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New Certificate of Recognition to Honour Canadian Veterans of the Korean War • All Canadian Veterans of the Korean War are eligible for this special Certificate of Recognition. • If you, or someone you know served in the Korean War, you can apply for a Certificate of Recognition at veterans.gc.ca/Korea or call 1-866-522-2122. During the Korean War, more than 26,000 Canadian men and women served to uphold the values of freedom, democracy and the rule of law. In all, 516 Canadians gave their lives in service during the Korean War.

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LEGIONMAGAZINE.COM

FEATURES 26

MILITARY

HISTORY IN PERSPECTIVE

THE CORK IN THE BOTTLE:

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Canadians And Poles At The Falaise Gap By Terry Copp

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THE WOLF PACK ATTACKS: The Battle For One World War Two Convoy By Marc Milner

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KILLING MiGs IN KOREA By Hugh A. Halliday

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ON THE BRINK:

The Downing Of KAL 007 By J.L. Granatstein

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The Story Of Canada’s Female Surveillance Force By Kevin Doucette

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Part 35: The Aleutians By John Boileau

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SURRENDERING AT ST. LAMBERT-SUR-DIVES, AUGUST 1944

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PHOTO: DONALD I. GRANT, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA111565

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With pistol in hand, Major David Currie (second from left) of the South Alberta Regiment talks to what could be a member of the French underground as German troops surrender at St. Lambertsur-Dives, France, Aug. 19, 1944. Currie was awarded the Victoria Cross for his leadership during action at the village. Colonel C.P. Stacey, who wrote the Official History of the Canadian Army in the Second World War, noted that the photograph “is as close as we are ever likely to come to a photograph of a man winning the Victoria Cross.” PAGE 26

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WAR OF 1812

ON THIS

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OCTOBER PAGE 6 NEWS

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Alberta–Northwest Territories Convention

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New Veterans Affairs Minister Appointed

Prince Edward Island Convention

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New Brunswick Comes Through In Eight-Ball Championship

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Bike Ride Pays Tribute To Fallen Soldier

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Member Benefits Package: Who’s In And Who’s Out

Then & Now

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Korean War Veterans Day Established

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See Terry Copp’s Canadian Military History In Perspective feature on closing the Falaise Gap, page 26.

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VIEWS EDITORIAL

september | october 2013

Welcome Minister Fantino Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s mid-term cabinet shuffle ushered in Julian Fantino as minister of Veterans Affairs. He takes over from Steven Blaney who was promoted to minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. Elected to the House of Commons for the first time in November 2010—after a long policing career that included serving as chief of the Toronto Police Service and commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police—Fantino, 71, must know a lot about leadership and supporting those who serve on the front lines of law enforcement. In federal politics, he has been minister of state for Seniors, associate minister of National Defence and minister of International Co-operation. It is now time for him to show his mettle among Canada’s veterans, and this will be a challenge owing to the number of pressing issues his department faces. Fantino can be assured that veterans groups, including the largest one— The Royal Canadian Legion—will not only be watching, but pushing for changes that are long overdue. “On behalf of the more than 320,000 members of the… Legion, I am looking forward to making significant improvements in veterans’ services and programs with the…new minister of Veterans Affairs,” said Dominion President Gordon Moore following the announcement. With the mission in Afghanistan winding down, veterans are returning to Canada—many with injuries that are both physical and psychological. The New Veterans Charter has only been updated once since 2006. A thorough review of that legislation was expected this fall. It is hoped that Veterans Affairs will move on that without delay because the charter was meant to be a living document; one that would correct any deficiencies since its creation. And there are gaps. One example Moore points to is the urgent need to conduct a thorough review of the financial compensation package for those who have suffered injuries attributable to their service. The new Veterans Affairs minister will no doubt also be

aware that over the winter the Legion launched a successful letter-writing campaign that saw thousands of its members and other Canadians write to their members of Parliament demanding improvements to veterans’ funeral and burial benefits. The success of the Legion’s campaign was seen in the March federal budget when the maximum funeral benefit was raised from $3,600 to $7,376 and the government specifically directed that VAC work with the Legion. Two other issues raised in the letter-writing campaign have yet to be addressed. One has to do with the survivor estate exemption which has not been adjusted since it was reduced to $12,015 in 1995. The second recommends that eligibility for funeral and burial benefits be granted to lowincome Canadian Forces veterans. Action on these and other issues is needed now. The need for urgent action was made clear in mid-July, just three days after Fantino was handed the VAC portfolio. Speaking on behalf of veterans, including serving Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP members, Moore stated publicly that he was anticipating an early meeting with the minister. Fantino brings a lot of experience to the job. What remains to be seen is how much of an action man he will be at VAC. How well will he use his service experience to honour Canada’s commitment to its veterans and their spouses? How well will he get his voice in front of the more pressing issues identified by veterans groups and how well will he recognize that there is a liability issue for Canada when Canadians in uniform put their lives on the line? Canada has a good reputation when it comes to its commitment to veterans, but what was achieved in the past was not accomplished through complacency or resting on laurels. It was won through the smart, determined actions of veterans groups and the ministers who learned to listen to those concerns and act accordingly. Time—and Canada’s veterans groups—will tell how well that commitment is being met.

Finding Care As We Age Independent living—can there be any greater gift as we age? Sometimes living independently in your home is as simple as getting a little help. The newest partner in The Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) Member Benefits Package (MBP) is We Care Home Health Services. We Care is offering Legion members and their families a 10 per cent discount on everything from support for bathing and dressing, housekeeping, nursing services, pediatric care, live-in care, remote health monitoring, transportation to and from appointments and relief for family caregivers. For more information turn to page 9, visit the newest RCL MBP partner at www.wecare.ca or call 1-855-229-3227.

Legion members and their families also have other exclusive access to great offers and savings. Along with We Care there are 10 other partners offering discounts on products and services. These benefits can pay for Legion membership many times over. The other partners are: Premier Care in Bathing, Arbor Memorial Services Inc., Ancestry.ca, Dell Canada Inc., Connect Hearing, Medipac Travel Insurance, Home Hardware, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Philips Lifeline Canada and MBNA Canada Bank. Visit http://www. legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/member-benefitspackage/ or see page 8 for details. september/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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ON THIS

DATE OCTOBER

2 OCTOBER 1952 Three sailors are killed, 10 wounded when an enemy shell hits HMCS Iroquois off the east coast of Korea.

1 OCTOBER 1916 Second Lieutenant W.J. Tempest, a western Canadian immigrant, shoots down a Zeppelin over England. He is awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

3 OCTOBER 2006 While providing security for road reconstruction, two Canadian soldiers are killed and five wounded in an attack west of Kandahar, Afghanistan.

THE FACTS: PHOTO OF W.J. TEMPEST MOUNTED ON A FRAGMENT OF HIS PLANE’S PROPELLER.

11 OCTOBER 1899 The Boer War begins.

8 - 10 OCTOBER 1918 The 2nd Battle of Cambrai is relatively short, thanks to a “hurricane bombardment” by 324 tanks.

THE FACTS: 1899-1902; MARKED CANADA’S FIRST OFFICIAL DISPATCH OF TROOPS TO AN OVERSEAS WAR; FROM CANADA, MORE THAN 7,000 SERVED; MORE THAN 220 DIED.

15 - 17 OCTOBER 1970 The Canadian Army is ordered into Montreal at the height of the October Crisis. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau proclaims the War Measures Act. Hundreds are arrested and thousands searched. The body of Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte is discovered on Oct. 17.

25 OCTOBER 1854 During the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War, Canadianborn Lieutenant Alexander Roberts Dunn earns the Victoria Cross.

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18 OCTOBER 1929

19 OCTOBER 1945

An eight-year campaign to have women declared persons under the law seals the historic legacy of the Famous Five—Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Henrietta Muir Edwards.

The RCAF commences the first shipments of penicillin to fight tuberculosis in Poland.

20 OCTOBER 1903 Canadians on an international tribunal refuse to sign an award that settles a boundary dispute in favour of the United States, resulting in the Yukon losing direct coastal access to the Pacific and Alaska gaining a panhandle.

26 - 27 OCTOBER 1952 HMCS Crusader joins “The Trainbuster’s Club” as her gun crew successfully hits an enemy train emerging from a tunnel near Songjin, Korea. The next night, her gun crew destroys an entire train.

26 - 30 OCTOBER 1983 Following a multinational invasion on Grenada, Canadian Forces Hercules and 707 aircraft are deployed to evacuate Canadian nationals from the Caribbean island.

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FIRST WORLD WAR

1914 –1918

SECOND WORLD WAR

OCTOBER 1939–1945

KOREAN WAR

1950 –1953

5 OCTOBER 1984

6 OCTOBER 1944

Astronaut Marc Garneau becomes the first Canadian in space on board the space shuttle Challenger.

No. 6 (RCAF) Group makes its single largest contribution to Bomber Command, committing 293 aircraft to a raid on industrial and transportation targets in Germany’s Ruhr Valley.

4 OCTOBER 1957

7 OCTOBER 1918

The first Avro Arrow rolls out on the same day the Russians launch the satellite Sputnik.

12 OCTOBER 1957

13 OCTOBER 1812

It is announced that Lester B. Pearson will receive the Nobel Peace Prize for establishing a peacekeeping force during the 1956 Suez Crisis.

Major-General Sir Isaac Brock dies at the Battle of Queenston Heights.

14 OCTOBER 1918 A platoon of The Royal Newfoundland Regiment captures four machine guns, four field guns and eight prisoners during the Battle of Courtrai. One soldier, Private Thomas Ricketts is awarded the Victoria Cross.

22 OCTOBER 1940

21 OCTOBER 1916 During the Battle of Ancre Heights, Canadians briefly hold Regina Trench.

The Spanish Flu claims its first victim in Montreal. Overall, the pandemic kills approximately 50,000 Canadians and more than 21 million worldwide.

The first Distinguished Flying Cross to the RCAF is awarded to Squadron Leader Ernie McNab, commanding officer of No. 1 (Canadian) Fighter Squadron.

23 OCTOBER 1969 An explosion in the engine room of HMCS Kootenay (2nd) kills seven and injures 53. The ship was on a training exercise in the English Channel.

24 OCTOBER 1945 The United Nations Charter is ratified in Washington, D.C.

THE STORY OF THOMAS RICKETTS, VC, WILL BE INCLUDED IN LEGION MAGAZINE’S SPECIAL PUBLICATION ON CANADA AND THE VICTORIA CROSS. ON NEWSSTANDS THIS FALL.

September On This Date Events Visit our website legionmagazine.com The items will appear September 1. Here’s a taste of what to expect.

31 OCTOBER 1975 419 Squadron is formed at CFB Cold Lake, Alta.

3 SEPTEMBER 1943 The Allies invade mainland Italy by crossing the Strait of Messina and then landing near the town of Reggio Calabria.

PHOTOS & ILLUSTRATIONS: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA; CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM; DND; NASA; LEGION MAGAZINE ARCHIVES.

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Storylines

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hen we began publishing articles and photo essays to commemorate the bicentennial of the War of 1812 we were convinced that the war, while embedded in our history and our mythology, has remained largely forgotten in the attic—like a wobbly piece of antique Canadian furniture. Regardless of how much national interest there is in recalling the war during the bicentennial, Legion Magazine has steadily published stories that have helped to pull that furniture out of the attic. We have done so because we believe it is important to understand this part of Canadian and North American history, and have it passed on to younger generations. We now continue by going bigger with the War of 1812. Along with the magazine we’ve included a colour poster that illustrates 50 faces from the war and a 36-page bilingual booklet that places these same 50 faces within the context of the war.

september/october 2013 Some of the men and women described are well known while others have faded into obscurity. Our goal was to literally put a face to these individuals, and recognize what they achieved during the war and after. To make this happen, we went to two experts: historian Donald E. Graves and illustrator Sharif Tarabay. The end result is a neat package that could be kept as a reminder of the men and women who had an important part in that war. Efforts such as those, have led Legion Magazine to be nominated for the Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media for the second year in a row. In this issue we also present a retrospective on the shooting down of a civilian passenger jet, an event that could have led to nuclear war 30 years ago this month. Historian J.L. Granatstein looks at the fallout from the KAL 007 disaster. There are many other good features, so please enjoy. —Dan Black, Editor Advertisement

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Editorial & Advertising Policy

Opinions expressed are those of the writers. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, articles do not imply endorsement of any product or service. The advertisement of any product or service does not indicate approval by the publisher unless so stated.

Board of Directors

Board Chairman Tom Eagles; Board Vice-Chairman Gordon Moore; Secretary Brad White; Directors Mike Cook, Dave Flannigan, Tom Irvine, Ed Pigeau, Peter Piper and Pat Varga.

Staff General Manager: Jennifer Morse Editor: Dan Black News Editor: Tom MacGregor Staff Writers: Sharon Adams, Adam Day Art Director, Production & Circulation Manager: Jason Duprau Designers: Dyann Bernard, Jennifer McGill, Karen Ronayne Administration: Doris Williams Research: Stephanie Slegtenhorst

Subscription Rates

The Royal Canadian Legion We Care Home Health Services Homemaking, Personal Care and Nursing Services TOLL FREE: 1-855-229-3227 www.wecare.ca

Vol. 88, No. 5 September/October 2013 www.legionmagazine.com

Legion Magazine is published by Canvet Publications Ltd., ISSN 1209-4331. Member of CCAB, a division of BPA International. Printed in Canada. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40063864 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO LEGION MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION DEPARTMENT 86 AIRD PLACE, KANATA, ON K2L 0A1 email: [email protected] Published six times per year, January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October and November/December. Copyright Canvet Publications Ltd. 2013. Reproduction or recreation, in whole or in part, in any form or media, is strictly forbidden and is a violation of copyright. Reprint only with written per­mission. Recommended by The Royal Canadian Legion.

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Legion Magazine is $9.96 per year ($19.93 for two years and $29.89 for three years); prices include GST. For addresses in BC, a subscription is $10.63 per year ($21.26 for two years and $31.89 for three years). For addresses in NS, a subscription is $10.91 for one year ($21.83 for two years and $32.74 for three years). For addresses in ON, NB and NF, a subscription is $10.72 for one year ($21.45 for two years and $32.17 for three years). To purchase a magazine subscription visit www.legionmagazine.com or contact Legion Magazine Subscription Dept., 86 Aird Place, Kanata, ON K2L 0A1. The single copy price is $5.95 plus applicable taxes, shipping and handling.

Changes of Address

Send new address and current address label. Or, new address and old address, plus all letters and numbers from top line of address label. If label unavailable, enclose member or subscription number. No change can be made without this number. Send to: Legion Magazine Subscription Department, 86 Aird Place, Kanata, ON K2L 0A1. Allow eight weeks. Or visit www.legionmagazine. com. Simply click on magazine, then subscription and follow the prompts. It’s quick and easy.

U.S. Postmasters’ Information

United States: Legion Magazine, USPS 000-117, ISSN 1209-4331, published six times per year (January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, November/December). Published by Canvet Publications, 866 Humboldt Pkwy., Buffalo, NY 14211-1218. Periodicals postage paid at Buffalo, NY. The annual subscription rate is $9.49 Cdn. The single copy price is $5.95 Cdn. plus shipping and handling. Circulation records are maintained at Adrienne and Associates, 866 Humboldt Pkwy., Buffalo, NY 14211-1218. U.S. Postmasters send covers only and address changes to Legion Magazine, c/o Simply Mail Inc., PO Box 1042, Niagara Falls, NY 14304.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Govern­ment of Canada, through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.

2013-08-07 3:23 PM

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2013-08-01 10:55 AM

VIEWS

letters

COMMENTS CAN BE SENT TO: Letters, Legion Magazine, 86 Aird Place, Kanata, ON K2L 0A1 or e-mailed to [email protected]

A SAILOR’S MEMORIES OF KOREA

The chief took a coin from his pocket and tossed it. I cannot remember if I was heads or tails only that I was odd man out...

Your article, Operation Hawk: The Korean Airlift by Hugh A. Halliday (July/August) takes me back 62 years. In the summer of 1951, aboard His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Ontario at Victoria, the chief yeoman came to the communications mess asking for two volunteers to leave immediately to join HMCS Sioux in Korea. Three of us stood up. We had volunteered for Korean service while in Australia and were awaiting draft to one of the destroyers. The chief took a coin from his pocket and tossed it. I cannot remember if I was heads or tails only that I was odd man out and said farewell to Bob and Frank who immediately packed their kit and left the ship. In July I hardly had time to absorb the dreadful news of the loss of one aircraft when I was ordered to pack my gear. “You already volunteered,” (I was told). By late afternoon I was on my way to McChord Air Force Base to take the next flight. We were given no details and I never knew until now how many people were lost nor even that it was a Canadian Pacific Airlines aircraft. On arrival at Haneda AFB in Tokyo I took a train to Sasebo, to learn that HMCS Sioux was in Hong Kong for repairs and I was assigned to HMCS Cayuga. Several weeks later, after two patrols and bombardment of the North Korean coast, I finally arrived back in Sasebo and joined HMCS Sioux only to learn that owing to a misunderstanding in communications, before leaving Hong Kong, Sioux had sent my documents back to Ottawa marked D.D. (Discharged Dead). Another top note to that feeling of survivor guilt. Thank you for the informative article. I am writing in memory of my two friends who died that day; Robert Moore of Dartmouth and Frank Laker of Winnipeg. A.C. STORM, DARTMOUTH, N.S.

THINKING OF THE CHAPLAINS

I much appreciated your article on operational stress injuries (OSIs) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the latest issue (Collateral Damage: Families In The Wake Of War, July/August). My comment is that I am sorry that you did not mention anywhere in the article anything about those who are on the front line with the troops, and who work with them regularly on a day to day basis. I speak of the chaplains, who daily engage the troops in conversation, and who often are the ones to point out to commanders and medics that a particular soldier, airman or airwoman, sailor is in need of in-depth treatment. 10

Most, if not all, chaplains are trained for this service to the troops and, being on the front line with them, are also often subject to OSI or PTSD themselves. I am sure that many of the chaplains who recently served in Afghanistan must also have suffered as a result of the large number of casualties they had to deal with. As a chaplain, I served during the October Crisis of 1970, when many of our soldiers came away with a great amount of hurt and anguish over the near possibility that they might have had to engage their own country persons in a hostile environment. I served in peacekeeping during the last, and most serious, round of hostility in Cyprus, and a great deal of my time was spent in conversation with personnel who had seen things they would rather forget, but could not. In those days, the Chaplains were really the only help that the troops had, and we had exactly two chaplains there to work with more than 3,000 soldiers. GREGORY MILNE, VERNON, B.C.

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With Nov. 11 fast approaching, I think it’s an appropriate

Then I got very interested in the Chilliwack Legion pipe band and joined them as a side drummer for a number of years. I did end up in a band, but not the type of band my dad wanted.

time to say a few words about the padres who served during the war. There were many of them. I can only speak of the one I knew. He came with us to Italy. Before the war he had been a missionary. He was aptly named Freddy Goforth. He was a person who had the ability to get along with everyone and it wasn’t long before he had endeared himself to all. When the men went into action, he didn’t carry a gun but instead carried a first aid kit and went with the stretcher bearers. One time some of the wounded took refuge in a house and were stranded for some time. The padre stayed with them and was a great source of comfort. He died a few years after the war ended. His name will not be forgotten. The men of the regiment contributed towards the cost of a stained glass window in his memory that was installed in a church at Camp Petawawa, Ont.

ADRIE SCHAAP, CHILLIWACK, B.C.

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MY FATHER’S PLANS I enjoyed the item in Humour Hunt about the Dutch musicians who joined the Black Watch band (July/August). I am the son of Wolter Schaap who was also recruited in the Netherlands in 1953 as a band sergeant. He was a top musician in Holland but jumped at the opportunity to come to Canada. We arrived in Chilliwack, B.C., in December 1953 after travelling from Rotterdam to Halifax, then four and a half days on steam train to Chilliwack, where he joined the Royal Canadian Engineers Band. In Holland my dad always wanted me to play the cello and I studied at a music school. I was not too interested in these studies but both my dad and my mom insisted. After we came to Canada they relented and I joined the army.

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A QUESTION FOR OUR READERS BOMBER COMMAND

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed Julian Fantino as the new minister of Veterans Affairs. What do you think the top priorities should be for the new minister?

