Honouring the Past: The Unveiling of “Maintain Our Memories”
On November 9, 2025, following the RCMP Veterans’ Week Commemorative Service at the RCMP National Memorial Cemetery at Beechwood, a new and meaningful project was unveiled - RCMP Graves: “Maintain Our Memories.” This initiative stands as a living act of remembrance, ensuring that every member of the Force, past and present, is honoured, remembered, and never forgotten.
The project was inspired by the tireless work of RCMP Superintendent (Ret’d) Joseph Healy, a native of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, whose thirty-six-year career in the RCMP spanned the globe. After retiring in 2001, he turned his dedication toward preserving the memory of his fellow Mounties through the RCMP Graves Inspection and Maintenance Program.
What began as one man’s mission to locate and document unmarked or forgotten graves evolved into a national effort of remembrance. Superintendent Healy discovered that many RCMP graves were missing headstones, were in disrepair, or were not formally recorded. In response, he developed a groundbreaking online resource, the RCMP National Grave Discovery Database and History Website. This searchable archive, accessible at rcmpgraves.com, now contains over 80,000 member records and interment locations across Canada and around the world.
From his home, affectionately known as “Fort Healy,” and with the steadfast support of his wife Cathy, Superintendent Healy leads a dedicated group of volunteers, veterans, serving members, families, and citizens, who share his passion for remembrance. Their collective efforts ensure that the graves of RCMP members dating back to the North-West Mounted Police of 1873 are properly recorded, maintained, and honoured.
The database not only safeguards locations and records but also tells the stories behind each name. Every entry represents a life lived in service, from the dusty trails of the early Mounted Police to the modern missions of the RCMP. Visitors to the site can learn about individual careers, view photographs, and discover personal histories that span more than 150 years of national service.
The unveiling of “Maintain Our Memories” during Veterans’ Week was both symbolic and timely. Just as the Act of Remembrance at Beechwood reminds Canadians to honour those who served, this initiative transforms that promise into daily action, preserving the identities, stories, and sacrifices of those who wore the uniform. Superintendent Healy’s lifelong commitment was recognized earlier this year with the King Charles III Coronation Medal, acknowledging his remarkable contribution to the RCMP and to Canada’s collective memory. His work exemplifies what remembrance truly means: not just recalling the past, but safeguarding it for the future.
Through “Maintain Our Memories,” the RCMP community continues to live its motto, Maintiens le droit, in a new way: by upholding the right to remembrance. This project ensures that the men and women of the Force are never reduced to forgotten names on fading stones but remain part of Canada’s living history.
At Beechwood, the National Cemetery of Canada, where the RCMP’s legacy stands alongside that of the nation it serves, “Maintain Our Memories” reaffirms a simple, powerful truth: remembrance is not a single day, it is a responsibility carried forward.