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UPDATED: Touching note left on Langley veteran’s windshield

A veteran hopes the writers of a note know how much he was touched by their kind words. They do.
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Lloyd Reynard came out from having brunch with friends on Remembrance Day to find a note on his vehicle.

The local man who had served in the navy had attended Remembrance Day services at the Murrayville cenotaph then met with friends.

When he saw something tucked under his windshield wiper, he expected it was something negative.

“We thought it was ‘don’t park here’,” he said with a chuckle.

Instead what he found was a card thanking him for his service.

The simple gesture from complete strangers made this former navy radar spotter choke up.

“It was touching, that somebody would take the time to do this,” Reynard said. “This is just a random act of kindness.”

His vehicle has veteran’s licence plates. He figures that’s why it was chosen.

It was indeed.

Reynard was one of about 15 veterans in Langley who received a note that day from David and Kim Torgerson, and their two adult children, Wade and Tasia.

It’s a family tradition that started about 15 years ago.

The Torgerson children had attended a service at Alice Brown Elementary and were starting to understand a little about Remembrance Day. But when Nov. 11 rolled around, they thought of the day as nothing more than a vacation from school, recounted Dad.

“So, we asked them ‘Why do you guys think you should get a holiday because these poor, brave men basically gave their lives for the way that we live?’”

The Brookswood family devised a plan, which they’ve kept alive all these years.

They print up anywhere from 10 to 15 customized appreciation notes saying “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for our country. And we’ll never, ever forget you. Love from the Torgerson Family.”

This year, David said, they had to improvise because their printer crashed just as they started the project. Nevertheless, they wouldn’t be deterred. They hit a dollar store and picked up a dozen or so thank-you cards and hand wrote messages of thanks around the breakfast table.

Then, for about two hours – like they do every Nov. 11 – the family loads into the car and drove around town, hitting suspected veteran haunts such as the Army & Navy, Walmart, and local restaurants.

When they spotted a veteran plate, they stopped and leave a note. If it was raining, they put the note in a Ziploc bags to keep it dry.

“The kids really embraced it,” David shared, noting they still come together (even though the kids are now 21 and 23), and take a few hours on Remembrance Day to give thanks in this method.

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A special day

Receiving one of these notes capped off a touching day for Reynard.

Reynard, now a member of the Royal Canadian Legion, served in the navy from the early 1960s until 1966. As a radar spotter, he worked mainly in the North Atlantic, based out of Halifax.

“I was aboard Canada’s only aircraft carrier at the time, which was the Bonaventure,” he explained.

Reynard had been asked to unveil a new plaque at the Murrayville cemetery detailing the local impacts of the First World War.

He had been asked by the volunteer organizing committee of the Murrayville ceremony to participate.

He started going to Murrayville’s cenotaph because it as a quiet spot on Nov. 11. Other local cenotaphs attracted big crowds for the ceremonies.

“I went to the Murrayville cemetery two years ago, because I found it difficult to go into Aldergrove or downtown [Langley City],” he said.

Just a few years ago, a handful of people were at the cenotaph on Nov. 11. Then last year a volunteer group of local citizens organized a service that attracted hundreds of people, and Reynard found it difficult to navigate the cemetery.

So he wrote to the organizers, offering suggestions on how to improve parking, particularly for veterans and the disabled.

That connected him with committee member Grace Muller, who approached him this year about doing the unveiling honours because he was a military veteran.

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Touching message

Reynard contacted the local newspaper about the simple yet meaningful gesture in case it allowed the family who left the note to see how much it was appreciated.

Torgerson said the message has been received.

Hearing indirectly from one of the recipients helps rekindle his family’s motivation to do what they do.

In fact, 10 years ago, one of the recipient of a Torgerson note tracked the family down through the phone book and showed up on their doorstep to express his gratitude.

“He actually came to my address and thanked me personally. That meant a lot to all the kids. That was really, really actually kind of cool,” David said.

“The kids are older, but we do it anyway,” Dad added.

“It just makes us all feel good… and we’ll do it ’til the day we die, I guess – or until we can’t find any veterans plates. And I’m telling you, it’s kind of sad, but they’re getting harder and harder to find.”

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A note signed by a family was found on the windshield of veteran Lloyd Reynard. (Special to the Langley Advance)