PART

In reference to Legion Magazine’s Journal COMMENTS CAN BE SENT TO: item New Distinction For Bomber Letters, Legion Magazine, 86 Aird Place, Kanata, ON K2L 0A1 Command Airmen (page 14, July/August), or e-mailed to [email protected] I want to point out that Royal Air Force Bomber Command joined battle when no other major Allied force could act on German soil, in a milieu where there were ARMY 25,000 heavy guns and 6,680 searchlights forming a formidable barrier for us to get through. There were possibly upwards of 400 fighters en route. destruction: One million personnel operated these defences. Another CLOSING THE FALAISE GAP million repaired buildings and facilities damaged by bombing. All of these assets could have been used on the Russian front, but for the Joint Bomber Offensive. It was total war—many civilians worked in war industries, the others could have been evacuated away from the bombing as was done in Britain. The Nazis chose not to do so with the inevitable result that their noncombative and non-war-worker populations of the cities A were exposed to the bombing. Inferring that the bombing was immoral is a nonstarter. Several recognized historians have concluded so. And several German nationals have told me they agree. The article is just another case of the younger generaRECOGNITION FOR POLISH ARMOURED DIVISION tion not being able to project their thinking back to the I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Terry Copp for awful situation and the difficult decisions that were the article Pocket of Destruction: Closing The Falaise part of the leadership of the times. Gap (July/August). As always it was a well-written article, but I was RON BUTCHER, DFC, CD especially grateful to see positive comments about the EX-408 SQUADRON NAVIGATOR, 6 RCAF GROUP, role the 1st Polish Armoured Division had in this imRAF BOMBER COMMAND portant battle. Having known many members of this division it is gratifying to see that they have not EDITOR’S NOTE: been forgotten. It is not our position that the Second World War It is also very important to remember that Poles and bombing campaign was immoral, nor, in our Canadians were comrades-in-arms during the Second view, does the article in question imply that. World War, and fought together on several fronts. Many of these Poles also made Advertisement their way to Canada after the war and became Canadian citizens. You never know where the winds of war will take you. Insuring travelling Canadians since 1991 I will be telling others about this excellent article. Thank you. FeatUres

Canadian Military History in PersPeCtive / BY TERRY COPP

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A convoy travels through Falaise, France, Aug. 17, 1944.

merican General Omar Bradley’s decision to stop Gen. George S. Patton’s 3rd Army at Argentan, France, on Aug. 12, 1944, gave the German armies in the Falaise Pocket a chance to escape encirclement. Montgomery accepted Bradley’s decision and ordered the Canadians to capture Falaise before turning east to close the gap at Trun and Chambois. 50

PHOTO: KEN BELL, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA116587

pocket of

On the morning of Aug. 15, three Canadian divisions converged on Falaise, a town which the corps commander, Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, thought was the wrong objective. Simonds could not disobey orders, but he could decide to use his only reserve, the battered Polish Armoured Division, to manoeuvre around the German positions and strike south to meet the Americans at Chambois.

You never know where the winds of war will take you.

LEgion MagazinE July/August 2013

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STAN SKRZESZEWSKI, LONDON, ONT.

CORRECTION The serial number of the North Star aircraft given in the second last paragraph of Operation Hawk: The Korean Airlift (July/ August) should have read 17505. We regret the error.

LEGION MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013

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health file TUNE UP YOUR BODY FOR WINTER

THE FIRST CHILL WINDS of autumn and colourful changes of fall are signals to prepare for winter. As you change to winter tires, check out the furnace and mulch tender garden plants, also keep in mind what your body needs to keep you healthy during the cold months ahead. Winter seems to conspire against us keeping our health resolutions. The short, cold days make us want to hunker down indoors; the flurry of fall activities and holiday preparations may scotch or

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interrupt exercise regimes and healthy eating plans. But winter is when we need to be healthiest, when risk of catching colds and flu is highest. The older you are, the more important it is to enter winter as healthy as possible. Physical changes from aging leave the immune system less efficient, less able to fight off infections and less capable of handling multiple challenges. The ability to regulate body temperature wanes with age. In a

BY SHARON ADAMS

heat or cold snap, it takes nearly twice as long for core temperature to return to normal after age 70. This puts the elderly at particular risk of hypothermia. Signs of low body temperature include drowsiness, forgetfulness, weak pulse, slow heartbeat, slow and shallow breathing. While research has shown cold exposure does not increase risk of catching colds, most of that research was done on young people. Older people produce fewer new immune T-cells, which recognize novel threats and call out the infection-fighting army. Recent research has found T-cells are involved in sensing core temperature changes and signalling other immune cells to turn on. The fewer the number of T-cells, the lower the ability to combat new health threats. It’s thought this is one reason vaccines don’t work as well in older people. Unlike adolescence, where bodily changes happen to everyone at roughly the same age, the changes with aging happen over decades. And because they can be affected by illnesses, stressors and lifestyle choices, those changes affect everyone differently and at a pace unique to each of us. Changes to blood vessels, airways and internal organs slow down movement of oxygen and nutrients into cells and removal of wastes. Hormone production changes, metabolism is slower. This all hampers healing. Regardless of age, winter health tune-ups make sense. Stay warm and dry, advises the Healthy Aging Partnership www.4elders.org. Wear a hat and scarf outdoors to prevent heat loss through the head. Dress in layers, an inner layer to wick moisture away from the body, a warmth-trapping middle layer and a weatherproof

PHOTOS: ©iStockphoto/kzenon; ©iStockphoto/sturti

VIEWS

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outer layer to handle what Mother Nature throws your way. If you plan to shovel the walk or just take a winter walk, warm up properly, proceed slowly and take breaks. The Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging at Western University in London, Ont., notes heart attack risk rises in winter, due in part to increased blood clotting and decreased blood vessel diameter. High blood pressure also worsens with the cold. Do get some exercise. Check out the Canadian Activity Guidelines for older adults (www.csept.ca) to learn how much exercise you need and which activities might suit you

best (or annoy you the least). People who exercise report fewer colds. Moderate exercise temporarily boosts the immune system, so regular exercise gives a regular boost, thus increasing the body’s infection-fighting ability. Just can’t force yourself to exercise? Turn television from nemesis to ally by lifting weights while watching (unopened cans of soup are a handy size, shape and weight), or get active during commercials. Fit Watch (www. fitwatch.com) offers tips for a couch potato workout. Wash your hands frequently, keep them away from your mouth and

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health file eyes and sneeze into the crook of your arm. When it’s cold out, people tend to cluster indoors, concentrating flu and cold bugs. The Public Health Agency of Canada suggests using disinfectants on shared surfaces—doorknobs, light switches, telephones, keyboards, etc. Get the annual flu shot, especially if you are a senior, or come into contact with someone elderly or with lowered immunity. HealthLink BC advises seniors to get their flu shots and pneumonia vaccinations as early in the season as possible, to allow time for immunity to build up. Eat to keep healthy. Today’s Dietitian (http://www. todaysdietitian) notes that lack of sunlight and Vitamin D results in a drop of serotonin, causing

BY SHARON ADAMS

depression and increasing food cravings—and generally not for spinach, broccoli and bean sprouts, but for immunity-challenging starches, sugars and alcohol. It advises supplementing with Vitamin D, eating more fish and including a variety of colourful fruits and veggies every day—buy frozen when favourites are out of season. If you d0 get sick, stay home to prevent spread of the virus.

There’s more online: For more stories on Health visit legionmagazine.com and follow the Health link.

One Veteran.

Anyone who wears or who has worn a uniform for Canada is a Veteran – regardless of age or type of service. The Legion believes there is only one Veteran. We stand for all Veterans. Your Legion has: • Led the campaign that doubled the Funeral & Burial grant for Veterans and their families and will continue to work with government for enhancement • Put $4,000,000 into the Veterans Transition Network making this incredible program available to Veterans across Canada who suffer from an OSI • Contributed $2,000,000 to a national homeless Veterans program; and • Provided $14,000,000 to Veterans and their families in need through the Poppy Fund.

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PHOTO: COMBAT CAMERA

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We stand for all Veterans! The Legion’s Service Bureau Network, mandated by legislation, works for all Veterans providing claim assistance, representation, advocacy and more. Our Service Officers are Veterans and we know the value of service. Contact The Royal Canadian Legion Service Bureau if you need assistance. We’re at your local branch or call us toll free – 1-877-534-4666.

Find out more at legion.ca or call 1-877-534-4666

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VIEWS

VIEWS

health file

BY SHARON ADAMS

PHOTOS: ©iStockphoto/monkeybusinessimages; ©iStockphoto/cornishman

ODD BODY FACT

Our bodies are very good—if not as fast as we’d like—at fighting winter colds and flu. A runny nose, sore throat and cough are all signs your immune system is working hard at fighting one of the more than 200 different cold viruses, or this year’s flu strain. Mucous is the body’s first internal line of defence, protecting cell surfaces. One reason colds are more plentiful in winter is that cold air holds less moisture. Mucous membranes dry out, making it easier for bacteria and viruses to invade cells in the nose and throat, where they hijack the reproductive machinery and start replicating themselves. So, a humidifier might be good insurance. The human body responds quickly to an

invasion. Mucous production ramps up to capture viruses; sneezes and coughs expel them. The body produces more infection-fighting white blood cells and sends them to the site of infection, where they battle the invader, and in the process inflame blood vessels, adding to sore throats, swelling and blocking up the nose and turning the mucous from clear to yellow or green. If this is the second time this particular strain of virus has invaded, the body will quickly ramp Cape Liberty up production of antibodies used to defeat it in the last battle; fighting a new virus takes longer as the body has to first develop a new antigen, then ramp up production—a process that can take a week or more. This is one reason some colds seem to hang on longer than others.

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1 800 CARLSON (227-5766) | cwtvacationclub.ca/legion | Visit one of 170 locations coast to coast for more information. *Shipboard credit: One per cabin. Valid on all stateroom categories. Book by Sept 30, 2013. Deposit: $500 per person; Final Payment: Oct. 31/13. Cancellation penalties: Up to Oct. 31/13: $50 per cabin; Nov. 1 – 29/13: $500 p.p.; Nov. 30 - Dec. 27/13: 50%; Dec. 28/13 – departure: 100%. Price increase of $100 per person in all cabin categories on Oct 1, 2013. Cruise prices not available after Oct 31, 2013. Prices in Canadian funds, per person, dbl. occupancy. All taxes and fees are included. Travel agent service fees up to $100 are included and noted above. Prices subject to availability and may change at any time. Cancellation and medical insurance is available, please inquire. Contact your CWT Travel Counsellor for full details. For Quebec residents, an amount of $2 per $1,000 of travel services purchased is added to your invoice for your contribution to the Indemnity Fund. Carlson Wagonlit Travel Head Office 10 Carlson Court, Suite 800, Toronto, ON M9W 6L2.Quebec Licensee. TICO 2715506.

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Contact : Julie Dumas | 514 991 5778 | [email protected]

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July 24, 2013

VIEWS

journal

BY ADAM DAY

Pre wit cus to c

At P our as p

We the cial uph

PHOTO: cPL. cHrIS rINGIUS, DND

Me enj the Car tion

OF RESURGENT BRITISH TRADITIONS, SPECIAL FORCES PAST AND PRESENT AND MEMORIALS ON TOUR In an ongoing effort to return the Canadian Forces to its British roots, the government has resurrected several of the Army’s historical naming and insignia standards. One of the most notable changes is the reintroduction of divisional nomenclature and patches—Land Force Quebec Area will be referred to as 2nd Canadian Division; the Western Area will be renamed the 3rd Canadian Division; the Central Area will be 4th Canadian Division; the Atlantic Area will be 5th Canadian Division. Rank insignia and naming conventions are also getting a shake-up. Privates of the Royal

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Canadian Armoured Corps will be referred to as trooper; privates and corporals of the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery will be referred to as gunner and bombardier respectively; privates of the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers will be referred to as sapper; privates of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals will be addressed as signaller; privates of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps will be referred to as fusilier, rifleman or guardsman, depending on their unit; privates of the Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers will be referred to as craftsman and second lieutenants and warrant

Peter MacKay announcing the return of the Canadian Army’s historical rank insignia and badges.

officers in Guards regiments will be addressed as ensign and colour sergeant, respectively. The final major change is the return of the traditional army officer rank insignia—with the stars, or pips, and crowns replacing the bands and other insignia. “The restoration of these features is a significant step in the restoration of the Canadian Army’s traditions,” said Army Commander Lieutenant-General

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“It me wit son Leg hav uct for dre say mie forw wit

The Car vidi sup ers we you safe “Tr you

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Premier Care in Bathing is proud to be endorsed by The Royal Canadian Legion Premier Care in Bathing has been a world leader transforming the lives of individuals with a range of needs for over 30 years. Premier Care in Bathing is a one-stop shop for customers with specialty bathing needs as the manufacturer, selling baths and showers to consumers, providing installation services and servicing the baths and showers. At Premier Care in Bathing, Legionnaires are sure to be impressed with the quality, workmanship, and service provided with our products. Our highly trained Bathing Consultants are always available to answer any questions you might have, as well as provide guidance in choosing the product best suited to satisfy your personal needs. We are also very proud to be the first Walk-In Bath and Easy Access Shower company to have received commendation by the Arthritis Society, and offer Canadians the largest selection of Arthritis friendly products in the industry. Premier’s specialized product line allows veterans and their loved ones to experience peace of mind while dignity and autonomy remain upheld and a higher quality of life is enjoyed. Members of The Royal Canadian Legion will enjoy an exclusive discount of $1925 upon the purchase and installation of a Premier Care in Bathing bath or shower and validation of membership is confirmed.

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PHOTO: DND

Peter Devlin. “Symbols and traditions establish links to soldiers’ heritage, and are important. It is very significant that our noncommissioned members have the prospect of being able to bear the same ranks as their forbearers, and our officers will proudly wear the same insignia worn by Canadians who fought in the First and Second World Wars and Korea.” This is the latest step by the Harper government to undo the modernization efforts taken by preceding administrations. The return of the services’ traditional names, complete with the “Royal” designation, being another recent example. “Our Government is committed to honouring the traditions and history of the Canadian Army,” said Minister of Defence Peter MacKay. “The restoration of these historical features will encourage the esprit de corps of our soldiers and reinforce a rich military tradition that will continue to develop as they serve their country. Wherever I travel in Canada, these changes continue to be cherished

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in the hearts of our veterans.” On the subject of veterans, another group of famed Canadian warriors has been in the news receiving awards recently. The approximately 175 surviving Canadian members of the Devil’s Brigade will receive the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal to further memorialize their part in the struggle to achieve victory in the Second World War. Officially known as the First Special Service Force, this joint U.S.-Canadian commando unit had a legendary record of service during fighting in Europe. The new medal—the highest honour the U.S. Congress can bestow—is a result of an effort by U.S. Senator Max Baucus and Jeff Miller of the U.S. House of Representatives. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving of Congress’ highest honour than the Devil’s Brigade,” said Baucus in a statement. “They were volunteers, lumberjacks and mountaineers who answered the call to serve and mastered unconventional tactics to do

Members of the First Special Service Force prepare to go on a combat patrol in Italy.

the impossible and help secure victory in World War II.” “It is important to honour the heroism and remember the sacrifices of the warriors of the First Special Service Force,” added Miller. “The Devil’s Brigade was a truly revolutionary force, and their impact on our military is still felt today.” In the same statement, Miller and Baucus gave credit to Gary Doer, Canada’s ambassador the United States, for supporting the effort to award the medal. “We are grateful that the U.S. Congress has recognized the brave accomplishments of the First Special Service Force in World War II,” said Doer “The Devil’s Brigade were the first of their kind, and the legacy of bilateral defence co-operation that they inspired continues between

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PHOTO: DND

our two countries to this day.” In other news about special operations soldiers receiving awards, just recently a number of modern special operators received valour awards and other distinctions for actions they took during a long battle in Kandahar City in 2011. All of the soldiers belong to the Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR). During the period in question, these members of CSOR were acting as trainers and mentors to the Afghan military’s Kandahar Provincial Response Company. On May 7, 2011, the Taliban attacked a number of buildings and checkpoints in Kandahar. As the shooting and the attacks around the city started to grow in intensity, the Afghan government decided to call the Kandahar Provincial Response Company to defeat the enemy.

Though their names can’t be released for security reasons, the actions taken by the members were announced in June as Governor General David Johnston presented their awards. In keeping with the longstanding Journal tradition of publishing the full citations of Canada’s military heroes, here is the official word: “The Officer Commanding of the Embedded Partner Team responsible for mentoring the Kandahar Provincial Response Company was awarded the Star of Military Valour. On May 7-8, 2011, this member bravely led and mentored his team through a close quarter clearance operation of a multi-storied building. Under intense fire and at great personal risk, he valiantly co-ordinated multiple assaults and successfully neutralized the insurgent threat.

This member was also awarded the Meritorious Service Cross for dramatically improving the operational effectiveness of the Kandahar Provincial Response Company, thereby enhancing both the Afghan Rule of Law and the overall legitimacy of the Afghan government. “A Detachment Commander within the Embedded Partner Team responsible for mentoring the Kandahar Provincial Response Company was awarded the Star of Military Valour. Throughout the night of May 7-8, 2011, this member repeatedly stepped into the line of fire in order to lead and motivate Afghan partners through a series of intense and extremely dangerous assaults against heavily armed insurgents. During a particularly intense portion of the firefight, with bullets passing through the fabric of Advertisement

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PHOTO: SGT. matthew mcGregor, DND

his uniform, this member assisted in pulling a critically wounded Afghan partner from the line of fire, ultimately saving his life. “A Detachment Member within the Embedded Partner Team responsible for providing tactical casualty care and mentoring the Kandahar Provincial Response Company was awarded the Medal of Military Valour. During the night of May 7-8, 2011, this member was involved in treating and transporting casualties for 12 continuous hours under intense enemy fire.” The Star of Military Valour is Canada’s second highest

decoration for bravery and the Medal of Military Valour is third in the hierarchy. A number of other CSOR members received distinctions such as the mention in dispatches and the Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation for their parts in the battle. In one last burst of Afghan news, the Afghanistan Memorial Vigil, the memorial to Canada’s fallen that once stood beside the headquarters building at Kandahar airfield has been unveiled in Ottawa and will soon start touring the country. The memorial is comprised of 190 plaques representing

“The Afghanistan Memorial Vigil represents more than a decade of dedication and sacrifice of the brave men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces.” 22

Commander of Canadian Joint Operations Command Lieutenant-General Stuart Beare at the Afghanistan Memorial on Parliament Hill.

201 fallen: 158 Canadian Forces members, one Canadian diplomat, one Canadian civilian contractor, one Canadian journalist and 40 United States Armed Forces members who were under Canadian command. The display will stay at Parliament Hill throughout the summer and over the course of the next two years it will travel across Canada to provincial capitals and selected major urban centres and Canadian Forces bases. It will also travel to Washington, D.C. “The Afghanistan Memorial Vigil represents more than a decade of dedication and sacrifice of the brave men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces,” said Defence Minister Peter MacKay.

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“These sacrifices of our forces have been instrumental in preventing Afghanistan from again becoming a haven for terrorists, have brought stability and security to Afghans, and have allowed them to develop and rebuild their country.”

PHOTO: SGT. MATTHEW MCGREGOR, DND

NEW DEFENCE MINISTER

It was a tweet heard ’round the nation. Or, at the very least, it was a tweet heard across the Canadian Forces: Pleased to name @HonRobNicholson Minister of National Defence #shuffle13 #cdnpoli That was Prime Minister Stephen Harper using the online communication service known as Twitter on July 15 to announce to Canadians that Rob Nicholson would become Canada’s next minister of national defence, replacing Peter MacKay. Nicholson has spent the last six years as Canada’s minister of justice where he garnered a reputation as a competent performer. “I’m very appreciative of the prime minister and the confidence he’s placed in me,” Nicholson told the media shortly after the announcement. “I, and the rest of

the government, have great respect for the men and women in uniform and we’ll continue to strive to do what’s best for soldiers, veterans and their families.” Nicholson was first elected to Parliament in 1984 and reelected in 1988, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2011. He was appointed leader of the government in the House of Commons and minister for democratic reform in February 2006 and minister of justice and attorney general of Canada in January 2007. A practising lawyer before entering politics, Nicholson has a law degree from the University of Windsor, and he is a member of the Upper Canada Law Society. MacKay will be taking over Nicholson’s post at justice as part of the broad cabinet shuffle conducted by Harper in July. It is too early to get a read on how Nicholson will do as defence minister, seeing as his two main areas of expertise consist of law and politics, but initial reports from within the defence community indicate the change is welcome and good solid management is what’s expected.

LEGION MAGAZINE NOMINATED FOR PIERRE BERTON AWARD Legion Magazine has been named as a finalist for 2013 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Popular Media, also known as the Pierre Berton Award. It marks the second year in a row that the magazine has been a contender for the prestigious award.

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The magazine, which has been published continuously since 1926, has a print and online readership of close to 900,000. Legion Magazine publishes a magazine, including posters, maps and timelines as well as critically acclaimed special interest publications, chronicling the two world wars, and the Korean War. The award will be presented during activities and events held in Ottawa, Nov. 18-19.

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eye on defence BY DAVID J. BERCUSON

In June a platoon from the Royal 22nd Regiment based in Valcartier, Que., embarked on a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Haiti, under command of the Brazilian Army. The story received little press in Canada. Indeed, the whole operation—from the diplomatic arrangements and agreements to the pre-deployment training begun in April of the Canadian troops going to Brazil—was little publicized in Canada even though this was the first time a Canadian contingent would operate as part of a Brazilian formation and one of the first peacekeeping missions undertaken by Canada in a very long time. When it comes to defence news in Canada, it has long been the practice in Ottawa to say as little as possible about anything and the new Haiti mission is no exception. Admittedly it is a small operation, but it is an important one because it shows that Ottawa is making an effort, however minimal, to work with one of South America’s most important countries and that peacekeeping is not entirely dead as a mission for Canadian military personnel.

Canadian governments have long intended to strengthen ties to Central and South American countries and some gains have been made in the last decade or so. Free trade agreements have been concluded and diplomatic and military representation has been increased. But for the most part, Ottawa has had neither the resources nor the opportunities to work with South America other than in a largely token manner. Sending a platoon of

infantry is in itself largely a token move, but at least it is a tangible one that does demonstrate the willingness of the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces to serve under South American command and to learn much more about the way the Brazilian Army operates. Then there is the peacekeeping angle to this mission. In the mid1990s Canada literally deployed thousands of troops to UN peacekeeping operations. Today there are fewer than 75, including the platoon just dispatched to Haiti. There are many complex and interrelated reasons for the drastic decline in Canada’s participation in UN missions, most of which are rooted in the end of the Cold War, UN failures in the 1990s in places such as Rwanda and the Balkans, and the decision by both the Paul Martin and Stephen Harper governments to wholeheartedly commit Canada to the war in Afghanistan. The North

Members of the Royal 22nd Regiment in Haiti.

