A special tribute Saturday to a hero laid to rest in Windsor leading up to Remembrance Day.
Ernest S. Wigle was born in Kingsville in 1859. He was awarded the Victorian Decoration for his military service in WWI and would go on to serve two-terms as Windsor's mayor from 1905 to 1909 and again from 1937 to 1938.
Ross Wigle is the great grandson of the WWI Veteran who served as lieutenant-colonel for the 18th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Wigle tells CTV Windsor he's honoured to represent the family at a ceremony that saw a great man's gravestone decorated at the Windsor Grove Cemetery.
"They gave their lives so that we might be able to have freedom and what people have to do today is remember that they enjoy the freedoms we have today because of men like this," he says. "As a descendant of my great grandfather, I'm very proud of his accomplishments and what he did for Canada in taking 1,100 men to the First World War, it was quite an accomplishment."
The sacrifice of those in the world's great conflicts can be honoured by simply exercising the right to vote, is a message Wigle hopes people walk away with.
"These men gave so that we could have freedom and democracy today," he says. "People should always get out and vote because if you don't vote you're showing disrespect to what these men gave for you."
Wigle would also serve as the honorary colonel of the Essex Tank Regiment during WWII.
— with files from CTV Windsor's Ricardo Veneza