OTTAWA, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- With only three Canadian World War I veterans still alive, a historical group is pushing for a state funeral for the last to die.
The Dominion Institute says the ceremony would honor all the 619,636 Canadians who served in the 1914-1918 war, and the 66,655 who were killed. The group began an online petition Monday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reports.
Rudyard Griffiths, the director of the institute, said that when Clarence Laking, the last surviving veteran who actually saw combat in the war died, the only tributes were newspaper stories.
"Let's not let the last Great War veteran pass on without a proper, solemn commemoration of their contribution and all of those who served with them," he said.
The remaining veterans are Percy Wilson, 105, and Lloyd Clemett and John Babcock, both 106.