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PHOTO: M.CPL. DAVID SINGLETON-BROWNE, CANADIAN FORCES COMBAT CAMERA

VIEWS

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VIEWS Atlantic Treaty Organization training mission in Afghanistan is still Canada’s largest offshore operation (950 troops), but it will end in the next 12 months, giving the CF–and particular the army–a much needed operational pause. Might Canada then begin to renew its interest in UN operations? Might the small mission to Haiti portend yet another change in the military’s hot and cold relationship to UN missions? It is certainly possible and, depending on the missions chosen, might be an effective way for Canada to project military power to advance Canadian national interests. Canada is still a member of the G7 (G8 when Russia is included), but by economic measurements alone, Canada doesn’t deserve to be there anymore because the Canadian economy is rapidly slipping behind those of other nations

such as India, China and Brazil. Yet as a trading nation it is vitally important for Canada to either maintain as high a profile as possible in the international community using whatever instruments of national power are available, and to make key allies of countries such as Brazil. When combat missions are necessary for the defence of Canada, Canadians or Canadian interests, then they must be undertaken. But when they are not, Canada could turn again to peacekeeping as a non-combat alternative. Canada ought to establish clear policies to govern possible future peacekeeping missions by its troops. First and foremost, the missions should be ones that directly serve Canadian national interests. Second, Canada ought to insist on effective political and/or diplomatic representation in the planning and execution of mission objectives.

Third, Canada ought to satisfy itself that the overall command and control of the mission will be effective and the lines of supply and communication are capable. Finally, Canada should always insist on a senior partner (or partners) who are effective, capable and thoroughly up to date in military operations. That will often, but not necessarily always, mean the United States. The small Canadian mission to Task Force Port-au-Prince should be closely studied for any lessons and precedents that the Canadian Forces may be tasked with in similar missions in the future.

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CANADIAN MILITARY HISTORY IN PERSPECTIVE / BY TERRY COPP

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Tanks of the South Alberta Regiment—one apparently crippled—in St. Lambert-sur-Dives, Normandy, August 1944.

1 2 3 4 5 6

THE CORK IN THE BOTTLE:

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four armoured regiments and two infantry battalions, north of Trun, where they would begin the advance north. This decision forced Brigadier-General Jim Jefferson to try and close a six-kilometre gap with the tanks of the South Alberta Regiment (SAR) and the rifle companies of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, and the Lincoln and Welland Regt. The Lincs were committed to holding Trun and the nearby village of Magny, where a bridge crossed the River Dives. Jefferson ordered the SARs and Argylls to advance towards Chambois, gaining control of the village of St. Lambert-sur-Dives, where a second bridge was located. Major David Currie commanded the lead battlegroup. His C Squadron of the SAR had 15 tanks while Maj. Ivan Martin’s Argyll company could provide 55 men. Their attempt to seize St. Lambert on Aug. 18 was slowed by

PHOTO: DONALD I. GRANT, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA116522

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n the afternoon of Aug. 18, 1944, the 4th Canadian Armoured Division redeployed its forces in response to a directive from the corps commander to prevent the enemy from escaping the Falaise Pocket. The division was to establish blocking positions along the River Dives between the villages of Trun and Chambois. The Polish Armd. Div. was to secure Chambois, linking up with the American 90th Infantry Div. It is not clear why Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds thought that the 10th Canadian Inf. Brigade, less the Algonquin Regiment, was a sufficient force to accomplish this task, but as corps commander he was preoccupied with the next phase of operations: the pursuit to the River Seine. Simonds ordered Major-General George Kitching to deploy the 4th Armd. Bde., with three of the division’s

PHOTO: ????????????????????????????????????????

CANADIANS AND POLES AT THE FALAISE GAP

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The next morning the three Canadian armoured regiments encountered groups of enemy, including tanks, and it was mid-afternoon Aug. 21 before

By mid-morning the Germans had forced the SARs and Argylls to withdraw to the western edge of St. Lambert. The Argylls, lacking explosives, had left the bridge intact when they were forced to withdraw in the face of infiltration across the entire front. The enemy also crossed at Moissy and at the edge of Chambois joining a flood of men and vehicles, including tanks, moving towards the Poles who were holding Point 262/Mont Ormel. The arrival of 9th Canadian infantry brigade at Trun led Jefferson to order the remaining Lincs and Argylls to “get astride as many roads northeast of Trun as possible.” Kitching then ordered 4th Canadian Armd. Bde. to enter the battle, secure the high ground and contact the Poles. These moves had no direct impact on the situation in St. Lambert, where Currie was tirelessly encouraging his shrinking band of men to hold on and direct fire on the enemy. Polish accounts of the fighting on Aug. 20 describe a battle which raged the whole day with Point 262, “the Maczuga,” under attack from all directions. The Poles could count on the support of the medium and field

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artillery, and the FOO from 4th Canadian Medium Regt., Captain Pierre Sévigny, who bravely called for repeated and varied concentrations of fire. The artillery, and the determination of the Polish soldiers, prevented the Germans from overrunning the fortress position but at least one escape route was kept open throughout the afternoon and into the night. It is impossible to say how many German soldiers escaped the net after midnight, Aug. 19, but the number was in the thousands. The next morning the three Canadian armoured regiments encountered groups of enemy, including tanks, and it was mid-afternoon Aug. 21 before direct contact with the Poles was established and a supply route opened. The war diary of the Canadian Grenadier Guards offered a vivid description: “No. 1 Squadron led off at 0800 hours in the pouring rain. The road, as were all the roads in the area, was lined and in places practically blocked by destroyed German vehicles of every description. Horses and men lay rotting in every ditch and hedge and the air was rank with the odour of putrefaction. Most of the destruction was caused by the air force, but the Poles had

PHOTOS: DONALD I. GRANT, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA188905; DONALD I. GRANT, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA132192; DONALD I. GRANT, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA116583

direct contact with the Poles was established and a supply route opened.

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PHOTOS: DONALD I. GRANT, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA188905; DONALD I. GRANT, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA132192; DONALD I. GRANT, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA116583

done their share... No. 1 Squadron’s co-axes fired almost continually…until arriving at Pt 262 and the results were devastating… The picture at 262 was the grimmest the Regiment had so far come up against. The Poles had had no supplies for three days; they had several hundred wounded who had not been evacuated, about 700 prisoners-of-war lay loosely guarded in a field…unburied dead and parts of them were strewn about by the score… The Poles cried with joy when we arrived…” The gap was now closed at Point 262 and the Dives. By the evening of the Aug. 21 all that remained was to round up stragglers. Evidence of the enemy’s crushing defeat astounded all those who arrived in the pocket. Among the observers were a team from 21 Army Group’s Operational Research Section on a mission to determine both the extent and causes of German vehicle losses. Their report divided the battlefield into four sectors: “The Pocket,” the area west of the Argentan-Falaise highway; “The Shambles,” between the highway and Vimoutiers; “The Chase,” from Vimoutiers to the Seine; and the “Seine Crossing.” Investigators counted more than 8,000 damaged, destroyed or abandoned vehicles, including 456 tanks and self-propelled guns, plus 367 lightly armoured vehicles. Their estimate of uncounted vehicles raised the total to 10,000 and a subsequent survey raised the figure to over 12,000. Their report was highly

From left: A Canadian soldier treats a wounded German prisoner at Trun, Aug. 19, 1944; a tank burns while a Canadian picks his way through St. Lambert-sur-Dives; German prisoners captured by Canadians, St. Lambert-sur-Dives.

controversial because it attributed less than one third of the losses to air action and contradicted air force claims of the destruction of enemy armour. The operational research team also reported that as many as 20,000 motor vehicles and 250 tanks and self-propelled guns escaped across the Seine in the last two weeks of August, though many of these never made it back to defend Germany. Lacking good evidence, no attempt was made to calculate how many troops escaped across the river. As the Allied armies moved towards Germany the controversy over the delays in closing the gap at FalaiseArgentan and at Trun-Chambois were forgotten in the euphoria of a victory Montgomery described as “definite, complete and decisive.” The Canadians and Poles who had, by strategic default, become the main instrument of the encirclement, took pride in their achievement and turned towards the Seine, confident they had done their duty and that the end of the war was in sight. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEGION MAGAZINE

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CANADIAN MILITARY HISTORY IN PERSPECTIVE / BY MARC MILNER

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German Admiral Karl Dönitz seized an opportunity in the spring of 1942 when he sent a Wolf Pack—a group of U-boats—into the mid-Atlantic against a slow-moving convoy. The convoy’s escorts could not rob Dönitz of success.

THE WOLF PACK ATTACKS: THE BATTLE FOR ONE WORLD WAR TWO CONVOY

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Merchant seamen crowd the upper deck of HMCS Shediac. The men were rescued after their respective ships were lost in the battle for convoy ONS 92 in May 1942.

for a month. Although in the end Allied losses were modest, the battles confirmed the vulnerability of the main convoys, and—for the British—their lingering suspicions about Royal Canadian Navy operational effectiveness. The first transatlantic convoy intercepted in May by Wolf Pack Hecht was ONS 92, a slow, 42-ship convoy headed for Halifax. The escort was A.3, the last nominally American group in the mid-ocean, led by the USS Gleaves, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Spencer, and the Senior Officer, Escort Commander J.B. Heffernan of the United States Navy. The rest of A.3 was Canadian: the corvettes Algoma, Arvida, Bittersweet and Shediac.

PHOTO: COURTESY MARC MILNER

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hen looking at the Atlantic war in the spring of 1942, historians tend to focus on the carnage that occurred in North American waters, and not so much on the dreadful situation facing convoys and their escorts in the middle of the Atlantic. Out there, U-boats en route to North American waters had bumped into transatlantic convoys, and so it made sense for German Admiral Karl Dönitz to learn more about the routes the convoys followed, and the quality of their escorts. Dönitz tested the mid-ocean defences in early May by grouping U-boats in transit into a temporary Wolf Pack. He suspected, rightly, that the Allies were saving time and escorts by sticking to the Great Circle route—the most direct line across the North Atlantic. That made them easy targets, and the first test was so successful that Dönitz kept the group together and harried the main trade routes LEGION MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013

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HMCS Bittersweet about to be taken in tow, May 1943.

Unfortunately, A.3 possessed no High Frequency Direction Finder, although a set was carried by the rescue ship His Majesty’s Ship Bury, and only Bittersweet— British-owned, but RCN operated—was fitted with modern 10-cm type 271 radar. The SOE had exercised A.3 prior to its departure from Londonderry, so the group was trained, and, by the standards of the day, ready. Dönitz had wanted to keep Wolf Pack Hecht tightly controlled until it was fully on station and ready for operations May 14, but a chance encounter between ONS 92 and U-569 on May 11 set the battle rolling. On that day, Bury’s HF/DF operators plotted three U-boat contact reports as U-569, U-124 and U-94 settled in around ONS 92. The Admiralty warned the SOE that day that three U-boats from Wolf Pack Hecht had sighted the convoy, and that five more were moving in. The information of U-boat contact reports put the SOE on the horns of dilemma. Ideally he ought to have pushed out high-speed HF/DF-directed patrols to drive off each U-boat as it made its sighting report—that’s what Bury’s captain expected him to do—and at the same time order the convoy to take evasive action. But the SOE did neither. He had only one destroyer, Gleaves, while the rest of his group, including Spencer, were too slow to run a U-boat down or drive it off. Gleaves was also the SOE’s ship: taking her away from the convoy would remove the SOE from the battle. The SOE may also have had little faith in the information from Bury. No ship in the USN was yet fitted HF/ DF, and in any event it took two sets to get a proper fix by triangulation on the transmitter. Bury picked up U-boat transmissions on the ground wave, which gave bearing and—given the nature of the contact report itself—implied a distance of around five miles. But Bury could not provide a ‘fix’ in the real sense of the word. So the SOE did not pursue the first plotted contact reports on May 11. Instead he followed standard USN escort doctrine. He took Gleaves and Spencer on an offensive

sweep ahead of the convoy that afternoon in hopes of clearing a path for ONS 92 and, with luck, making contact with some of the U-boats. The sweep paid off when a U-boat, probably U-569, was spotted. The SOE pursued that contact to the north with both his ships, launching a series of depth-charge attacks until the early hours of May 12. Meanwhile, the four RCN corvettes of A.3 settled in around ONS 92 for an uncertain night, at least two U-boats were still unaccounted for, but they did not have long to wait for action to begin. Shortly after midnight U-124 approached ONS 92 from the port (southern) side and put torpedoes into two ships in the outside column: Empire Dell, a 7,065-ton ore carrier fitted with a catapult and an old Hurricane fighter to assist in air defence, and Llanover, a 4,959-ton general cargo vessel. Both were travelling in ballast, and the crew of both quickly escaped, only two crewmen from Empire Dell were lost. Bury and Shediac did the rescue work while the three remaining RCN corvettes fired illumination around the convoy in hopes of finding the attacker. Nothing was seen, and as the rescue work continued, ONS 92 plodded on, screened by only three Canadian corvettes. The SOE had turned Gleaves and Spencer back towards the convoy at high speed as soon as the attacks started, but he was unable to reach ONS 92 before the next attacks. First U-94 found the convoy and sank the 5,630-ton Cocle, a Panamanian general cargo ship, with the loss of four lives. Shortly afterwards U-124 made its second pass of the night through the convoy, sinking Mount Pares, a Greek steamer laden with good Welsh steaming coal destined for Montreal, and the 5,389-ton Crystales carrying mail, general cargo, and nearly 100 passengers and crew. Four crewmen perished from Mount Pares, while 82 were saved from Crystales after the ship was abandoned. She was eventually sunk by the escort. By the time the SOE returned to the convoy, five ships had been hit and his Canadian corvettes were largely engaged in rescue work. The Canadians had had only two fleeting glimpses of the enemy. Bittersweet, while stationed on the port beam of the convoy, obtained a fastclosing-radar contact on a reciprocal bearing only a half mile away. Thinking it might be Arvida returning to her screening position, Lieutenant-Commander J.A. Woods, Royal Canadian Naval Reserve, ordered Bittersweet to september/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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PHOTOS: KEN MACPHERSON, NAVAL MUSEUM OF ALBERTA; NAVAL MUSEUM OF ALBERTA

The USS Gleaves, one of the modern destroyers deployed for escort duty in the northwest Atlantic, late 1941.

take avoiding action. As she did so, a U-boat slipped past her portside, too close and much too quickly to engage. The U-boat was not seen again. Meanwhile, Arvida sighted one of the attackers but abandoned the chase to conduct rescue work. The next day, May 12, went much better for ONS 92 and its beleaguered escort. Gleaves and Spencer pushed out on the flanks to try to keep the U-boats at bay. Spencer drove down two and Gleaves raced in to join the hunt. Both American ships lingered over the horizon again until well after dark to keep the U-boats from surfacing and closing the convoy. To help shake off the pursuers, the SOE ordered two large evasive turns to the south, taking the convoy into bad weather—and into the path of U-94. In a strong wind and crashing sea, U-94 torpedoed two ships in the early hours of May 13. No one, except the unfortunate sailors on the merchant vessels, initially noticed. The Batna, a 4,399-ton British coal carrier bound for Halifax, sank, taking one of her 44 crewmen with her. The 4,471-ton Swedish ore carrier Tolken did not go down without a fight. When U-94 moved towards Tolken’s lifeboats—intending to take the ship’s captain prisoner— gunners still aboard the stricken steamer opened fire and drove it off. All of Tolken’s crew were rescued. These sinkings by U-94 brought an end to losses from ONS 92, although its ordeal lasted two more days. Dönitz finally called off Wolf Pack Hecht on May 14, pleased with the results of his mid-ocean experiment. Seven ships had been sunk, with no loss to the attackers. From his point of view, it appeared that North Atlantic convoys were easy to intercept and easy to attack. He decided to keep Hecht operational and see what else could be done. The SOE, too, was pleased with the outcome. He commented candidly in his report that on occasion he “did not know what was happening and neither did the convoy commodore,” but presumed this was “probably the usual situation.” However, A.3 had been busy throughout its passage, and the rescue work was superb. The SOE concluded, “The COs of all the escorts are entitled to credit for a highly satisfactory performance.” Rear Admiral Leonard Murray in St. Johns, Nfld., largely concurred with this. The battle for ONS 92—small and vastly overshadowed

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by catastrophic events that month in the Gulf of Mexico— would be a mere footnote to the history of the Atlantic war if the British had seen events the same way the SOE’s and Murray’s staff did. Instead, the passage of ONS 92 created a firestorm of scorn from Western Approaches Command staff in Liverpool. As noted in my 1985 book North Atlantic Run, both the convoy commodore and the captain of HMS Bury were sharply critical of the SOE’s conduct. Bury’s captain commented that the failure of the SOE to act on specific HF/DF contacts “may well have contributed greatly to the loss of valuable lives and ships.” The commodore, for his part, concluded laconically that Gleeves was never there when ONS 92 was attacked. The Staff Officer, Anti-Submarine, at Western Approaches Command (WAC), Commander C.D.H. Howard-Johnston—never one to mince words—wanted to confront the USN directly over the SOE’s conduct. Being active and aggressive was not enough: it was the SOE’s job to know what was going on. Captain R.W. Ravenhill, the deputy Chief of Staff (Operations) at WAC preferred to hold criticism of the USN, saving it until the Americans said something derogatory about the RN and then firing back. While this smouldered, word trickled up the USN chain of command and the SOE was shifted to another job. He ended the war as captain of the USS Tennessee. Far more important to the fate of the RCN was Cmdr. Howard-Johnston’s reaction to the Canadian component of A.3 and to the formal comments from Murray and his staff on the battle. Simply put, Howard-Johnston deeply disliked both. Arvida should have dropped a raft for the men in the water and pursued her U-boat contact. And while Bittersweet stepping aside to let a U-boat into the convoy “was bad enough,” the fact that Murray and his staff considered she had taken the right course “was awful.” The Canadian corvettes of A.3 had focused too much on rescue work and too little on the enemy. Clearly neither the RCN escort force or its senior staff had improved much—if at all—since the previous fall. For the British, the RCN was always a cup half empty. As we shall see, even the remarkable successes around Canadian mid-ocean convoys that followed in July and August did not shake that lingering British doubt.

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CANADIAN MILITARY HISTORY IN PERSPECTIVE / BY HUGH A. HALLIDAY

KILLING MiGs IN KOREA T

he transpacific airlift in support of United Nations forces in Korea was the Royal Canadian Air Forces’ largest contribution during the 195053 war (Operation Hawk: The Korean Airlift, July/August), but it was not the only operation that drew Canadian airmen to the peninsula. “Thou shalt have air superiority” is the first rule of air power, and this was quickly achieved after war broke out in June 1950. By the end of August, the North Korean Air Force was eliminated, and all airfields in North Korea were thereafter attacked ruthlessly.

Lieutenant-Commander Joseph MacBrien and his wife after the Canadian naval aviator is presented with an American Distinguished Flying Cross in 1954.

The only “safe haven” for Communist fighters was in Manchuria, home to several MiG-15 fighter wings. These were formidable enough to halt B-29 daylight raids on North Korean targets. The MiGs, however, lacked the range to engage directly in front-line operations and so the UN forces were never threatened by enemy air attacks, either at the front or in rear areas. As of June 1950 no RCAF pilot had flown any fighter more advanced than a de Havilland Vampire. Once the RCAF began training Sabre pilots (with Canadair of Montreal producing Sabres for the force), the bulk of these September/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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PHOTO: CANADIAN FORCES—O-7147

It may suprise some that all three branches of the Canadian armed forces were busy in the cold, turbulent air over Korea between 1950 and 1953. Their experiences are not well known, but they did their duty by attacking ground targets and engaging MiG-15s.

