iN NUMBERS: Remembering veterans in Kamloops and the Okanagan

The sacrifices of veterans can’t be properly quantified or reduced to numbers.

But, we compiled some numbers anyway to remind us of how many people made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our democracy. 

Here are the numbers:

• 710: Men from Vernon enlisted into the First World War, which was more than 20 per cent of the city’s population at the time.
• 19: German soldiers were captured single-handedly by Indigenous Okanagan war hero Private George McLean. 
• 13: Chinese Canadian soldiers trained as commandos on Okanagan Lake for a special mission dubbed Operation Oblivion.
• 1: Woman from Kelowna, Catherine McMillan, lost three sons in the First World War, John, Leonard and Neil McMillan. 
• 1: Name on the Kamloops Cenotaph for the War in Afghanistan to remember Master Corporal Erin M. Doyle who died in 2008.
• 16: Battles fought by soldiers from Kelowna are listed on the Kelowna Cenotaph. 
• 19: War memorials are spread out through the Okanagan from Armstrong to Osoyoos.
• 2,213: Veterans live in the Kelowna area, including the RCMP and Canadian Armed Forces, according to 2021 Census data.
• 3,044: Veterans live in the Penticton area, including the RCMP and Canadian Armed Forces,  according to 2021 Census data.
• 240: Names are on the Kelowna Cenotaph remember those who died in the First World War, Second World War and the Korean War.
• 135: Names are on the Penticton Cenotaph remember soldiers who died in the First and Second World Wars.
• 282: Names on the Kamloops Cenotaph remember soldiers who died in the First and Second World Wars.
• 204: Names on the Vernon Cenotaph remember soldiers who died in the First and Second World Wars.