This Newfoundland couple share a special connection to Newfoundland's Unknown Soldier

While love and friendship has powered Betty and Dennis Shaw's marriage for 46 years, they recently found out it wasn't their only point of connection.

Both of the spouses had great-uncles who served in the Newfoundland Regiment in the First World War, and their relatives may have known each other. Now, the Shaws are wondering if the Unknown Soldier might be one of their relatives.

Betty and Dennis found out about their great-uncle's potential crossing of paths through Ancestry. They continued their research at The Rooms in St. John's, which offered detailed reports of their great-uncles' service in the Regiment.

"Both our great-uncles, coming from different parts of Newfoundland, were in the same contingent fighting in the same battle and died on the exact same day in the same battle," Betty Shaw told CBC's On The Go.

Betty Shaw's great-uncle was Sergeant Patrick Beson from Joe Batt's Arm, Fogo Island, while Dennis' great-uncle was Private Herbert Denty from Traytown. Beson and Denty were both entitled to a British War Medal and the Victory Medal, but they were killed during the fighting at Monchy-le-Preux on April 17, 1917.

The Shaws said the bodies of their great uncles were never found.

On Friday, they paid their respects to the Unknown Solider at Confederation Building. The Shaws said they can't help but think the Unknown Soldier could be one of their great-uncles.

"It could be him in that casket or her great-uncle," Dennis said. "That's quite emotional."

Perry Grandy is a veteran and a co-master of ceremonies for the Memorial Day service on July 1. He says the significance of the Unknown Soldier is precisely that it could be anyone's relative.

"Beaumont Hamel has about 820 names of lost soldiers and sailors from Newfoundland," Grandy said, referring to the he Caribou monuments in Beaumont-Hamel and Bowring Park, which list the names of Newfoundlanders who died without a known grave.

"It could be that soldier is one of those names, and as this couple has mentioned it could be their relative, their family," Grandy said. "It hits home fully."

Grandy also went to Confederation Building on Friday to pay his respects to the Unknown Soldier, knowing firsthand the sacrifice it takes to serve in the armed forces.

"They literally gave their best years of their life so we could have ours today," Grandy said.

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