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PHOTO: ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE

Flight Lieutenant Ernie Glover shakes hands with another airman while seated in his Canadian-built Sabre.

pilots and machines were directed to home defence or to meet our NATO commitments. Nevertheless, it seemed smart to familiarize a few pilots with jet warfare lest our NATO squadrons become involved in a European war. In November 1950 the USAF transferred their 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing from Delaware to Japan and thence to Korea. They soon made their presence felt in combat with MiG-15s. Sabre strength remained at one wing until 1952 when Canadian-built aircraft provided sufficient reserves for the United States Air Force to dispatch two more wings to the Far East. Sabre production by Canadair of Montreal was this nation’s most significant contribution to the battles waged in what was known as “MiG Alley.” Flight Lieutenant J.A. Omer Lévesque, a Second World War veteran, was serving on exchange duties with the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing when it went to Korea. On March 30, 1951, while escorting B-29 bombers on a daylight raid, he destroyed a MiG-15. He was subsequently awarded both an American Air Medal and an American Distinguished Flying Cross, DFC. Lévesque’s presence in Korea was more by happenstance than intent. Initially there were no plans to inject RCAF fighter pilots into the Korean air war, although the USAF was willing to rotate Commonwealth pilots through American formations. The RCAF was unable to accept the offer until 1952. Twenty four Canadian Sabre pilots were thereafter attached to American Sabre units in Korea, and they served under severe limitations. The normal Sabre pilot tour was 100 missions; RCAF pilots were restricted to 50. Thus, just as they were beginning to get the hang of jet combat, they were pulled back to Canada. The only exception to the 50-mission rule was Flying Officer S.B. Fleming who arrived before details of the scheme had

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been settled; he flew 82 missions. Thanks to an informal old-boys network, most of the RCAF Sabre pilots were Second World War veterans. One youthful pilot, F/O J.C.A. LaFrance, complained to his superiors, arguing it was junior men like himself who most needed combat experience. LaFrance won his point—and a Korean assignment. He proved to be a very “hot” pilot; on Aug. 5, 1952, he destroyed a MiG-15. LaFrance rose to the rank of major-general in the Canadian Armed Forces. The Americans were generous in distributing Air Medals and their version of the Distinguished Flying Cross. Flight Lieutenant Ernest A. Glover, another “old sweat” from the Second World War, joined the USAF’s 334th Fighter Squadron at Kimpo (Seoul) in June 1952. Up until Aug. 26 he never saw a MiG; from then until the end of September he saw them nearly every day. He was ultimately credited with three MiG-15s destroyed, for which he was awarded both the American and Commonwealth DFC. In November 1952, Squadron Leader Andrew R. Mackenzie was assigned to the USAF’s 39th Sqdn. He was the most experienced RCAF fighter pilot hitherto assigned to Korea, having earned a DFC in 1944 and been credited with eight and a half German aircraft. Ominously, he was the 13th pilot dispatched under the rotation scheme. On Dec. 5, 1952, he was shot down in a “friendly fire” incident, bailed out and was captured. At first he was treated well, but soon the enemy turned on him. He endured countless interrogations, poor food, “brainwashing” attempts and 465 days of solitary confinement during which time he lost 70 pounds. It was not until April 1954 that he was allowed to write to his family and he was not released until December 1954—two years after his capture, 17 months after the Korean Armistice. Space does not permit a fuller telling of the RCAF Sabre pilots’ Korean experiences; a lengthy article on the subject was published in the winter 1986 edition of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society Journal. Throughout the war the USAF, United States Navy and allied air forces waged a campaign to destroy enemy supplies en route to the front. The only Canadian serviceman engaged in these interdiction operations was Lieutenant Joseph James MacBrien, one of the RCN’s most experienced naval aviators. He was assigned to the USN on exchange duties in March 1952, flying F9F-5 Panther jets from the carrier USS Oriskany which began operating off the east coast of Korea in November 1952. In the next six months, MacBrien flew 66 sorties, including 50 ground-attack strikes against billeting areas, industrial centres, rail targets and power plants. In June 1954, he was awarded an American DFC. The RCN attempted to learn as much as possible from Royal Navy carrier operations off Korea. A conference held

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PHOTO: CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM—20050033-004

in September 1951 featured Captain Arthur S. Bolt, late of HMS Theseus, which had flown rocket-firing Sea Furies and bomb-carrying Fireflies on tasks that included air patrols, bombardment spotting and tactical air support. During its cruise, Theseus had been free of air opposition but had lost eight aircraft, most to ground fire. The RCN noted these experiences, and was preparing to dispatch a few aircrew to the Far East when the Korean War ended. The Commonwealth Division, formed in the summer of 1951, had two Air Observation Post (AOP) Flights, Nos. 1903 and 1913. Ostensibly Royal Air Force units, they were manned almost entirely by army personnel. They were equipped with Auster VI aircraft, although one American L-19 was acquired when it was discovered that the portly Divisional Commander, Major-General A.J. Cassels, fitted poorly into an Auster. Korean AOP operations resembled the static, siege warfare of the First World War. Pilots flew alone and most sorties were limited to a depth of 5,000 yards behind enemy lines. They were also flown at between 3,000 and 5,000 feet, avoiding most of the small-calibre anti-aircraft fire which the Chinese routinely threw at the machines. In the summer of 1952 the enemy strengthened its anti-aircraft defences and conditions became most unpleasant for AOP pilots. The depth of penetration was reduced and operating altitudes increased. Commencing in July 1952, the Canadian Army began rotating AOP pilots through No. 1903 Flight. Capt. J.M. Liston arrived on July 31, 1952, and was shot down on Aug. 13. He was observing a Chinese artillery position and had gone to 7,200 feet to avoid both anti-aircraft fire and a planned USAF strike. Height did not save him. An 85-mm shell from an undetected battery struck the after fuselage, almost completely severing the tail which was held only by the rudder cables. He parachuted into Chinese hands and a year of captivity. Liston’s successor in No. 1903 Flight was Capt. Peter Tees who served from Sept. 15, 1952, to June 1953. Flying in a Korean winter was often uncomfortable, as shown by entries in his logbook. “Bloody cold,” he wrote on Nov. 18 and Dec. 21, 1952. “Very cold,” he wrote on Dec. 20. “A freezing aircraft,” he noted on Jan. 6, 1953. Tees also reported snowstorms, turbulence, rough running engines and cracked exhaust pipes. He had several outstanding sorties, the most notable being on May 3, 1953, when Royal Canadian Regiment positions came under fire from infiltrating Chinese infantry and armoured forces. The infantry called down artillery fire on their own positions. Tees arrived at first light and spotted known and previously unknown targets. He directed excellent shooting and was thwarted only when the Chinese retreated under a dense smokescreen. Ultimately, Tees was awarded a Commonwealth DFC—the first to a member of the Canadian Army since 1918. As early as July 1950 it was realized that jet fighters were too fast and fuel hungry to hunt for ground targets. If an objective was found and marked, the F-80s and

Captain Peter Tees, 1952.

F-84s could deliver a telling load of rockets, bombs and napalm. But who was to find the targets? The American Army improvised so-called “Mosquito” Flights. In this instance the “Mosquito” was not the sleek, fast combat aircraft of the Second World War. It was a T-6 Harvard or Texan to Americans. These reconnoitred for targets, then marked them with smoke grenades and rockets. The pilots were members of the USAF while the backseat observers were army personnel. Operating singly and at low altitude, the aircraft were vulnerable to ground fire. At least 17 Canadian Army officers served as “Mosquito” observers, 15 during the war itself and two following the Armistice. Nine were decorated by the Americans. On average, they completed approximately 45 sorties during a three-month attachment. However, Lieutenants Arthur Magee of the RCRs and William E. Ward of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse flew 162 and 88 sorties, respectively. Excerpts from the citation to the American DFC awarded to Capt. Joseph Yelle of the Royal 22nd Regt. illustrate the type of work performed; it singled out a sortie on Aug. 15, 1952, and read, in part, “Despite low clouds over the target area, partial failure of his radio equipment, and battle damage to his aircraft, he directed his pilot in marking the targets with his smoke rockets. He then directed the fighters onto the marked targets.” Our role in the Korean War may have been primarily an army affair, but personnel of all three fighting arms carried the name “Canada” into the air in many ways and places. September/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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ON THE

BRINK: PHOTO: © ROGER RESSMEYER/CORBIS

THE DOWNING OF KAL 007

In the summer of 1983 the Cold War was in a deep freeze. The United States and the Soviet Union still talked to each other, but without even a glimmer of understanding. In Washington, President Ronald Reagan was a fervent anti-Communist, one who believed that the Russians held down their “evil empire” by force. In Moscow, a geriatric leadership, headed by former KGB boss Yuri Andropov, grappled with increasing economic problems, a draining war in Afghanistan, and what it saw as the necessity to build more weapons to keep pace with increasing American rearmament. Both superpowers had their nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles targeted at the other, and their disarmament discussions were making no progress. Complicating matters further, NATO felt compelled to counter the Soviet Union’s SS-20 missiles that had been stationed on Warsaw Pact territory. The alliance had decided to station Pershing missiles with a 1,400-kilometre range in Germany and to deploy Cruise missiles to other allies’ territory. These moves had been met by angry Soviet protests and massive demonstrations throughout Western Europe, protests that had been fomented and paid

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It was mostly blind luck that saved the world from nuclear war after a Korean airliner was blown out of the sky by a Soviet fighter aircraft in 1983. In the immediate aftermath, some Canadian reasoning entered the picture, leading to efforts to lessen global tensions.

BY J.L. GRANATSTEIN

Korean Americans protest outside the Soviet consulate in San Francisco, September 1983.

for by Moscow. What seemed clear was that both Washington and Moscow believed their foe was seeking military supremacy and, in the Kremlin, Andropov and the Politburo genuinely feared that Reagan was planning to strike the Soviet Union at the first opportunity. Trust was in short supply everywhere, and paranoia ran rampant. Matters soon grew worse. Thirty years ago, on Sept. 1, 1983, a Soviet jet fighter shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007 en route to Seoul, South Korea, from New York City. The civilian aircraft, a Boeing 747 with 269 passengers and crew, had flown off course over Soviet territory and went down into the sea near Sakhalin Island. Among the dead were 10 Canadians and many Koreans and Americans, including a U.S. congressman. President Reagan learned of the shootdown in the middle of the night. “My God,” he burst out to his wife, “have they gone mad? What the hell are they thinking of?” The president’s response was mirrored throughout

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PHOTOS: LABATT BREWING COMPANY COLLECTION, WESTERN ARCHIVES, WESTERN UNIVERSITY; CANADIAN LETTERS AND IMAGES PROJECT

FEATURES FEATURES

PHOTOS: LABATT BREWING COMPANY COLLECTION, WESTERN ARCHIVES, WESTERN UNIVERSITY; CANADiaN LETTERS AND IMAGES PROJECT PHOTO: RONALD REAGAN PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

the world. The 747 has a distinctive shape, one that marks it out as very different from military aircraft. Thus the Soviet pilot who destroyed the Korean airliner must have known he was killing civilians, or so believed everyone in the West. Secretary of State George Shultz put the rage into words: “The United States reacts with revulsion to this attack. Loss of life appears to be heavy. We can see no excuse whatsoever for this appalling act.” The secretary of state added that the Soviets had tracked KAL 007 and that the pilot was in visual contact with the aircraft. The next evening, Reagan made his nation’s position clearer still: “This was the Soviet Union against the world and the moral precepts which guide human relations among people everywhere. It was an act of barbarism, born of a society which wantonly disregards individual rights and the value of human life and seeks constantly to expand and dominate other nations.” The fat was in the fire now. The U.S. had declared that the Russians had deliberately killed the people on the Korean airliner. The immediate Canadian response, delivered by the Ambassador to the United Nations, was that the Soviet action was “little short of murder” and Ottawa promptly slapped sanctions on Aeroflot flights to Canada. Matters were not helped by Moscow which tried to deny, deny, deny. If an aircraft fell into the sea, it must have come down by itself. Moscow then refined its line, saying that “An unidentified plane entered the air space of the Soviet Union... The plane did not have navigation lights” and did not respond to fighters that “tried to give it assistance in directing it to the nearest airfield.” Not until Sept. 6 did Moscow publicly admit downing the 747, claiming it had acted legally because the KAL jet, an American-built aircraft, had been spying as part of a deliberate provocation by the U.S. President Reagan’s comments, the Communist Party newspaper Pravda wrote, were “permeated with frenzied hatred and malice toward the Soviet state and socialism...” The party boss in Leningrad told a meeting, “Comrades, the international situation at present is white hot, thoroughly white hot.” That, at least, was true.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses the nation from the Oval Office, Sept. 5, 1983.

The Politburo, in fact, knew that what had occurred had been a ghastly error, and General Secretary Andropov “was actually ready to admit the mistake publicly” (or so said the Soviet Ambassador to Washington much later), but he was talked out of doing this. Very ill and telling his colleagues to “sort it out,” Andropov left Moscow for a rest and medical treatment in the Crimea. Politburo leadership passed temporarily to Konstantin Chernenko, who was also very sick. The Party leadership in Moscow was not at the top of its game, and the ham-handed response, especially the lack of remorse, seemed to confirm the correctness of the Reagan and Shultz version. The next month Reagan sent American troops into the Caribbean island of Grenada to topple a Marxist regime, and the Soviets were not amused. Much more serious, NATO had scheduled an exercise called Able Archer from Nov. 2 to 11 to practice procedures for a full-scale release of nuclear weapons in wartime. Moscow’s generals worried that such an exercise might be used to mask a real attack, for their own plans sometimes used the same camouflage. But what is striking is that the Politburo and the General Staff genuinely believed that the NATO exercise might be the prelude to a nuclear attack and general war. The exercise moved NATO forces through all the alert stages from normal to a general alert. Even more worrying to Moscow, the U.S. president had a role in the original exercise scenario, though Reagan withdrew once he learned of Soviet anxiety. But the concern continued and mounted, the Russians on Nov. 5 asking their KGB residents in Britain to look for signs of preparations for a surprise attack and then, on the night of Nov. 8, erroneously reporting an alert on American bases in Europe that, they feared, was the prelude to a nuclear strike. Only after Able Archer ended did the paranoia ease, the Soviets at last standing down from their own increased readiness state. Any incident, any small slip-up, could have provoked a nuclear confrontation. The Pershing missile deployment to counter the SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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FEATURES

PHOTOS: LEGION MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

Left: The doomed flight of KAL 007. Right: The airliner’s destruction caused Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau to look at ways to lessen global tension.

U.S.S.R.’s SS-20s, the failing disarmament talks, the rabidly anti-Communist rhetoric of President Reagan and the Soviet reaction—all these had set the stage for the KAL 007 downing and Moscow’s panic about Able Archer. With both sides armed to the hilt, it would not have taken much to start a conflagration. In fact, the KAL shootdown had been a genuine error. United States Navy carrier jets had deliberately overflown Soviet territory earlier in 1983 and an RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft was in the area on the night of KAL 007’s fatal flight. When the Korean jet strayed off course, the Soviets had some reason to believe this was another deliberate American intrusion. The fighter pilot who shot down the plane was interviewed by the New York Times in 1996. The newspaper reported that the fighter pilot had trailed the unidentified aircraft for more than 95 kilometres, and zoomed in alongside to get a look. He explained that he got 150 to 200 metres away on the same altitude. He told the newspaper that from the airplane’s flashing lights and the configuration of its windows he recognized the aircraft as a civilian type of plane. According to the newspaper he explained that it is “easy to turn a civilian type of plane into one for military use.” At the time of the shootdown, American intelligence, listening in on Soviet communications, very quickly knew that a mistake had occurred, not a deliberate downing of a civilian aircraft, but in the heat of the moment in Washington the accusation of barbarity was made and went ahead, running on its own steam for days. In Ottawa, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had received briefings on the KAL disaster, and he had seen secret intelligence passed to Canada’s Communications Security Establishment by the U.S. National Security Agency. “It was obvious to me very early in the game,” Trudeau later told American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, “that the Reagan people were trying to create another bone of contention with the Soviets when they didn’t have a leg to

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stand on...the Americans knew it was an accident and the Soviets knew that the plane was not sent by the Americans. The two superpowers were talking past each other.” Twice, on Sept. 25 and Oct. 1, Trudeau told Liberal audiences that the shooting had been an “accident” and he repeated this in Parliament on Oct. 4: “I do not believe that the people in the Kremlin deliberately murdered or killed 200 or 300 passengers... I do not believe that. I believe it was a tragic accident, an accident of war.” The events from August to November 1983 had brought the world close to disaster. But leaders in the West reacted to their narrow escape in thoughtful ways. Reagan wrote in his diary on Nov. 18 that “I feel the Soviets are so defense minded, so paranoid about being attacked that without being in any way soft on them, we ought to tell them that no one here has any intention of doing anything like that. What the h--l have they got that anyone would want[?]” In his memoirs, Reagan said that “Many people at the top of the Soviet hierarchy were genuinely afraid of America and Americans,” something that puzzled the former president because the U.S. “had always used our power only as a force for good in the world.” Sobered by the narrow escape from nuclear war, Reagan began to press harder for nuclear disarmament, and after Andropov’s death and the quick passing of his successor Chernenko, he found a willing partner in Mikhail Gorbachev, a very different kind of Soviet leader. As for Pierre Trudeau, his response to the KAL shooting was to set his officials to work to find a way to lessen global tensions. The result was his peace initiative, a six-month series of trips to Washington, London, Beijing, the capitals of Eastern Europe, and Moscow, trying to urge everyone to draw back their claws. Tensions eased, but there was no direct result (other than huzzahs in the Canadian media), and Trudeau announced his retirement in February 1984 after more than 15 years in power. Had his efforts been worth it? He was asked that question years later. “Well,” he replied with his famous shrug, “there was no war.” It was more blind luck than Trudeau that saved the world, the luck that sometimes rescues fools from the consequences of their actions.

LEgion MagazinE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013

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2013-05-30 9:36 AM

Serving In Silence: FEATURES

The Story Of Canada’s Female Surveillance Force

By Kevin Doucette

Perched beside the Atla ntic Oc ea n near the tow n of Shelburne, N. S., are the remna nts of a piece of nava l histor y that served this countr y proudly—and very quietly—for 40 years.

T

ravel south along the Sandy Point Road beside the picturesque harbour and you soon catch a glimpse of the decommissioned Canadian Forces Station Shelburne. Nothing about it evokes the spy thriller image of a secret base, since it always resembled the business park it became for a brief period during its post-military life. But this unassuming little piece of real estate was a vital cog in our Cold War defences. When CFS Shelburne was operational, the only outward hint that it was a military facility was the standard green-and-white sign beside the front gate. Many of the buildings served the usual purposes. There were

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the messes, a CANEX, living quarters and administrative offices—and members of the military and their civilian guests could enter most of them—with one glaring exception. Ringed by a barbed wire-topped fence in the part of the station nearest the shore was a building offlimits to all except those authorized personnel cleared to enter. Access to the Operations Building was tightly controlled because inside that windowless box “down the hill” was a unique group listening to the ocean in search of a very elusive quarry. The quarry was Soviet submarines. Tracking, analyzing and reporting the submarine movements fell to a select group of women in the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (Wrens) in a trade known—at various times—as seaward defence, radar plotters and naval operators. These women had a year-round, 24-hours-a-day job to listen to an array of hydrophones, specially designed microphones for use underwater placed in known positions on the seabed of the ocean, to detect the distinct sound of stealthy submarines.

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Shelburne, 210 kilometres south west of Halifax, boasts one of the world’s best natural harbours. It had served as a deep-water port for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in the Second World War. It also proved to be the ideal location for an entirely different role it would play during the Cold War. The presence of hostile submarines off Canada’s east coast was not a new phenomenon. During both world wars, German U-boats searched Canadian waters for prey and, at least in the Second World War, found plenty of it. When hostilities ceased in Europe in May 1945—in a foreshadowing of Shelburne’s future purpose—German U-boat U-889 formally surrendered there. HMCS Shelburne, as it was first known, became operational on April 1, 1955, as one of the original links in the United States Navy’s (USN) classified chain of submarine tracking stations called the Sound Surveillance System or SOSUS. Shelburne worked operationally with both the USN and the Royal Canadian Navy, but was under Canadian control.

Originally the USN deployed six SOSUS arrays in the Atlantic Ocean. One of them was off the coast of Nova Scotia which required a facility to be constructed in the southwestern region of the province, so the RCN reactivated HMCS Shelburne on April 1, 1955. Other bases were set up in Nantucket, Mass.; Lewes, Del.; Cape Hatteras, N.C. and Puerto Rico. The only other Canadian facility was in Argentia, Nfld., which had RCN personnel but was entirely under USN authority. Mounting tensions between NATO and the Warsaw Pact nations spurred an increase in the presence of Soviet submarines in the North Atlantic, including Canadian waters. The 50th anniversary of the Cuban missile crisis in October 2012 provided a sharp reminder of why SOSUS was created in the first place. The enormous danger posed by Russian submarines during those tense moments when the world faced the potential of nuclear war was palpable. Shelburne’s personnel helped keep the menace in check— and Canadians safe—by quietly tracking these subs. Shelburne’s mission continued in the wake of the 1962 crisis against an adversary growing more sophisticated and threatening to our sovereignty. The earlier Soviet missile boats, or ballistic missile submarines, carried only a few short-range weapons. In time newer, more threatening

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEGION MAGAZINE

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PHOTOS: IN MEMORY OF LEADING WREN LEOLA MACDONALD; IUSSCAA

Clockwise from opposite page: Shelburne’s RCN and USN “Ship’s Company” prepare for the commissioning ceremony for the Joint RCN/USN Oceanographic Research Station, May 1, 1955; a DND sign just lists the name and address of CFS Shelburne; smartly dressed and sitting proudly, a Shelburne “watch shift” poses in front of a billboard; aerial view of the station.

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PHOTOS: IN MEMORY OF LEADING WREN LEOLA MACDONALD; IUSSCAA; LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA116720

FEATURES

units began patrolling off our coast capable of carrying 16 missiles that could reach upwards of 3,000 kilometres inland, placing the nation’s capital in jeopardy. The presence of Shelburne and facilities like it positioned around the North Atlantic meant that someone was always listening for them. “It was a job I felt was important and we needed to be there,” said retired petty officer (2nd class) Patricia Hennessy, a 21-year veteran of the navy. “It was one that I was proud to do.” Eventually the trade took the title oceanographic operator (with the Military Occupation Code 191), and was the only all-female trade in the regular force navy following unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968. The work was similar to that of their male counterparts in the sonar trade in many respects save one: it was conducted exclusively at a shore base rather than on a destroyer at sea. Long before the military began opening up trades to both genders (including 191), these highly-trained women were serving as close to the “pointy end” as was possible at that time. Continuous real-time monitoring of the hydrophones for targets was conducted within the windowless Operations Room. Those on the floor could not tell if it was clear or stormy, warm or cold, dark or light—conditions similar

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to those experienced on the Soviet submarines the Ocean Ops were tracking in defence of Canada. On their feet for the better part of an eight- or 12-hour shift, it was not an ideal work setting but these professionals took it in stride. “I stayed in the trade because it was as close to an active operational role that a woman could get in those days,” said Lesley Quin, a retired petty officer (1st class) with 23 years of service. “It was the only one that offered me that kind of challenge.” Ocean Ops at CFS Shelburne lived and worked near a small rural town. The navy did its best to provide recreational opportunities. There was a gym, a small pool, a library, a softball diamond and even a two-sheet curling rink. Each mess also had its own movie night. However, it was not the easiest of postings, especially for those trying to raise a family. Shelburne was a town full of warm-hearted people but it offered few amenities. They arrived in Shelburne representing a range of socio-economic groups from Canada’s largest metropolitan centres like Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary as well as our smaller cities and towns such as Bathurst, N.B.; Thetford Mines, Que. and Dawson Creek, B.C. The nature of the work limited their billets; it also meant the trade was few in number. Shelburne and Argentia were

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“I was travelling on a civilian airline in uniform when the person next to me asked me what I did. Rather than just tell her I was a clerk/typist, I gave her the Shelburne cover story…” Clockwise from opposite page, top left: An inspection during the commissioning ceremony; a badge includes the words “Serving In Silence”; CFS Shelburne wardroom photos; scenes from the station after it closed; officers serve Christmas dinner, 1955; the Shelburne softball team. The background photo (above right) is of U-889 as she surrenders in May 1945. Approaching is a RCAF aircraft. The U-boat was brought in to Shelburne under the White Ensign of the RCN.

their primary postings, but some were employed in Halifax, Greenwood, N.S.; at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa; Bermuda; Norfolk, Va. or in the United Kingdom. “We are a small but tight-knit community,” Quin said. “Many wonderful friendships were built and we’ve been enthusiastic users of social media to help us stay connected.” It has been over 20 years since SOSUS was declassified, yet Ocean Ops remain enigmas. Few of the many fine books recounting the history of the Canadian navy published in that timeframe discuss HMCS/CFS Shelburne’s purpose in any detail. Even fewer mention this singular group of women. Such is the price paid by those whose work was a secret. The need for secrecy created issues beyond those faced by civilians. An attempt to have Ocean Ops receive specialist’s pay was ultimately denied for a simple and very frustrating reason—the work could not be described in sufficient detail to justify the request. And it proved troublesome in other areas too.

