1944, the battle consisted of four Allied assaults to break through German defenses and advance toward Rome. The battle also resulted in the destruction of the historic abbey founded by St. Benedict of Nursia in 529.

The association began organizing poppy commemorations in May 2021 and working with local schools in 2023. At the November 2025 ceremony, older students guided their younger peers in honoring the fallen, with help from Sir Knight John G. Timmermans Assembly 2632 in Airdrie, Alberta.

“Watching the young kids [walk] around the cemetery and lay poppies at each grave — it was touching to look at,” said Mike Drewniak, a past faithful navigator of Assembly 2632 and former district master, who watched the ceremony on video. “There was no talking, no noise, just silent remembrance.”

The assembly had arranged for 250 poppies to be sent to Cassino. Seeing the students honor the fallen encouraged Drewniak to deepen the Knights’ involvement in 2026.

ANSWERING A CALL FROM CASSINO

In October 2025, Drewniak was scrolling through a Facebook page about the Battle of Monte Cassino. He often visited the page because his father, Jan, was a Polish soldier who fought and was wounded in the battle.

Drewniak came across a post from Pino Valente, president of the Cassino Red Poppy Association, asking people in Commonwealth countries to donate poppies, crosses or flags.

Mike Drewniak (left) delivers poppies and Canadian flags to Pino Valente on May 7, 2026. — Mike Drewniak (left), a former district master and past faithful navigator of Sir Knight John G. Timmermans Assembly 2632 in Airdrie, Alberta, delivers poppies and Canadian flags to Pino Valente, president of the Cassino Red Poppy Association, on May 7, 2026.

“If we really want to honor these soldiers properly, the gesture couldn’t just be local — it needed to come from their own countries as well,” Valente said. “This international outreach is our way of rebuilding the bridge of the soldiers to their families.”

With 855 Canadians buried at Cassino War Cemetery, Drewniak saw an opportunity to put the Fourth Degree’s principle of patriotism into action. He approached Faithful Navigator Bryan Coey about the assembly’s participation.

“As Knights, we cannot just say we’re patriotic, we need to act on that patriotism,” Drewniak said. “This was a special request I knew we could answer.”

Coey, a member of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 288 in Airdrie, welcomed the opportunity.

“I have a family history of military involvement, so honoring the fallen has always been part of my makeup,” said Coey, a retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer whose grandfather served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I. “It’s important to show our respect when we can and honor those who fought for us.”

He reached out to the branch’s president, asking for 100 poppies. The branch donated 250.

“Providing honor to our Canadian dead overseas is something that both the legion and Knights are proud and appreciative to play a part in,” Coey said. “It’s important that we take the time to care for and honor them.”

Within a week of finding the Facebook post, Drewniak contacted Valente and arranged for the 250 poppies to be sent. They arrived in Cassino on Oct. 31, 2025, in time for Remembrance Day. Drewniak also told Valente about his personal connection to the association’s mission.

“Mike was the very first to answer our call, which meant everything,” Valente said. “Knowing the history of his own father made it feel like more than just generosity. It felt like the story closing a circle, in a way none of us could have planned.”

On Nov. 1, 2025, Valente visited the Polish war cemetery at Monte Cassino and laid a poppy in remembrance of Drewniak’s father and all Polish soldiers.

“I shared my father’s memoirs with him, so it was an honor for him to go there and pay respect to my father and all Polish soldiers in that way,” Drewniak said.

‘WHEREVER THEY ARE IN THE WORLD’

The assembly did not want its 2025 contribution to be a one-time effort.

A student places a poppy at the grave of a Canadian soldier at Cassino War Cemetery in Italy on Remembrance Day. — A student places a poppy at the grave of a Canadian soldier at Cassino War Cemetery in Italy on Remembrance Day, Nov. 11, 2025.

When Coey and Drewniak approached the Legion branch again in 2026, they were overwhelmed by its offer of 1,000 poppies for the Canadian graves and in remembrance of soldiers with no known grave.

Drewniak also approached local Member of Parliament Blake Richards, whose constituency office donated 855 miniature Canadian flags to be placed at the graves.

“We cannot just honor the Canadian soldiers buried in Canada,” Drewniak said. “We have to keep showing our respects to our fallen Canadian soldiers wherever they are in the world.”

While traveling to Italy for a cousin’s wedding, Drewniak visited Cassino on May 7, 2026, and personally delivered the 1,000 artificial poppies and 855 flags to Valente for this year’s Remembrance Day commemoration.

During the trip, Drewniak visited Cassino War Cemetery with two visitors from the United Kingdom whose fathers had fought in World War II.

“Through the Cassino Red Poppy Association, Valente is truly looking after every soldier involved in the battle, regardless of country,” Drewniak said. “All the soldiers are respected. The whole crux of this mission is how the citizens of Cassino are honoring all fallen soldiers.”

Citizens of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and India, among others, have also answered the call to donate poppies in honor of the fallen soldiers from their countries.

Pino Valente helps a child place a poppy at the grave of a Canadian soldier at Cassino War Cemetery in Italy. — Pino Valente, president of the Cassino Red Poppy Association, helps a child place a poppy at the grave of a Canadian soldier at Cassino War Cemetery in Italy.

“This international participation confirmed something we’d hoped was true: that this memory doesn’t belong only to Cassino,” Valente said. “These soldiers are still remembered, and their countries care enough to reach across the distance.”

Assembly 2632 has long participated in Canada Day parades and Remembrance Day ceremonies. It also organizes food drives for veterans, a parish barbecue for Canada Day and an annual Blue Mass.

“Most of the memorials our assembly has attended in the past have been centered around soldiers in the Airdrie area, which is important. This project, however, made me realize patriotism isn’t always rooted in the country where you live,” Drewniak said. “The K of C is an international organization, and sometimes pride in one’s homeland is reflected in the sacrifices made by people from other nations.”

Drewniak encourages Knights to participate in patriotic events, whether organized by a council or assembly, a local group or an international organization.

“The invitation that Pino extended, it was an appeal to everyone to dive deeper into history and act on our patriotism,” Drewniak said. “We need to support these patriotic opportunities when they come our way.”

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MEGAN STIBLEY is associate editor of Columbia.