“A colleague with job-related health problems couldn’t tell the medical officer what she did so she could get the right care,” Hennessy said. “We did our best to cope.” However, having to cover the true nature of their work could also produce some lighter moments. “I was travelling on a civilian airline in uniform when the person next to me asked me what I did. Rather than just tell her I was a clerk/typist, I gave her the Shelburne cover story about doing ocean research, taking water temperatures, testing salinity, etc. ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘that’s very interesting, I’m an oceanographer.’ I stuck to the clerk/typist story after that,” Hennessy laughed. Having stood their vigil in anonymity means that few know of the tremendous role these women played in safeguarding our nation during uncertain times. Oceanographic operators richly deserve recognition for their outstanding service and round-the-clock dedication to duty. Their intelligence and skill levels provided them with the capacity to do most anything in life; they chose to do their part in the demanding work of defending Canada. Bravo Zulu! Kevin Doucette served as an operations watch officer in Shelburne from 1980-83. His wife Carol (Mortimer) was an oceanographic operator from 1976 to 1981, serving in Shelburne and at the National Defence Operations Centre (NDHQ) in Ottawa.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEGION MAGAZINE

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FEATURES AL ATTU

EU

TIAN ISLAN

DS

KISKA

From left: A depiction of a RCAF briefing in support of operations in the Aleutians; Canadian troops, wearing American gear, disembark from a vessel in the Aleutians, 1943. were National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA) conscripts. The government and the military hoped that committing these soldiers to battle would help improve their somewhat tarnished image in the eyes of the public. Some of the conscripts deserted during training, but were quickly replaced. The brigade group sailed from Vancouver Island ports on July 12 and disembarked at Adak on July 21, where it joined the main body of American troops for further training in amphibious operations. After bombardment by ships and aircraft, the troops stormed ashore at Kiska in two landings over a two-day period on Aug. 15 and 16, 1943. Soldiers of the First Special Service Force led the assaults on both days, only to find that the Japanese occupiers had slipped away by submarine three weeks earlier. Although there was no enemy to fight, four Canadian and 20 American soldiers died and a further one Canadian and 50 Americans were wounded, either by accidental shootings in the dense fog or by Japanese mines and booby traps. The brigade group remained on Kiska for more than three months before returning to British Columbia. For the most part, the Canadian government did not consider the Aleutians a theatre of war, which resulted in inconsistencies in awards. Although Nos. 14 and 111 squadrons were awarded the battle honour Aleutians with appropriate year dates for their participation in the campaign, neither No. 8 Sqdn. nor the four squadrons based on Annette Island received the honour. Later during the war, Nos. 14 and 111 squadrons were reconstituted as 442 and 440 Sqdns. respectively and served overseas. For the navy, the Aleutians battle honour (also with appropriate year dates) was not authorized until the 1990s, when it was approved by the governor general as a strictly Canadian honour. Today, Vancouver is the only commissioned ship that wears this honour. None of the army units that participated in the operation received any battle honours. It was a similar situation for medals. Although navy and army personnel were not eligible for the Pacific Star campaign medal, some aircrew were awarded it in certain closely defined circumstances.

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ILLUSTRATION AND PHOTO: FLIGHT LIEUTENANT PAUL ALEXANDER GORANSON; LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA163409

On May 11, 1943, the U.S. Army’s 7th Division, supported by three battleships, attacked Attu. The RCN corvettes Dawson and Vancouver, which had returned to the Aleutians, provided anti-submarine support for this operation. The Japanese defenders fought to the death and inflicted almost 4,000 casualties on the larger American force, which took 20 days to defeat the Japanese. Meanwhile, Canadian and American government officials and military staff had been discussing the possibility of a Canadian army contribution to the recapture the second Japanese-occupied island, Kiska. In the end, Canada decided to provide a brigade group based on the headquarters of 13th Infantry Brigade, with the three infantry battalions in Pacific Command that were the strongest numerically. Additionally, the joint AmericanCanadian First Special Service Force, composed of two American battalions and a Canadian one, deployed in its first operation to give it some battle experience. The 13th Canadian Inf. Bde. was stationed on Vancouver Island as part of 6th Inf. Div., a home defence formation. It had gone through many changes of units, but for the Kiska operation its infantry component consisted of the Canadian Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), the Winnipeg Grenadiers (reconstituted after the original battalion’s defeat at Hong Kong) and the Rocky Mountain Rangers. Canadian authorities thought it desirable to have a French-speaking unit in the brigade, so Le Régt. de Hull was added. When the brigade was reorganized along U.S. army lines, Le Régt. de Hull took the place of a combat engineer battalion, and a company was provided to each of the three battalions, bringing the brigade group’s strength to 4,800 soldiers. To ease potential logistical problems, American weapons, clothing and other items were substituted for some of the Canadian ones. Other major units in 13th Inf. Bde. Group were 24th Field Regt., 46th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, 24th Field Company, a machine-gun company from the Saint John Fusiliers and 25th Field Ambulance. Brigadier Harry Foster was brought from England to command the brigade group. Interestingly, many of the soldiers in the brigade

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2013-08-01 3:41 PM

1812

Journal THEN & NOW

The War of 1812 lasted from the American declaration of war on Great Britain in June 1812 to the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent in February 1815. Each article in our Then & Now Journal consists of two parts. The “Then” portion describes events of the war in the same two-month time frame as 200 years ago. The “Now” portion highlights existing memorials, museums, battlefields, fortifications and other sites as well as various commemorative events. Space does not permit us to list every event, and so we encourage you to investigate what may be happening in your area or any event that may be of interest.

THEN

Commodore Isaac Chauncey

Sept. 3: American soldiers abandon and burn Fort Madison, Iowa Territory.

Sept. 5: USS Enterprise defeats HMS Boxer off Maine. Sept. 10: Master Commandant Oliver Perry’s American squadron defeats Commander Robert Barclay’s British squadron at Put-in-Bay during Battle of Lake Erie, establishing American control over Lake Erie. Sept. 11: Indecisive engagement between Commodore Sir James Yeo’s British squadron and Commodore Isaac Chauncey’s American squadron on Lake Ontario. Sept. 20: British and American troops skirmish at Odelltown, Lower Canada; Americans under Major-General Wade Hampton withdraw. Sept. 23: USS President captures HMS Highflyer off New England. Sept. 27: As Americans control Lake Erie, 800 British soldiers and 500 native allies under Maj.-Gen. Henry Proctor are forced to abandon Detroit frontier and withdraw eastward along Thames River. Sept. 28: Gen. William Harrison and 3,800 soldiers pursue British retreating from Detroit frontier; British and American squadrons engage off Burlington Bay in battle known as “Burlington Races.” Oct. 1: Troops under Gen. Hampton cross border south of Montreal and skirmish with Canadians.

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BY JOHN B OIL E AU

Oct. 2: 133 escaped American slaves from Chesapeake Bay area arrive in Halifax. Oct. 4: U.S. revenue cutter Vigilant captures New Brunswick privateer Dart off Rhode Island; skirmish known as Battle of the Forks takes place between advancing American forces and withdrawing British forces. Oct. 5: Gen. Harrison overtakes withdrawing British at Moraviantown and defeats them in Battle of the Thames; Tecumseh killed, causing many native allies to abandon British; HMS Fantome captures privateer Portsmouth Packet, which resumes career under original name of Liverpool Packet. Oct 6: Commodore Isaac Chauncey captures six British transports sailing from York (Toronto) to Kingston. Oct. 14: Gen. Harrison signs provisional armistice with native allies who have abandoned British. Oct. 16: American troops under Maj.-Gen. James Wilkinson leave Sackets Harbour, NY, intending to attack Montreal. Oct. 19: Gen. Hampton crosses border near Odelltown, intending to attack Montreal. Oct. 25-26: Canadian militia and native allies under Colonel Charles de Salaberry repulse Gen. Hampton’s invasion attempt at Battle of Châteauguay. ILLUSTRATIONS AND PHOTOS: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—C-010926; PETER RINDLISBACHER; PARKS CANADA; GREEN DOOR MEDIAWORKS; PETER RINDLISBACHER

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cey Retreat along the Thames

NOW Sept. 2: Battle of Lake Erie Re-creation, Put-in-Bay, Ohio. Sept. 7-8: War of 1812 Re-enactment, Backus Heritage Conservation Area, Port Rowan, Ont. Sept. 21: Hamilton and Scourge Memorial, Dundurn National Historic Site, Hamilton. Sept. 21-22: War of 1812 Re-enactment Weekend, Glengarry Pioneer Village, Dunvegan, Ont. Oct. 4-5: 200th Anniversary of Battle of the Thames, Thamesville, Ont. Oct. 5-6: 200th Anniversary of Battle of Châteauguay Re-enactment and Period Encampment, Ormstown and Châteauguay National Historic Site, Que.

Battle of Châteauguay Re-enactment

Battle of Lake Erie

Oct. 12-13: Battle of Queenston Heights Commemorative Weekend, Queenston, Ont. Burlington Races

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NEWS

And Colton Smith of Parrsboro, N.S., whose poem Proud placed second in the senior category, yearns for more constant remembrance.

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“Remember those who gave their lives, The ones who were injured, And the ones that survived. Remember the sacrifices that the heroes gave As time recedes and memories fade.

AND TS

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Literary Contests has had a rare opportunity to get his message across—twice. Owen Brown, 17, from Guelph, Ont., wants other young people to appreciate that soldiers and veterans are real people who carried a burden that can only be imagined by today’s youth. “Those people carried such a great weight,” says Brown, who has had back-to-back firstplace finishes in the senior black and white poster category. His poster, submitted by Waterloo Branch, depicts a young soldier and a veteran, standing side by side under the words “The Weight of our Freedom.” Where their shoulders meet are scenes of battles on the ground, sea and air, representing “the duress and pain they went through,” says Brown. They represent the weight of freedom for their generation. “They were real people who sacrificed for us, and as real people, we need to choose to honour and remember them.” Remembrance: the weight of freedom for this generation. In Remembering the Brave, first-place intermediate poem, Emma Giesbrect of Comox, B.C., understands the threat passing time poses to Remembrance:

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ONE WINNER OF THE 2013 LEGION POSTER and

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Youth Wins Poster Contest Second Time In A Row

They lived in holes, faced everything Mother Nature had to offer, Waiting in a mix of dirt, And death… They stand among us today, Only praised on one day After fighting for our freedom. Risking their lives… More than 100,000 students participate in the Legion’s annual literary and poster contests, joining a 50-year tradition of sharing thoughts on remembrance. Young people have fewer and fewer opportunities to connect with people with wartime experience as the generations that lived through the Second World War and Korean War pass on. This year, only one winning entry focuses on experiences of a family member. Eleven-year-old Frances Milner of Peterborough, Ont., interviewed her grandfather Peter Milner, who served during the Second World War as a navigator in a Lancaster bomber, for her first-place junior essay. He talked about experiences far removed from her everyday life. “His job was difficult because concentrating through all the noise and commotion in the plane and arriving at the target at the exact time was very challenging,” she wrote. He was wounded in the leg in an attack by a German fighter plane. But “not all times were bad…he made strong, lifelong friendships and had good times with his crew. “He says he only did what millions of others did… He doesn’t believe he’s a hero, but I do.” In an interview, Frances said it’s difficult for youth today to appreciate the contrasts of service

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NEWS

INTER

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FIRST PLAC

OR SENI ERS POST

FIPRLASCET then, the very bad times and very good times, fear and pride, being part of something bigger than themselves. “No one now really knows…no one who hasn’t served,” she said. But the 2013 winning entries show young people do connect to the experiences lived by earlier generations. Some use imagination to put themselves in the shoes of those who experienced fighting for their country and upholding its values. Others contrast their own youthful experiences with those of generations before. Many focus on the duty to remember and the power of remembrance. Lacking a role model in her own family, Daniela Gallardo of Dieppe, N.B., used her imagination in her first-place senior essay, submitted by Moncton Branch. She put herself in the sensible shoes of a military nurse in Sicily during the Second World War. “People to this day still don’t really know what it was like; don’t really realize what we did. We were soldiers just like the men, carrying bandages to heal instead of guns to kill.” She writes about gruelling days, about the emotional toll, “countless sleepless nights, the never-ending shifts.”

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Clockwise from above right: First-place posters by Justice Jasmine Morin, Prince Albert, Sask.; Emily (xiao) Yu, Calgary; Ginny Hsiang, Surrey, B.C.; and Owen Brown, Guelph, Ont. Why did they volunteer for the job? “‘If not I, then who else?’ Someone had to pick up the pieces of what had been damaged.” And then make sure the experience is remembered. “My experience in war, and that of every other, must stay alive. It must stay alive to prove that even in the bleakest of times, hope exists.” As a first-generation Canadian whose parents emigrated from El Salvador about 20 years ago, Daniela, 15, wanted to write about war from a different perspective than that of a soldier. Remembrance activities increase her connection to Canada, make her appreciate even more all that she has, she said in an interview. In their essays, Melissa Liu, senior second-place winner, and Robert Deacon, intermediate first-place winner, describe older veterans attending Remembrance Day services. Liu of Surrey, B.C., captures the way services spark fearful memories for a survivor of the Battle of Ortona: lonely, fear-filled nights, the faces of comrades who were killed, the sound of rubble underfoot. “Before he realizes, the ceremony is over, but the memories from 1943 are still ringing in his head.” SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEGION MAGAZINE

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“THEY WERE REAL PEOPLE WHO SACRIFICED FOR US, AND AS REAL PEOPLE, WE NEED TO CHOOSE TO HONOUR AND REMEMBER THEM.” – OWEN BROWN R JUNIORS POSTE

FIPRLASCET First-place colour poster above by Vince Ropitini, Medicine Hat, Alta.; black and white poster by Angel Qiu, Vancouver. Opposite page: Joseph Brink of Brampton, Ont., placed first in both the Primary colour and black and white poster contests.

Katelyn Hogan of Northern Bay, Nfld., won first place for her senior poem submitted by Carbonear Branch. Titled I’ve Been Lucky, I Know, the poem contrasts the lives of youth during wartime and her own generation, whose chief worries are curfews, assignment due dates and exams. I guess you can see My problems lack weight, So with reference to war, It’s hard to relate. I’ve been lucky I know, To have been spared the cost Of a headline saying That my sister was lost. Or to be the little boy, Whose tears did shed, When he wished for his Dad, But received a flag instead.

In A Field of Red, Deacon of Victoria writes about a former prisoner of war: “All of the people around me wear poppies... To some, like me, they symbolize personal experiences. For others, they are a way of never forgetting loved ones. But to all, wearing a poppy is a special way of showing respect for those who fought and died to make our country what it is today.” In these excerpts from Through the Eyes of a Soldier, Jack Thomas Moulton of Manotick, Ont., second-place intermediate poetry winner, writes about the universal Canadian soldier. Through the eyes of a soldier, I see an old soul I see the beaches of Normandy, the agony of Bosnia, The victory at Vimy Ridge, the despair in Afghanistan. Through the eyes of a soldier, I see a young soldier Who courageously has chosen to fight for our freedom Family that is left behind, for months or a lifetime… Through the eyes of a soldier, I see a huge heart Showing what Canada is made of, regardless of cost…

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In War Is Not A Video Game, Phillip Sevigny of Cowansville, Que., whose poem placed second in the junior category, shows that being part of the electronic-game generation doesn’t dim his ability to tell reality from fantasy. War isn’t a video game, You don’t get three lives. You’ll be lucky if you Make it home alive. Flags don’t give you life, You don’t just reappear, You can’t make peace by running, It’s men you shoot, not deer. You can’t just pause the war, You can’t just save and run. Tanks don’t come out of games, You don’t get to use a toy gun.

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2013 National Results SENIOR PRIM

RY POSTA ERS

FIRST PLACE

COLOUR POSTER—First: Ginny Hsiang, Surrey, B.C.; Second: Mackenzie Wintyr Chorney, Unity, Sask.; Honourable Mention: Erica Peterson-King, Kingsville, Ont. BLACK AND WHITE POSTER—First: Owen Brown, Guelph, Ont.; Second: Catharina Venter, Virden, Man.; Honourable Mention: Jon (Hwec Dong) Yoo, West Vancouver, B.C. POEM—First: Katelyn Hogan, Northern Bay, Nfld.; Second: Colton Smith, Parrsboro, N.S.; Honourable Mention: Evan Whitfield, Marwayne, Alta. ESSAY—First: Daniela Gallardo, Dieppe, N.B.; Second: Melissa Liu, Surrey, B.C.; Honourable Mention: Jean-Christophe Slattery, Longlac, Ont.

INTERMEDIATE COLOUR POSTER—First: Justice Jasmine Morin, Prince Albert, Sask.; Second: Hayley Bouwman, Chatsworth, Ont.; Honourable Mention: Chen, ching-ting (Melody) Richmond, B.C. BLACK AND WHITE POSTER—First: Emily (xiao) Yu, Calgary; Second: Vera Liu, Vancouver; Honourable Mention: Casey Xue Li O’Neill, Belleisle Creek, N.B. POEM—First: Emma Giesbrect, Comox, B.C.; Second: Jack Thomas Moulton, Manotick, Ont.; Honourable Mention: Autumn Della Grace Bennett, Monastery, N.S. ESSAY—First: Robert Deacon, Victoria, B.C.; Second: Natalie Arsenault, Moncton, N.B.; Honourable Mention: Robyn Ann Boytinck, Fairview, Alta.

JUNIOR The contests have two divisions: poetry and essay in the literary contests, black and white and colour in the poster contests. Awards are made at the Primary (kindergarten through Grade 3), Junior (Grades 4 through 6); Intermediate (Grades 7 through 9) and Senior (to Grade 12) levels. First-place entries from all levels are displayed at the Canadian War Museum for a year. Second-place entries and honourable mentions are displayed in the foyer of the Parliament Buildings during the remembrance period in November. In addition, the Legion sponsors winners of the four senior categories to attend the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa, where they place a wreath on behalf of the youth of Canada, and meet the governor general. This will be Brown’s third national ceremony. In 2010, he accompanied his brother Jonathan, whose black and white poster also won a first. That trip planted the seed for Owen’s 2012 firstplace poster. Attending the national service in his own right changed him. “I stepped away from a passive kind of behaviour towards remembrance to a more purposeful place. I can choose to put more effort into personally remembering and choosing to be thankful.”

COLOUR POSTER—First: Vince Ropitini, Medicine Hat, Alta.; Second: Kaela Whittingham, Aurora, Ont.; Honourable Mention: Vicky Chen, Surrey, B.C. BLACK AND WHITE POSTER—First: Angel Qiu, Vancouver; Second: Marion Hofer, Holden, Alta.; Honourable Mention: Desirée Boulter, Bruce Mines, Ont. POEM—First: Navin Dosanjh, Surrey, B.C.; Second: Phillip Sevigny, Cowansville, Que.; Honourable Mention: Amber Thiessen, Maryfield, Sask. ESSAY—First: Frances Milner, Peterborough, Ont.; Second: Jasmine Porier, Hemmingford, Que.; Honourable Mention: Tyler Smith, Ellerslie, P.E.I.

PRIMARY COLOUR POSTER—First: Joseph Brink, Brampton, Ont.; Second: Ida Yang, Surrey, B.C.; Honourable Mention: Samantha Schurman, Kensington, P.E.I. BLACK AND WHITE POSTER—First: Joseph Brink, Brampton, Ont.; Second: Jessica Hofer, Holden, Alta.; Honourable Mention: Dahlia Maendel, Pilot Mound, Man.

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SENIOR ESSAY

FIRST PLACE

Light In The Darkness

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BY DANIELA GALLARDO

WORLD WAR II, ITALY. The war had been underway

for some time now. All of us had grown used to the countless sleepless nights, the never-ending shifts. We could do this forever, it seemed. Our movements were mechanical, like that of an unfeeling robot. Our eyes were open but did not see. If we had let ourselves absorb the horrors of the aftermath on the battlefield, we couldn’t have done the job. People to this day still don’t really know what it was like; don’t really realize what we did. We were soldiers just like the men, carrying bandages to heal instead of guns to kill. That was my life, the life of a military nurse. I was stationed at a nearby hospital in Sicily, Italy, a couple of hours away from the battlefield. Our mission did not have an enemy; we were not fighting for a team, or a specific victory. Our mission was to fight to save lives, not to kill other men. Whether the patients were German, Italian, or even American, it made no difference to us. Our priority was to get the men home, wherever that may have been in the world. Routine days were gruelling, never an easygoing pace. Every day held new miseries: another cringing injury, or a tortured scream from the surgery table that would keep me and other staff members awake at night. Some people might have thought why we were even doing what we did, why we would put ourselves

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through daily extra stress and sadness? But the question I asked myself was, “If not I, then who else?” Someone had to pick up the pieces of what had been damaged; in this case it was the men. At the end of all the chaos, the spilled blood, and broken bones, there had to be someone to try and fi x the damage. That thought was what kept me in that hospital. Someone had to take that responsibility; the world had to move on, and the least I could do was step up to that plate. Trying to not get emotionally compromised was the everyday challenge as a nurse. The patients we were nursing were men, men like our husbands, sons, and fathers. They were just broken souls trying to get home. We, as nurses, had to provide a means for them to escape their harsh reality, even if just for a moment. Something that I only realized after the war was that amidst all the destruction, death, pain and heartache, we gave the wounded soldier something even better than a victory; we gave them peace. That peace we gave them healed more than a bandage, or stitches; it healed their souls. War kills more than just the physical bodies of men; it also destroys their innocent souls, day by day. My experience in war, and that of every other, must stay alive. It must stay alive to prove that even in the bleakest of times, hope exists.

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NEWS

ASSISTANCE PROVIDED IN RECOMMENDING NATIONAL AWARDS MORE LEGIONNAIRES SHOULD BE recognized for their volunteer spirit and contributions to their community with national honours and awards, says the Dominion Command Ritual and Awards Committee. Dominion President Gordon Moore asked the committee to include a section on national awards such as the Order of Canada in its new manual to be published this fall. The new Ritual, Awards and Protocol Manual will combine the current Rituals and Insignia Manual, Honours and Awards Manual and the National Honours Manual. It will include a section on the Canadian honours handled by the Chancellery at Rideau Hall. These include the Order of Canada, meritorious service decorations and the Governor General’s Caring Canadian Award. The manual will also have a section on the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation which is handled by Veterans Affairs Canada. “We had a very good meeting with staff at the Chancellery of

Canadian Honours outlining the process,” said Chairman Ron Goebel. Legionnaires are encouraged to nominate people at their branches who they think are worthy. Nomination may be initiated at any level of the Legion. Once a nomination for a candidate has been received by the Chancellery, research is then undertaken to confirm the facts and a summary of each candidate’s credentials is presented to an advisory council or committee for review. The advisory committee then prepares a list of recommendations to the governor general who has the right to accept or decline the recommendations. A similar process governs VAC in the awarding of the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation. A limited number of those nominated are recommended, so it is important that as much background and information as possible is given by the nominator as to the worthiness of the candidate. Relevant biographical information should

be approximately 500 words and include a statement on the impact the applicant has had on his or her community or organization. All nominations require the names of three additional persons who will support the nomination. These people may be contacted by the approving authority. In order to avoid showing a bias towards Legion members, it is recommended that supporting endorsements come from sources outside the Legion. Nominations can be forwarded to the committee who will review the nomination and submit it to the Chancellery. “We are not the approving authority. We are there to assist in preparing the nomination,” said Goebel. Nomination forms may be obtained from the Chancellery at the website www.gg.ca or by calling 1-800-465-6890. Nominations for the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation may be picked up at VAC regional or district offices or from www.vac-acc.gc.ca.

MEMBER BENEFITS PACKAGE: WHO’S IN AND WHO’S OUT EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2013, Relocation Services, Travelodge Canada and PPG Architectural Coatings (formerly ICI Paints) are no longer partners in The Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) Member Benefits Package (MBP). Any member who purchases products from these organizations will no longer receive the RCL MBP discounts from them. The discounts Legion members and their immediate families are

eligible for are considerable and available from the 11 other partners that make up the MBP. These savings can be found with We Care Home Health Services, Premier Care In Bathing, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Medipac Travel Insurance, Philips Lifeline Canada, Connect Hearing, Arbor Memorial Services Inc., Ancestry.ca, Dell Canada Inc., Home Hardware, and MBNA Canada Bank. Look for their listing

on page 8 of this issue and for more information on the benefits these businesses offer, please check them out at http://www.legionmagazine. com/en/index.php/member-benefits-package/ SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEGION MAGAZINE

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nd PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

CONVENTION

SUCCESSFUL TRACK AND FIELD EVENT HIGHLIGHTS TERM DESPITE THE DRIZZLY AND WINDY WEATHER, Prince Edward Island Command’s 62nd provincial convention in Tignish played out on a high note provided by the command’s successful hosting of the 2012 Canadian Youth Track and Field Championships in Charlottetown. The track meet was “one of the major highlights of the past two years,” said President Dianne Kennedy. All 10 commands were represented; the event drew 331 Legionsponsored and 486 open athletes, 36 chaperones and 25 coaches from across the country. The Royal Canadian Legion has been named sport event sponsor of the year by the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance for its funding of track and field for nearly 50 years. But there were low notes as well. Command has been unsuccessful in fighting the closure of the Veterans Affairs Canada district office. Kennedy reported that at a meeting with Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney in Charlottetown, he “announced to us that we will have an access office…with two full-time staff. That indeed is better than no office at all.” Better, perhaps, but not ideal. “The decision seems intractable,” Command Service Officer Wayne Pike said in his report. “The time required for a disability claim to be processed is 12 to 16 weeks and possibly longer.” He assisted 30 veterans and 11 widows in making claims; 15 clients received disability settlements totalling nearly $500,000 and three veterans have had increases to their pensions. The topic of membership recurred throughout the convention. “There is a pressing need to keep people—young and old—coming through your doors,” said LieutenantGovernor H. Frank Lewis, in thanking branches for the work they do for veterans, youth and the community. Legion branches are important to society, he said, because they are “a place of unity… [where social and community events] make life better for everyone.” Loss of members has caused close attention to be paid to renewal and recruitment, said Dominion Vice-President Ed Pigeau, who updated delegates on the national membership and marketing initiatives, including modernizing the image of the poppy, beefing up social media presence, and the One By One membership campaign. In an effort to increase the national renewal rate, which stands at 89 per cent, Dominion Command sends out reminder notices and lists of lapsed members to

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PHOTOS: SHARON ADAMS

BY SHARON ADAMS

branches so they can encourage former members to renew, said Dominion Command Membership Section Head Maureen Thompson. But recruitment is also necessary if membership is to grow. Word of mouth is one of the most effective tools for building membership, said Thompson, and branch members “are our most valuable resource” in spreading the word. “Invite your families, your friends, your colleagues to join,” she said. “Tell them who we are, what we have to offer and what the Legion means to your community and you.” “There’s no future without membership,” Gilles Painchaud said in his first speech after his election as command president. “The Legion can only be as strong and effective as its membership. Where goes our membership so too goes our advocacy and health of the veterans we serve.” The command continues to be financially stable thanks in part to the continued success of the Military Service Booklet produced by Fenety Marketing, Kennedy said. Over the past decade the booklet has raised $324,000 for P.E.I. Command, with proceeds growing from $27,000 to $39,000 annually. The command ended 2012 with a surplus of $18,000, on revenue of $219,240 and expenses of $201,234, reported Financial Chair Lynda Curtis. However, projections are for a small loss in 2013, rising to about $5,000 in 2014. Mark Fenety reported that due to adoption of the harmonized sales tax (HST) by the province, the tax bite will increase to 14 per cent from five per cent of proceeds, meaning command will receive an estimated $5,900 less.

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PHOTOS: SHARON ADAMS

The convention’s business session opened with a financial seminar by accountant Lloyd Compton, of MRSB Group. “Every non-profit organization is affected by theft or misappropriation or just errors,” he said. In financially tough times like these, “cash is the first thing to go missing,” he said. Among his advice to tighten security were involving many people in oversight; requiring an invoice, voucher or mileage statement for payment; making payments only by cheque, and never pre-signing cheques. He also suggested counting assets at least once a year, and making a note of when old equipment is retired or replaced. Branches donated $3,550 for Caribbean veterans and widows and another $333.76 was raised from delegates after a moving presentation on the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League by Pigeau. The RCEL supports 156 veterans and 126 widows ensuring they can afford at least one meal a day. Veterans receive $2.96 a day and widows half of that. “We accepted their assistance in times of war,” Pigeau said, “now is not the time to abandon them in their time of need.” Although the convention was small—with 42 delegates and 28 guests and observers—debate on the resolutions was spirited. P.E.I. Command will take a resolution to the 2014 dominion convention seeking a change to the General Bylaws making it optional to require submission of a $100 fee when filing complaints. Frivolous complaints have dropped tremendously since the fee was instituted, said President Kennedy. But others pointed out branches and commands should not be forced to charge a fee. Delegates also voted to raise the registration fee for curling teams to $60 per member from $40. A resolution to remove bowling as a provincial sport was amended so that the sport is retained, but a provincial tournament will be held only if four or more teams register. Three non-concurred resolutions were defeated; the first, to dissolve Queens County Zone, because at last convention it was decided to retain current structure; the second, directing Veterans Affairs Canada to retain district offices, because the Legion has the power to recommend, not dictate; and the third, petitioning the province to increase the number of nurse practitioners, because the request should be addressed to the minister of health.

Opposite: Past President Dianne Kennedy congratulates new P.E.I. Command President Gilles Painchaud. Above left: Dominion Vice-President Ed Pigeau places a wreath; the colour party marches at the indoor parade.

Delegates were uplifted by the presentation of Joyce Phillips of George Pearkes VC Branch in Summerside, who participated in the 2011 Pilgrimage of Remembrance. “We have the privilege and the honour of walking in the footsteps of a thousand men and women on the shores of Juno Beach right up to Holland,” she said. She saw battle sites where her father Lee Birch, a member of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, fought, and visited the gravesite of her father’s friend Private Charles Doucette, who was among those executed at Abbaye d’Ardenne on orders of panzer commander Kurt Meyer. Elections began smoothly with Gilles Painchaud of Wellington Branch acclaimed as president. Finance Chair Lynda Curtis of St. Anthony Branch in Bloomfield was also acclaimed. Vice-President Owen Parkhouse of Morrell Branch was elected first vice, and the name of competitor John Yeo of Charlottetown Branch was added to the list of those vying for three positions of vice-president. The only wrinkle in proceedings came when candidate Dolores Watts of Charlottetown Branch was called away, causing her removal as a candidate as she was not present at the time of the vote and had not left a letter accepting nomination. Acclaimed as vice-presidents were Yeo and incumbents David Perry of Souris Branch and Eldon Doucette of Miscouche Branch. Three members ran for the position of chairman: Queen’s County Zone Commander Claus Brodersen of Kingston Branch in New Haven was elected and the names of competitors Shirley Doucette and Keir Johnson, both of Miscouche Branch, were added to that of Patrick Doyle of Charlottetown Branch to stand for vice-chairman. Johnson won that election. Delegates thanked Robert Gaudet of Tignish Branch, who headed the Local Arrangements Committee, assisted by branch manager Lisa Hackett. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEGION MAGAZINE

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NEWS

New Brunswick Comes Through In Eight-Ball Championship By Shane Rockland Fowler The trend continues and the home team reigns supreme. Team New Brunswick took top honours at the second Dominion Command Eight-Ball Championship. Over an absolutely rain-drenched weekend May 25-26 in the provincial capital of Fredericton, the host team took the title, just as British Columbia/Yukon Command had when it was host to the initial eightball tournament in Victoria. It wasn’t a decisive win. Atlantic rival Nova Scotia/Nunavut came in only three wins behind. Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario and Ontario nipped at their heels with just four wins away from the title and tied for third. Fredericton Branch, which overlooks the St. John River, was host to the newest of Dominion Command sports. Joining time-honoured favourites of cribbage, curling and darts, the specifics of the sporting event were still being ironed out. “It’s working out great so far, knock on wood,” laughed Dominion Command Sports Committee representative Norman Shelton. “But so far it’s been amazing!” The newest dominion sport uses a tweaked version of the World Pool-Billiard Association rules. “We used them as a template, but they’re not set in stone,” explained head referee Roger Miller regarding the process of smoothing out the specifics for the sport. “If we encounter an issue, we convene with a member of each group and work it out. As long as the captains agree, that’s fine. It’s gone very well. Very smooth.” Those rules saw nine teams from across the country compete against each other over the course of the

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weekend. Every command was represented save for the returning champs. Last year Quebec Command couldn’t make it to the table but they had a team this year. The absence of a B.C./Yukon team meant the top spot was up for grabs for a new contender. With the conclusion of an opening ceremony Saturday morning, the games were declared officially off and running. Three tables were constantly occupied for the next two days. The sound of cracking balls and occasional breaks was mixed with the underlying rumble of conversations among Canadians from near and far. Teams would bottleneck as newcomers would come onto the tables following the completion of games before them. “Good luck” and “Good game” were said as the fresh players passed those who had just finished a round. Each command brought four players with them to Fredericton. In order to get to the dominion competition and represent their command, each team had to place in the top tier in its home jurisdiction. The two players that fared best

for their teams would earn the chance to play in the doubles tournament once teams’ totals were completed. Out of those, the best man in each team would compete in the singles tournament and a single winner would be crowned. “Everyone here loves pool,” said Local Arrangements Committee Chairman Tom Doherty. “And everyone here is here to have a good time.” Doherty is one of the men responsible for conceptualizing the tournament and getting eight-ball recognized as a dominion-level sport. “Three years ago I was standing over there,” Doherty motioned across the hall. “We had to get it as a national sport, had to write the resolution. Lot of work.” But persistence had its reward. “The reason we got it is because we stuck with it and stuck it out,” said Doherty. “It’s been well worth it.” Halfway through the Saturday, everybody in the hall would agree. With each player at the tournament needing to complete nine games in total, play continued through the lunch hour. While the loud crash of breaks and the clang

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Opposite page: The champs are (from left) Maurice Hicks, Jeff McAllister, Stephen Wells and Norm Saunders. This page from bottom left: Brian Bartkow (third left) accepts the singles trophy from (from left) Tom Doherty, Norman Shelton and Richmond Nixon; the winning team receives prizes; Dominion Sports Committee representative Norman Shelton addresses players.

of glasses continued and the smell of the local stewing fiddleheads wafted through the room, the top players were emerging. After six rounds of play the leaders of each conference were starting to declare themselves. Four divisions spread across two conferences dictated the score sheet. The first conference was proving crowded with Rick Hutcheon of Norwood-St. Boniface Branch in St. Boniface, Man., in Division 1 tied for top spot with Brian Bartkow of A.H. Foster MM Memorial Branch in Kingston, N.S., with 13 points apiece. Stephen Wells of team New Brunswick from Sackville Branch led the third conference with 12 points. His lead was narrow over Steve West of Memorial Branch in Owen Sound, Ont., in Division 4 who managed 11 points. Although the scores were tight, the tensions were not. Camaraderie abounded throughout the tournament. While a few players were returning from last year’s event, many of the faces looming over the green carpet were new. Many of them had never been to Canada’s picture province before. “Some came a week early and rented a cabin to see the area,” said Doherty. “And some others took a wrong turn and saw more than they bargained for.”

According to Doherty, one team, eager to see Nova Scotia, took a wrong turn and managed to wind up in Prince Edward Island. How they mistook the Confederation Bridge remains to be explained. “They saw three provinces in just a few hours,” Doherty chuckled. Through it all, it rained heavily. That left the indoor sport of pool the best way to ride out the weather. As the totals were coming to a close, Team New Brunswick, led by Wells with Maurice Hicks, Norm Saunders and Jeff McAllister managed to keep ahead of the pack. Their early success had momentum enough to propel them to the top spot. They closed out the tournament with a total of 41 points. The Nova Scotia/Nunavut team of Bartkow, Chris Marsh, Bob Moore and Brian Thomas notched second with 38. Ontario and Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario shared third place with 37 points each. The AlbertaNorthwest Territories team from Drayton Valley Branch grabbed a respectable 33 points. Team P.E.I., with their signature red shirts, snagged a 30-point total. The Newfoundland and Labrador team from Dr. William Collingwood Memorial Branch in Placentia managed 29 points. Saskatchewan’s team from Estevan Branch

followed them by a single point, cashing in with 28 points. And the Quebec team from Ste-Therese Branch closed out the weekend with 15 points on the board. The ensuing singles and doubles tournaments saw other provinces nab top prizes. Ontario and Saskatchewan beat out Manitoba and Alberta respectively to play each other in the doubles finals. The Prairie province toppled Ontario to grab that win. In singles play the top four players duked it out for the top player for the year. Brian Bartkow of Nova Scotia, Steve West from Ontario, Stephen Wells of New Brunswick and Rick Hutcheon from Manitoba were the top players of the weekend. Hutcheon and Bartkow went on to the semifinals. To great cheers among his new friends and teammates Brian Bartkow emerged victorious. The weekend ended with a home-cooked meal and closing ceremonies. Before the trophies were awarded, Fredericton MLA Brian MacDonald appeared to ensure all visitors that it did not in fact rain in droves all the time in New Brunswick. During the thank you speeches, promises were made to return next year when the third tournament is played in North Bay, Ont. September/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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st BRITISH COLUMBIA/ YUKON CONVENTION

CONVENTION SUPPORTS EXOSKELETON PROJECT BY JENNIFER MORSE

GOOD WORKS WERE FRONT AND CENTRE at the 51st British Columbia/Yukon Command Convention. Delegates demonstrated ongoing support of programs like the Legion Military Skills Conversion Program at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), the Veterans Transition Program, Cockrell House, as well as national programs like the Royal Canadian Ex-services League (RCEL). A moving keynote address by wounded Afghan veteran Trevor Greene set the tone and Legionnaires put their money where their hearts were having raised almost $90,000 towards an exoskeleton device to help Greene walk. At the opening ceremonies, Greene rolled his wheelchair a few feet forward to reach the microphone. “I am not your typical army recruit,” he says softly, explaining his time in Kandahar as a civil-military relations officer. “On March 4, seven years ago...an insurgent snuck up behind me and took his homemade axe out of his robe and drove it into my head.” It was a horrific attack, causing massive brain injuries. “My recovery is my biggest challenge, the slowness of it. I call it my marathon of baby steps... When I came out of that coma seven years ago I couldn’t move a muscle, because the

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axe destroyed my motor cortex. All I could do was blink.” What Greene needs now is an exoskeleton—an external computerized construction of braces and motors designed to help him walk. He explained, “The exoskeleton is the next phase of my recovery… Someday I will take a step for all of you—each and every one of you.” It will cost $100,000 and, after his keynote address, delegates presented him with a cheque for $25,000. This, along with previous donations, brought the total to $88,945. The next day, during business sessions, Legionnaires showed their commitment to wounded veterans with a resolution that the Legion lobby the government of Canada, and specifically Veteran Affairs Canada (VAC), for the full funding of the exoskeleton. Two hundred and twenty-four delegates and 28 observers gathered in the picture-perfect resort town of Whistler, May 26-29. The crisp mountain air sparkled as delegates assembled for the wreath-placing and parade in Village Square on Sunday. Maxime Bruce, representing the Lil’wat nation, welcomed delegates. Placing a wreath on behalf of the Canadian Forces was Rear-Admiral William Truelove, followed by Dominion Chairman Tom Irvine, B.C./Yukon Command President Bob Brady and B.C./Yukon Command Ladies Auxiliary President Doreen Holmes. Debbie and Grace Greene, wife and daughter of the keynote speaker, placed a wreath for the fallen. Other VIPs included Dominion Treasurer Mike Cook, former dominion president Mary Ann Misfeldt (the former Mary Ann Burdett), Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, and Whistler Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden. On Monday, the business sessions begin and Truelove thanked Legion delegates for their work on behalf of the Forces. “Your veterans transition program assists Canadian Armed Forces members and veterans in their first career transition...that enables servicemen and women to manage the transition from service to civilian life...and of course Cockrell House in Victoria where safe transitional housing is provided to homeless veterans.” That afternoon First Vice Angus Stanfield was nominated as the new president and gave a stirring speech “I don’t know about you but I am getting tired of people proclaiming our organization to be in its dying days. That isn’t the future I see for the Legion... Consider our bright future. Consider new members who would appreciate the gift of experience in the operation of the branches and to learn about fundraising, because nobody does that stuff better than we do.”

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Constitution and Laws Committee Chairman Marc Tremblay presented his report. The most contentious nonconcurred amendment was a bylaw which would increase the number of command vice-presidents from two to three. Misfeldt spoke against the change and the majority of delegates agreed. That proposal, along with a few others, was withdrawn and the bylaws passed as amended. Assistant Deputy Minister Keith Hillier of VAC briefed convention on many of the changes in the system, including VAC’s expanding agreement with Service Canada which provides 600 points of contact cross Canada. He also says, “One of the biggest announcements is the increase in funeral and burials from $3,600 to $7,376.” However he neglected to credit the Legion’s leadership and contribution. The next day, Irvine set the record straight. “Our national letter-writing campaign seeking to increase the funeral and burial benefits for veterans and their families caused the government to review this policy... Tens of thousands of Legion members and even more Canadians sent letters to their MPs, the minister of Veteran Affairs and the prime minister. The Legion was specifically pointed out in the 2013 budget for these efforts,” said Irvine. “This is a wonderful example of how the Legion can use our voice in making positive change for our veterans.” Membership continued to be a concern. The command has 1,655 fewer members than at the same time last year but the potential of online membership has given the Membership Committee reason to be optimistic. Executive Director Inga Kruse asked delegates to let the front office help when they are liaising with media, “We get much better response when we lay out our challenges, and talk about our plans to revitalize and modernize.” She reminded delegates that the issues from a branch publishing racist material in 2012 used up weeks of staff time and cost more than $20,000. Nine resolutions were brought forward to convention, three of which were non-concurred. A tenth was distributed on the floor by the Ways and Means Committee recommending a mandatory group insurance program for branches. Kruse said, “The savings and new level of security to branches was the main driver for this program. Now we can enjoy an exceptional bargaining ability in the insurance market to keep stable and predictable coverage and premiums in the long term.” According to Treasurer Glenn Hodge’s report, last

Opposite page: Trevor Greene with wife Debbie and daughter Grace watch the parade in scenic Whistler, B.C. Above left: outgoing President Bob Brady (left) with newly installed President Angus Stanfield; Dominion Chairman Tom Irvine.

year alone branches in the program saved $320,000 in premiums. The resolution carried, making the insurance program mandatory for all branches. Irvine gave delegates an update on the RCEL. He explained recent reporting requirements put in place to ensure Legion donations go where they are needed. “We have enforced accountability standards, where the books are opened when we visit. In addition, we have asked each country to provide substantiation for the medical services and supplies bought. I must state that none of the money you donate is used for the travel to these countries.” Hodge informed Irvine that from October to May 2013 he has approved $33,000 for the RCEL and delegates donated another $30,975 on the convention floor. In the elections, Stanfield of Sooke Branch was acclaimed president. Tremblay of Cariboo Branch in Quesnel was elected on the first ballot, edging out vice-presidents Kathy Ensor of Grandview Branch in Vancouver and Dick Stasiuk of Mount Benson Branch in Nanaimo. Ensor, along with Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) Chair Valerie MacGregor of Lynn Valley Branch in North Vancouver were elected as vice-presidents over John Scott of Prince George Branch and Stasiuk. Glenn Hodge of Trail Branch was acclaimed treasurer for another term and Ed Findlater of Okanagan Falls Branch was acclaimed as chairman after Gary Peters of Seaview Centennial Branch in Lantzville stepped aside. Down the hall the L.A. held its convention with interesting results. They elected their first male treasurer, Martien Van Beek. The LAC and the outstanding volunteers received a standing ovation for their hard work and that Legion spirit is exactly what Stanfield believes will build membership and move B.C./Yukon Command forward. “The Legion is this country’s foremost veterans organization. We are a fundraising powerhouse and enjoy a national brand recognition that is the envy of many other groups. Let’s not sit quietly by and hope for the best. Your hometown needs you, and this country needs us. Be there for them.” SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEGION MAGAZINE

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NEWS

Aboriginal Role In War Of 1812 Recognized

PHOTO: tom macgregor

by tom macgregor

The important role played by aboriginal warriors during the War of 1812, particularly the Mohawks, has been commemorated with a monument unveiled June 21 in Kahnawake, south of Montreal. Organized by Mohawk Branch of The Royal Canadian Legion, the unveiling was held on Aboriginal Day and featured a Legion colour party, costumed dancers and native singing. Events began with a parade from the branch to the town’s cenotaph, directly across the street from St. Francis-Xavier Church, the shrine of Kateri Tekakwitha who was canonized as a saint in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. “In June of 2012, which marked the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, Kahnawake was one of several First Nations communities to receive a commemorative medal and flag which was presented by Canada on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, in recognition of the Caughnawaga Mohawks participation in the War of 1812,” said Mohawk Branch President Louis Stacey. “Canada would not exist today had the American invasion of 1812-15 been successful. During that time of war the Mohawks of Caughnawaga fought alongside the French Canadian Voltiguers as allies with the British Empire against the American invasion. Their combined efforts and brave heroism formed the foundation for what eventually became the independence of Canada.” Dominion Chairman Tom Irvine represented Dominion Command while President Norman Shelton, Vice-President Eugene Montour and Secretary Paulette Cook represented Quebec Command. Russell McComber represented the Canadian Aboriginal Veterans Association. The ceremony also features members of the Voltigeurs de Quebec who fought with the Mohawks at the deci-

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Mohawk Branch President Louis Stacey (centre) stands with members of the Voltiguers in front of the monument.

sive Battle of Châteauguay. The ceremony began with prayers and a dance by Ray Deer and his son, Bright Cloud. Among those bringing greetings was United States Consul General Andrew Parker who praised the people of Kahnawake for contributing so much to the U.S. military and as steel workers on the high-rise buildings of New York. The monument features the image of a Mohawk warrior, modelled on branch Sergeant-at-Arms Eric Bush. A plaque reads in English, French and the native language: “Mohawk warriors fought alongside British Soldiers and Canadian militia in all theatres of war and were the deciding factor in many battles.” Along the sides of the monument are the names of 73 warriors who served with distinction. The names were found on orders of battle, military summaries of the actions in which those who distinguished themselves are mentioned, explained Christin Zachary, a teacher and lawyer who has researched the history of the band. Zachary said that the Mohawks distinguished themselves in three

important battles during the war, the battles of LaColle in 1812 and Châteauguay and Beaver Dams in 1813. The names of the warriors were solemnly read aloud as the monument was unveiled. “It was important to read the names during the ceremony,” said Zachary. “We believe that when you say a name that person lives again.” Other ceremonies took place across Canada recognizing Aboriginal Day, including a wreath-placing ceremony in Ottawa at the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument. Corrections

Two errors appeared in the story on the Ontario Command convention (Homeless Veterans Program Proves Successful, July/August). Sharon McKeown’s name was eliminated on the second ballot for first vice, not the first. Jack Frost should have identified as a member of Madoc, Ont., Branch. In the story on the Dominion Command Cribbage Championships (Manitoba Player Defends His Cribbage Title, July/August), the British Columbia singles player should have been identified as Frederick Maniak. We apologize for the errors.

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Korean War Veterans Day Established canada's Korean War veterans were given new recognition in June when Parliament passed a law declaring that Korean War Veterans Day be held each year on July 27. Governor General David Johnston signed the bill giving royal assent on June 19. The date was chosen since the Korea Armistice Agreement separating North and South Korea along the 38th Parallel was signed July 27, 1953. Later in June, Korean War veterans were honoured again with a weekend of activities in the Ottawa area, marking the 63rd anniversary of the start of the three-year war. Receptions and a gala dinner were held and a new exhibit titled Korea 60 opened at the Canadian War Museum. Korea 60 features many images taken from the personal photographs of the Canadian soldiers who were there. The exhibit runs until Jan. 5. Events ended with a wreath placing ceremony at the National War Memorial on June 23. Governor General Johnston placed a wreath along with Deputy Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs WanGeun Choi of South Korea. Also in the viceregal party were Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney, Senator Yonah Martin, Veterans Affairs Deputy Minister Mary Chaput and Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, the commander-designate of the Royal Canadian Navy representing the Canadian Forces. Doug Finney, National Presidentelect of the Korea Veterans Association of Canada and KVA Unit 7 President Bill Black also placed a wreath. Dominion President Gordon Moore and Director of Administration Steven Clark represented The Royal Canadian Legion in placing poppies following the placing of wreaths.

Taking the salute during the parade are (from left) Wan-Geun Choi of South Korea, Governor General David Johnston, Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney and Vice-Admiral Mark Norman.

“Today, we come together to honour our Canadian veterans who served during the Korean War. The bravery, sacrifices and accomplishments of our

men and women in Korea continue to resonate there today, and I assure you, they will never be forgotten,” said Blaney. More than 26,000 Canadian men and women served during the Korean War and approximately 7,000 continued to serve from the signing of the armistice and the end of 1955.

MEMBERSHIP PICTURE FOR 2013 500

BC/Yukon 50,940

Que 13,319

Alta/NWT 40,552

NB 8,681

Sask 11,205

PEI 1,894

Man/NWO 23,844

NS/NU 21,226

Ont 110,232

Nfld/Lab 4,076

OTHER Dominion US Europe

400

300 243,329

272,313

287,868 200

100

981 647 271

AS OF THE END OF:

FEB’13

APR’13

JUN’13

AUG’13

OCT’13

DEC’13

0

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MEMBERSHIP IN THOUSANDS

PHOTO: tom macgregor

by tom macgregor

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th ALBERTA–NORTHWEST TERRITORIES CONVENTION

DELEGATES PUT A HALT TO RESTRUCTURING PLAN DELEGATES AT THE ALBERTA–NORTHWEST TERRITORIES Command convention applied the brakes to an ambitious restructuring plan that would have increased the number of districts to 17, chopped one command vice-presidential position, and replaced the command treasurer with a finance committee. The plan, introduced in Calgary, June 8-10, also proposed reducing the number of executive council meetings to two per year—relying instead on more e-mail and conference calls—and empowering the command president to draw on experienced Legionnaires—as well as executive council members—to fill vacancies on command committees. This, however, was too much, too soon for the 294 accredited delegates, some of whom expressed concern over the cost, including the price of sending more district commanders to dominion convention. Instead, it was agreed to table the subject of restructuring until the 2015 convention. The atrium at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology was the venue for the 48th convention which also drew 30 observers from across the country and the United States. The command’s Ladies Auxiliary held its convention simultaneously in another room, and chose Ellen Mastel of Medicine Hat as its new president. Full of light and space, the atrium was appealing, but it presented some drawbacks. The amount of light streaming in from the glassed ceiling made it difficult to see the various slide presentations on the large screens flanking the stage. Noise was another factor. Delegates were also surprised, but found some humour in the fact that there were no doors to be tiled during elections because the convention space featured a curtained perimeter. So instead of the usual refrain, “Tile the doors,” delegates heard, “Zip the curtains!” Convention began with a parade past the college’s impressive architecture. It ended inside where wreaths were placed by Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Legionnaire Joe Brink—on behalf of all veterans—and Dominion President Gordon Moore, representing The Royal Canadian Legion. Also placing wreaths in front of the white, portable cenotaph were Father Robert Greene, Alberta-Northwest Territories Command President Darrel Jones, Local Arrangements Committee Chairman Bill Cox, Ladies Auxiliary President Sharon Fedak and MLA Linda Johnson. Former Dominion President Hugh Greene of Ponoka Branch minced no words in his opening address on

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PHOTOS: DAN BLACK

BY DAN BLACK

Saturday. “I was fortunate and honoured—along with other past presidents—to serve in those heady days of growing membership… Members were very interested in all aspects of the Legion, and hard-working young associates were very interested in being involved and holding office.” Greene said many achieved success, but others became disillusioned due to interference from older members who did not wish to relinquish power. “…we lost many good members who dropped out…or became dues-paying members only.” Greene said he was disappointed to see recruitment of new veterans doing poorly. “Is the Legion not appealing to them? What do we lack? After WW I there were 15 organizations and many regimental associations. All but two formed the Canadian Legion of the BESL (British Empire Service League). Today, we have a similar situation, but the best efforts of Dominion Command have not accomplished the same results of unity.” Delegates soon got down to business with work that stretched into Monday afternoon. In his report, President Darrel Jones tried to set the stage for change, including the proposed restructuring plan. “Comrades, our organization is in serious need of change to prepare us for the future,” he began, noting that

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PHOTOS: DAN BLACK

command can no longer operate as a loosely grouped set of branches. “We are in a new world and branches are not islands…we must all pull together.” On membership, Jones said the Legion must look at what barriers are preventing people from joining. “Why can’t we engage young veterans and other people in the community? Families should feel welcome and be part of the Legion world.” Jones said membership across the command has fallen from 57,268 in 2004 to 35,845 this year. The membership decline is also hitting command in the pocketbook. Treasurer Bill Dunbar noted that revenue from per capita will drop by $73,427 from 2013 to 2018. He recommended a $2 per capita increase, but after some debate delegates approved a one-dollar increase beginning in 2014. Delegates also approved several resolutions, including one aimed at extending Poppy Trust Fund support to boy scout and girl guide groups who—like cadet groups—assist with the annual poppy campaign. Also carried was a resolution to introduce—on a trial basis prior to the 2015 convention—an audiovisual category in the annual literary and poster contests. Delegates were in favour of continuing the free one-year membership to newly retired veterans, but recommended that once the year is up, the veteran’s membership should be at the branch nearest their declared address on release from the military or at a branch of the member’s choice. Dominion President Gordon Moore told delegates there is “nothing but a world of opportunity…that will ensure the Legion remains one of Canada’s most important institutions.” He said the Legion’s stance when it comes to the government must be one of assuring that all veterans receive fairness and quality. “…we will never back down in our efforts to hold government to the task of the promises it made to the men and women who wear the uniform for our country.” Delegates supported the welfare of Commonwealth veterans in the Caribbean. More than $7,800 was collected for the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League, a fund administered by the Legion. Delegates also contributed more than $21,000 to the Poppy Fund. In elections, four experienced Legionnaires were nominated for president. They were First Vice Wayne Donner of Robertson Memorial Branch in Medicine Hat, VicePresident Bobbi McCoy of Red Deer Branch, Rex Tryhorn of Standard Branch and Dave Horrocks of Centennial

From opposite page: The Ogden Legion Pipe Band participates in the parade; command President Darrel Jones addresses delegates; President Wayne Donner is installed by Dominion President Gordon Moore.

Branch in Calgary. Horrocks declined after thanking his nominator, and Donner won on first ballot. Chris Strong of Innisfail Branch, McCoy, Bill Dunbar of Airdrie Branch and Norm Sandahl of Gibbons Branch were nominated for First Vice. Sandahl thanked his nominator, but declined. Strong was elected. Eight candidates ran for one of three vice-presidential spots. Elected were Joe Brink of Sylvan Lake, McCoy and Barry Lazoruk of Rycroft Branch. Also in the running were Dunbar, Audrey Ferguson of Kingsway Branch in Edmonton, Rino Michaud of Airdrie and Jim Stewart of Sylvan Lake. Karen Shaw of Redcliff Branch declined. Three out of four names nominated for treasurer declined, paving the way for Mark Barham of North Calgary Branch. Barham is a longtime Legionnaire and businessman who vowed to bring more of his business experience into the Legion. Declining were Dunbar, Robert Jensen of Slave Lake and Malcolm Hughes of Turner Valley Branch. Incumbent Chairman Wayne Freestone of Field Marshal Alexander Branch in Vermilion withstood a challenge by former command president Bob Gray of Forest Lawn Branch in Calgary. Dominion Command Director of Marketing and Membership Scott Ferris was applauded for zeroing in on the challenges facing the Legion, describing recent initiatives to strengthen membership, and emphasize the Legion’s good work. He urged delegates to get behind the One By One membership campaign. The list of presenters and guests included Ibolja Cernak, Chair of the Canadian Military and Veterans’ Clinical Rehabilitation program at the University of Alberta; Legionnaire Joe Brink, who described his rewarding participation in the Nijmegen March; and 2011 Youth Leaders’ Pilgrimage of Remembrance participant Sheila Donner. Delegates also benefited from various workshops on leadership, employment standards, veterans’ services, meal planning and marketing. Calgary area branches, including their ladies auxiliaries, provided delicious food and entertainment—reinforcing the social connections that are vital to Legion life. The LAC, meanwhile, assisted with setting up the venue and registration. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEGION MAGAZINE

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The Royal Canadian Legion has welcomed the appointment of former Ontario Provincial Police commissioner Julian Fantino as the new minister of Veterans Affairs. He succeeds Steven Blaney who became minister of Public Safety in the July 15 cabinet shuffle. “On behalf of the more than 320,000 members of The Royal Canadian Legion, I am looking forward to making significant improvements in veterans services and programs with the Honourable Julian Fantino as the new minister of Veterans Affairs,” said Dominion President Gordon Moore. “We, on behalf of all veterans, including serving Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP members and their families, encourage the new minister to implement

the review of the New Veterans Charter this fall; specifically, a thorough review of the financial compensation package for those who have been injured attributable to their service to ensure its fairness and equity.” Moore said the Legion also would like to see improvements in veterans’ funeral and burial benefits. Fantino was born in Italy and emigrated to Canada with his family when he was 11. He started his policing career as a constable with the Toronto Police Service. He rose to detective constable and served with the drug squad, criminal intelligence and the homicide squad. In 1991 he was appointed chief of police of London, Ont., and then went on to be chief of York Regional Police before becoming chief of the Toronto Police

Bike Ride Pays Tribute To Fallen Soldier by isabella mindak A new fundraising bike ride started in the National Capital Region in June. Boomer’s Legacy fundraising bike ride started June 9 at Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Leitrim. Boomer’s Legacy is a 100 per cent Canadian charitable foundation that was founded by Maureen Eykelenboom to commemorate the loss of her son, Corporal Andrew “Boomer” Eykelenboom. Eykelenboom, a member of the 1st Field Ambulance, was killed in Afghanistan by a suicide bomber in 2006. One of the objectives of the foundation is to “help our soldiers help others.” Maureen adds, “It’s also to give support and recognition to those people who lace up their boots and are willing to put their lives on the line to help someone else and to remember

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our fallen and the price that has been paid throughout the years so that we can enjoy the freedom that we have in Canada.” So far, funds raised through Boomer’s Legacy have provided life-saving surgeries for injured children, chemotherapy for cancer patients and critical assistance to those in need, wherever soldiers are deployed. The day began at CFS Leitrim with Maureen Eykelenboom, along with over 20 dedicated riders, including Rear-Admiral Peter Ellis and Deputy Surgeon General Colin MacKay, three volunteer RCMP traffic escorts and many other volunteers and sponsors. The 110-kilometre, eight-and-a-half hour tour started with a ride

PHOTO: veterans affairs canada

New Veterans Affairs Minister Appointed

Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino

Service two years later. He served as commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police from 2006 to 2010. After almost 40 years in policing, Fantino was elected MP for Vaughn, Ont., in a November 2010 by-election. He has served as minister of state for seniors, associate minister of National Defence and minister of International Co-operation.

downtown where Maureen led a ceremony placing roses on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Then riders rode through the challenging Gatineau hills, stopping at Beechwood Cemetery, Canada’s National Cemetery, and finally rode back to CFS Leitrim. Back at the station participants performed a moving name callout and photograph mounting of 160 Canadian soldiers who have died on duty since 2002. “All in all, it was a day filled with dedication, determination, sadness and grief,” said volunteer Daintry Topshee, “But with exhilaration and joy for what Boomer’s can accomplish and how it brings people together.” With many more Boomer’s rides scheduled across Canada in the months to come including one in Halifax on Sept. 14 and participation in the hugely popular Ottawa Army Run on Sept. 22, Maureen is confident that Boomer’s Legacy will keep growing and attracting more and more people. “We’re going to be around for a very long time,” she said.

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NEWS

serving you

Serving You is written by Legion command service officers. To reach a service officer call toll-free 1-877-534-4666, or consult a command website. For years of archives, visit www.legionmagazine.com

What Benefits Will Survivors Receive? Question: I am a veteran receiving a Canadian Forces Superannuation (CFSA) pension and I also receive a disability pension from Veterans Affairs Canada. What will my spouse be entitled to after my death? Response: In regards to the disability pension from Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), when a disability pensioner dies, the survivor may receive for a period of one year, the same disability pension and/or Prisoner of War (PoW) compensation amount. The survivor will also continue to receive for only one year Attendance Allowance and Exceptional Incapacity Allowance if these allowances were being paid to the pensioner at the time of death. After one year, a survivor’s disability pension will then be paid. The remaining allowances will cease. • If a pensioner was receiving a disability pension paid at a rate of 48 per cent or greater, the survivor is entitled to a full survivor’s disability pension (which is equal to three-quarters of the basic pension paid to a single pensioner at the 100 per cent rate— $1,944.99 per month). • If a pensioner was receiving a disability pension paid between the five- and 47-per-cent rate, the survivor is entitled to a survivor’s pension which is equal to one-half the disability pension in payment at the time of the pensioner’s death. Surviving spouses or common-law partners who remarry will continue to receive survivor benefits. If you are in receipt of a disability pension from VAC, you may also be in receipt of the Veterans Independence Program (VIP). As of Jan. 1,

2013, semi-annual grants are provided for grounds keeping (GK) and housekeeping (HK) services offered under the VIP. Any new clients (veterans, primary caregivers or surviving spouses) applying for GK and HK under VIP will automatically be placed in the Grant Program. Once eligibility is determined, then the Grant Determination Tool is applied and this tool calculates the grant that the client will receive. If an eligible recipient passes away after receiving a grant, there is no requirement for the estate to repay any part of the grant. However, the spouse of the veteran recipient in cases such as this must now reapply and is considered a new applicant and will be processed as per the Grant Determination Tool. Benefits will be granted if there is a health-related need. In regards to your CF pension, Part 1 of the Canadian Forces Superannuation Act (CFSA) provides that upon the death of an annuitant, the conjugal survivor is normally entitled to receive an annual allowance equal to one-half of the annuitant’s original pension plus cost-of-living increases, provided the marriage occurred prior to the annuitant’s 60th birthday. This annual allowance is payable on a monthly basis for life and is subject to cost-of-living adjustments. For general survivor benefit questions, pensioners can contact the Canadian Forces by e-mail at [email protected] and they will respond to specific questions.

The Service Bureau Would Like To Hear From You

Do you have a question regarding disability benefits and services from VAC? Send them to Serving You at [email protected]

OBITUARY

ed coley Former dominion president Ed Coley died June 25 at the Invermere and District Hospital in Invermere, B.C. He was 98. Born in Gananoque, Ont., Coley was raised on the family farm in Clyde, Alta., 75 kilometres north of Edmonton. During the Second World War he served as a pharmacist in the Royal Canadian Navy Medical Branch. After the war, he worked for nine years at Cowles Drugs in Edmonton and then became a pharmaceutical sales representative, working most of that time for Pfizer Canada. He retired in 1982. Coley joined The Royal Canadian Legion in 1948 and was a life member of Strathcona Branch in Edmonton. He served at branch and provincial levels and rose to become president of Alberta-Northwest Territories Command for 1967-69.

In 1970 he was elected as a dominion vice-president at the dominion convention in Ottawa. He was elected dominion president at the 1978 dominion convention in his hometown of Edmonton. During his term he was involved in the Legion’s opposition to the transfer of Veterans Affairs Canada’s headquarters to Charlottetown from Ottawa. He was also a strong supporter of the Encounters With Canada program. In 1981, as a gift for the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, the Legion gave a grant of $250,000 to help furnish the Terry Fox Youth Centre in Ottawa where the Encounters program brings in 3,000 students a year from across Canada to learn about federal institutions like the House of Commons, the Supreme Court and many of the national museums.

PHOTO: legion magazine archives

1915-2013

Coley was an avid curler and golfer and loved spending his summers at his cottage in Fairmont, B.C. Coley was predeceased by his wife Agnes in 2008. He is survived by his children, Sandra Magee, Sharron White and Don Coley, stepchildren Gordon MacCalder and Donna Balcers, and nine grandchildren. september/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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th MANITOBA–NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO CONVENTION

FORMAT OF NEXT CONVENTION DEBATED THE LENGTH AND TIMING of future provincial conventions led to an extended debate as Legionnaires gathered in Thunder Bay, Ont., for the 46th Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario convention, June 15-18. At the heart of the debate was a non-concurred resolution returned to the floor by Virden, Man., Branch calling on convention to begin on a Friday and continue into the weekend. That resolution was non-concurred by the Constitution and Laws and Legislation Committee which stated in its non-concurrence, “Accommodations are more expensive, and therefore more costly to the branch. It is hard to hold a parade on Friday.” After a short debate Chairman Roger Oakley called for a vote. He declared the motion defeated by a voice vote but the ruling was challenged from the floor. Calling for a stand-up vote, Oakley declared the resolution had carried, 77 votes to 56. But that was not the end of it. Lorne Tyson, the Local Arrangements Committee chairman for the next convention, said plans were already in place for 2015. Delegates from Virden Branch said the intent of the resolution was to make it a shorter convention, so more people could attend. Whether it started on Friday or Saturday was not an issue. After much debate, Oakley asked Constitution and Laws and Legislation Committee Chairman Dan Kidd to come back with a revised resolution the next day. The wording was changed the next day to say the next convention would be a three-day convention which would include Saturday and Sunday and the resolution passed without further debate. The convention began with a well attended parade featuring both Legionnaires and members of the command Ladies Auxiliary which was holding its convention at the same time. The ceremony was inside the Fort William Gardens with wreaths placed by Dominion Vice-President Dave Flannigan, Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario Command President Rick Bennett, Ladies Auxiliary President Wendy Stelko and local politicians. Opening ceremonies were held back at the Victoria Inn where Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs declared the convention officially open. Business began the next day for the 149 delegates attending. Dave Flannigan told delegates that Veterans Affairs Canada is reducing the number of district offices and putting more emphasis on individuals. “It is up to

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PHOTOS: TOM MacGREGOR

BY TOM MacGREGOR

us to look after the needs of our veterans. There is a new Service Officer’s Manual coming out and we find there is an increasing number of veterans coming forward to us.” He also said Dominion Command is working with Manitoba-N.W.O. Command, as well as Alberta-Northwest Territories Command, in distributing the first release of personal tour diaries for service people to keep a record of their tour in Afghanistan or elsewhere. Charlotte Bastien, VAC’s director general of operations, gave an update on VAC programs, and explained that she was aware that veterans were upset about the closing of eight VAC district offices, including the one in Thunder Bay. “This does not mean that the veterans will have to travel to meet with VAC staff. We will travel to meet the veterans in these eight areas,” she said. Poppy Chairman Mel Willis said, “The submissions for the literary and poster contests are down over the past two years. It is sad to think the talent we have in our command is not being utilized.” In his report as the Public Relations Committee chairman, Bennett said he, Willis and Secretary Dawn Golding met with Manitoba Minister of Education Nancy Allan concerning support for the literary and poster contests. “They have agreed to place the literary and poster competition on the Manitoba curriculum document, not only for social studies but also for art and grammar. This does not mean that teachers have to have their classes participate. The onus is still on the shoulders of the Legion,” the report said. A non-concurred resolution was brought back to the floor that called for support of Remembrance Day in light of Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger having said that participation in school Remembrance Day activities is optional. The Public Relations Committee had

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Opposite page, top: Dan Kidd (left) receives the president’s pin from outgoing President Rick Bennett. This page, from bottom left: Dominion Vice-President Dave Flannigan with cadets and Charlotte Bastien, VAC Director General of Field Operations, at the wreath-placing ceremony; Legionnaires march into Fort William Gardens.

non-concurred with the resolution because “Veterans fought for our rights and freedoms and one of these freedoms can be the right to allow their children to opt out of the Remembrance Day service.” In the end the resolution was split into to two parts, one expressing the Legion’s unequivocal support for Remembrance Day and a second that the Legion develop a service for schools which does not have reference to religious dogma. Both parts carried. Speaking for the Sports Committee, Bennett said that the command had concerns about the participation in curling. He said the command would consider moving to a bonspiel approach to select a team to go on to the Dominion Command Curling Championship if there were not enough teams for command playoffs. A resolution was passed that reduced the length of a seniors curling game to eight rounds from 10 since it would have no effect at dominion level. Membership Committee Chairman Gladys Grant said the command had lost 2,864 members in the past eight years, which averaged out to be 358 members a year. Dominion Command Membership and Marketing Director Scott Ferris drew a standing ovation with his overview of the One By One membership drive and the possibilities of increasing membership through new ways such as accepting membership applications online. Honorary Treasurer Patrick Moore could not attend the convention, but his report showed that the command had surpluses in 2011 and 2012 of $97,797 and $89,776, respectively.

Flannigan returned to the podium on the final day to speak of the work The Royal Canadian Legion does for Caribbean Commonwealth veterans through the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League. Delegates showed their enthusiasm, raising an even $22,000 from the floor. Dorothy Butler, the command representative on the 2011 Pilgrimage of Remembrance, presented slides and an overview of the trip to cemeteries and battlefields of Northwestern Europe. In elections, First Vice Dan Kidd of West Kildonan Branch in Winnipeg was acclaimed president. VicePresident Mel Willis of Charleswood Branch in Winnipeg defeated Jim Ash of Kakabeka Falls, Ont., Branch for first vice. Six candidates ran for the three positions of vicepresident: Ash; incumbents Gladys Grant of West Kildonan Branch and John Villers of Wheat City Branch in Brandon; Marlene Gagne of Atikokan, Ont., Branch; Ronn Anderson of St. James Branch in Winnipeg and Ralph Girling of Selkirk Branch. Gagne was elected on the first ballot while Villers and Anderson won on the second. Patrick Moore and Dennis Harvie, both of St. James Branch were acclaimed for another term as honorary treasurer and sergeant-at-arms, respectively. Oakley defeated Terry Meindl of St. Laurent Métis Branch in St. Laurent for chairman. Kidd thanked delegates for their faith in him, saying, “I know both my parents and grandparents who were First World War and Second World War veterans, respectively, would be proud of me.” The Local Arrangements Committee from District 8, under the chairmanship of Ken Milenko, also looked after entertainment, organizing a trip to scenic Kakabeka Falls with a visit to Kakabeka Falls Branch for buffalo on a bun and a banquet held by Slovak Branch. Delegates will next meet at the Club Regent Casino in Winnipeg when the 2015 convention will hosted by Transcona Branch. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEGION MAGAZINE

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Send your photos and news of The Royal Canadian Legion in action in your community to your Command Correspondent. Each branch and ladies auxiliary is entitled to two photos in an issue. any additional items will be published as news only. Material should be sent as soon as possible after an event. We do not accept material that will be more than a year old when published, or photos that are out of focus or lack contrast. The Command Correspondents are: British Columbia/Yukon: Graham Fox, 4199 Steede Ave., Port Alberni, BC V9Y 8B6, [email protected] alberta–northwest Territories: Rhonda Risebrough, 2020-15th St. N.W., Calgary AB T2M 3N8, [email protected] Saskatchewan: Donna Gosselin, 3079–5th Ave., Regina, SK S4T 0L6, [email protected] Manitoba: Vanessa Burokas, 563 St. Mary’s Rd., Winnipeg, MB R2M 3L6, [email protected] northwestern ontario: Roy Lamore, 155 Theresa St., Thunder Bay, ON P7A 5P6, [email protected] ontario: Mary Ann Goheen, Box 308, Gravenhurst, ON P1P 1T7, [email protected]

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Correspondents’ Addresses New Brunswick Nova Scotia/Nunavut Newfoundland and Labrador Quebec Ontario Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario Saskatchewan Alberta-Northwest Territories United States British Columbia/Yukon Honours and Awards

Quebec: Carole Aubin-Lalonde, 82 Marlene Goyot, Gatineau, QC J8P 6Z5, [email protected] new Brunswick: Marianne Harris, 115 McGrath Cres., Miramichi, NB E1V 3Y1, [email protected] nova Scotia/nunavut: Jean Marie Deveaux, 651 Church St., Port Hawkesbury, NS B9A 2X6, [email protected] Prince Edward island: Owen Parkhouse, 7740 St. Peters Rd., Morell, PE C0A 1S0, [email protected] newfoundland and Labrador: Brenda Slaney, Box 5745, St. John’s, NL A1C 5X3, [email protected] Dominion Command zones: Eastern U.S. Zone, Gord Bennett, 12840 Seminole Blvd., Lot #7, Largo, FL 33778, [email protected]; Western U.S. Zone, Douglas Lock, 1531 11th St., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266, [email protected]; Europe Zone, Reg Bonnar, Westend St. 15 77933 Lahr, Germany, [email protected].

Miramichi, N.B., Branch presents bursaries to local graduates (front, from left) Jennifer Bell, Samantha Baker, Kayla Arseneault, Gaylene McEvoy, (rear) vice-president Gerald Mullins, Gerald Godin, Mitchell Jay-Keating and Michael W. Carroll.

Editor’s note—Submissions for the Honours and awards page (Palm Leaf, MSM, MSa and Life Membership) should be sent directly to Doris Williams, Legion Magazine, 86 aird Place, Kanata, on K2L 0a1.

Technical Specs For Photo Submissions (1) glossy Photos—To get good magazine-quality reproduction we need photos that scan well. Glossy photos from a photofinishing lab are the best answer because they do not contain a dot pattern. We will do our best with prints coming from a digital camera but some will not make the grade, so, if you can, please submit digital photos electronically. (2) Electronic Photos—Photos submitted to Command Correspondents electronically must have a minimum width of 1,350 pixels, or 4.5 inches. Final resolution must be 300 dots per inch or greater. As a rough guideline, black-and-white JPEGs would have a file size of 200 kilobytes (KB) or more, while colour JPEGs would be between 0.5 megabytes (MB) and 1 MB. TIFFs and EPSs are fairly big files–between 1-2 megabytes (MB) for black and white photos and between 4-6 MB for colour.

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Attending the annual veterans dinner at Hartland, N.B., Branch are (front, from left) Harry McLean, Gerald Stiles, Ruth Clarke, Robert Dickinson and (rear, from left) Weldon Trecartin, Ken Sercerchi, Don Bard and Cecil Shaw.

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Sussex, N.B., Branch President Joe Butler (left) presents Sussex and Area Senior Friendship Games representative Clifford Kitchen with $150 from the N.B. Command Community Services Fund.

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Attending a dinner to honour Korean War veterans at Caraquet, N.B., Branch are (front, from left) Gilles Boudreau, Armand Landry, Lucien Chiasson, Gordon Clement, Adrien Hache, (rear) Father David Fergurson, Jeannine Godin, Jean-Pierre Chenard, Aubin Albert, MP Yvon Godin, President Armel Lanteigne, Orphir Boucher, Albanie Landry, Fernand Dumaresq, Denise Dumaresq and Normand Doiron.

The team from Windsor, N.S., wins the command’s Call to Remembrance competition held at Pictou Branch. At the final are (front, from left) Luke Fleming, Krishshain Nathan, Daniel Nickerson, Denise Mayo, Anthony Canete, (rear) Zone 6 Commander Bill White, Call To Remembrance chairman Roger Purnell, Andrew Mayo, Orion Leidel-Wilson, Zachery Klassen, Kathleen Crowell and President Bill Echlin.

Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command President Jean Marie Deveaux (right) receives $5,000 from AIL Insurance representative Darrel Dorey for command bursaries.

At Uniacke Branch in Mount Uniacke, N.S., Linda MacDonnell presents the Legionnaire of the Year award to Rev. Brian Hutchins.

Cobequid Branch in Great Village, N.S., donates $1,000 to the Afghanistan Memorial Repatriation Fund. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEGION MAGAZINE

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Mahone Bay, N.S., Branch presents bursaries to a group of local students. President Helen Whitehouse (left) and poppy chairman Ralph Page attend the ceremony.

Normandy Branch in New Glasgow, N.S., President Don Kennedy presents a bursary to Joseph Thomas Colquhon Brown.

Uniacke Branch in Mount Uniacke, N.S., (from left) President Mabel McCarthy and Bingo Chairperson Joan Hayden present a $900 donation to School Breakfast Program representative Barb Layman.

Cheticamp, N.S., Branch President Chester Muise greets veteran Henri Maillett as he enjoys the new comfortable armchair donated by the branch. Looking on is Glenda LeBlanc.

Trenton, N.S., Branch President Susan Halfyard presents Kaitlyn Elizabeth Higgins with a bursary.

Don Pooley (left) of Centennial Branch in Dartmouth, N.S., receives the Legionnaire of the Year award from District F Commander Jay Tofflemire.

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Normandy Branch in New Glasgow, N.S., President Don Kennedy presents J’shai Ahleeza Gordon with the Thomas R.G. Rogers Memorial bursary.

In Kingston, N.S., A.H. Foster MM Memorial Branch service officer Don McCoy (left) receives a $500 donation from HSRS Survival Training Ltd. representative Ron Langevin for the branch poppy fund.

Bonne Bay Branch in Woody Point, Nlfd., presents a $2,000 donation to the Children’s Wish Foundation in support of HMCS St. John’s Run The Rock event. Pictured making the presentation to the runners are executive committee members Fred MacLean (left) and John Gilliam (right).

Service officer Len Whelan (right) of Conception Bay Central Branch in Holyrood, Nfld., accompanies Korean War veteran Gilbert Hillier to dinner as part of the celebrations for the Year of the Korean War Veteran.

At Conception Bay Branch in Kelligrews, Nfld., MHA Terry French (left) presents President Robert Hillier with a cheque for $61,000 to assist with branch renovations.

At the presentation of $1,000 from Lawn, Nfld., Branch to the U.S. Memorial Health Care Center in St. Lawrence, Nfld., to assist its caring campaign are (from left) Sgt-at-Arms John Grant, vice-president Joe Jarvis and health centre representatives Rosalie Dupres, Krista Rennie and Evelyn Haskell. september/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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Residents of the Veterans Pavilion in St. John’s, Nfld., are entertained during a lunch with members of Conception Bay Branch in Kelligrews.

Veteran Charlie Hapgood receives a visit from St. John’s, Nfld., Branch members, (from left) Charlie Grenning, Patricia Harding, Greg Grenning and John Grenning.

At the presentation of $250 to St. Alban Fire and Rescue from Bay d’Espoir Branch in St. Alban’s, Nfld., are (from left) Christine Farrell, firefighter Ross Collier, Bridget Kelly and George Davis. At Clarenville, Nfld., Branch, Randolph Whiffen (left) presents the Legionnaire of the Year award to Dave Gullage.

Lawn, Nfld., Branch Sgt-at-Arms John Grant (left) and vice-president Joe Javis present Jack Lundrigan with a certificate for his winning poster.

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Bay d’Espoir Branch in St. Alban’s, Nfld., presents $2,440 to the Janeway Children’s Hospital. With the cheque are (from left) Christine Farrell, Kerri Ann King, Bridget Kelly and George Davis.

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Poppy chairman Richard Racicot of Norris Branch in Gatineau, Que., congratulates winners of the literary and poster contests from Greater Gatineau Elementary (from left) Alicia Beaudoin, Alexander Dionne, Rylie Moleman, Laura Mailloux, Julia-May Avon and Chealey Laberge.

PHOTO: RALPH BEAVEN

Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney presents the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation to Georges Villemure (left) and Marcel Girardeau of Shawinigan, Que., Branch.

PHOTO: RALPH BEAVEN

Rouge River, Que., Branch presents $500 to Victoria’s Quilts of Canada, which donates handmade quilts to cancer patients. At the presentation are (from left) Sgt.-at-Arms Lloyd Larose, treasurer Shirley Davis and Victoria’s Quilts Laurentian Branch President Elizabeth Holloway and President Heather Hodge Pepin.

President Heather Hodge Pepin of Rouge River, Que., Branch and Sgt.-at-Arms Lloyd Larose present $1,000 to director Chantale Dupras (centre left) and Emile Pepin of Residence Vallée de la Rouge.

President Roland Drouillard of Arras-Chambly Branch in Carignan, Que., and Sgt.-at-Arms Thérèse Bergeron present $500 to Hélène Langevin, director of La Maison Simone MonetChartrand, a shelter for women and children.

Roma Zakaib and Ted Newbury of Greenfield Park, Que., Branch represent Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at British Pub Night. Dressed as London bobbies are Claudette Lapointe and Jack Gammon. september/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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At Seeleys Bay, Ont., Branch, President Gary McCullough (left) and former president Rob Fernell receive the Legionnaire of the Year award.

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Trenton, Ont., L.A. honours and awards chairman Jane McCarty (left) presents the 50 Years Long Service Medal to Marilyn Hayes.

In Ingersoll, Ont., the Hillcrest Memorial Branch colour party participates in the Battle of the Atlantic parade. Forming up are (from left) Dick Scott, Genie Moyer, Ed Marcotte, Roxanne Casement, Mike Kelly, Bill Witiuk and parade marshal John Wilkes.

Richmond, Ont., Branch President Brian Goss (left) and Zone G-5 Youth Education Chairman Shawn Taillon present awards to Heather Sanders for her entry in the Legion’s poster contest.

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Capt. Jeremy Cole (left) accepts $3,500 for the Wasaga Beach air cadet squadron from Collingwood, Ont., Branch member Ken Douglas.

In Ingersoll, Ont., Hillcrest Memorial Branch poppy chairman Rob Mabee (left) and service officer Bill Harlow (right) present cheques totalling $7,500 to Alexandria hospital foundation nurse Brenda Prouse.

Poppy chairman Ben Prouse (left) and bursary chairman David Yates (right) of Goderich, Ont., Branch present $500 bursaries to local students, (from left) John Matthew Clarke, Caroline Crocker, Meredith Needles, Katherine Nicholson and Cole Evan Nicholson.

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Gen. Nelles Branch in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., welcomes British soldiers of the Royal Anglian Regiment Corps of Drums as they tour in tribute to the soldiers of the War of 1812.

Ontario Command District D hosts the annual veterans dinner at Highland Creek Branch in Toronto. Pictured are guests Barry O’Leary (left) and Myer Goobie.

The colour party from Col. R.H. Britton Branch in Gananoque, Ont., participates in the opening of the Aboriginal Adventures native commemoration. From left: Sgt.-at-Arms Glen Parker, Carl Duff, John Petch, Peter Mills and John Robertson.

Fergus, Ont., Branch presents participants in the Relay for Life race with a cheque for $1,500. Front, from left: Lise Aitken, Kierann Aitken, Donna Gear, Cathy Bruder and L.A. past president Linda Semanyk. Rear, from left: Cammy Elst, past president Ray Pearse, Jennifer Stewart-May and President Greg Manion.

Rockland, Ont., Branch President Doug Dinsmore (right) presents a $500 cheque to Twillick Clarence-Rockland Air Cadets president Gord Loney.

At MacDonald Branch in Kincardine, Ont., Donna Wilson (second left) receives the Legionnaire of the Year award from (left) Zone C-1 Commander Larry Bailey, past president Red Larsen and President Maureen Couture.

H.T. Church Branch, St. Catharines, Ont., poppy chairman Tom Townsley (left) presents $8,000 to Hospice Niagara executive director Margaret Jarrell. Pictured are (from left) Townsley, B-5 Deputy Zone Commander Lloyd Cull, Jarrell, James Kaczmarek, public relations chairman Barbara Earle, poppy co-chairman Cliff Waterhouse and veterans service officer Howard Cull.

Goderich, Ont., Branch President Paul Thorne (right) presents $500 to the 4th Goderich Scouts. september/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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At Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Branch, President Wayne Paulencu (left) and third vice Don Oliver (right) present a cheque for $6,500 to Group Health Centre president Gord Walsh (second left) and health centre trust fund president Don Pezzutto.

Englehart, Ont., Branch service officer Betty Lacharity (left) and President Jeanelle Richardson present $6,500 on behalf of the Ontario Command, Branches and L.A. Charitable Foundation to Englehart and District Hospital chief executive officer Mike Baker for the purchase of a powered bed.

In Cornwall, Ont., John McMartin Memorial Branch Seniors Club president Jackie Merpaw (left) assisted by club secretary Myrna Murray and treasurer Bernadette Heagle (right) present $200 to Care for Hospice’s Dr. Mary Jane Randlett (second left) and hospice representative Sandie Collete (second right).

Robert Milligan (left) of H.T. Church Branch in St. Catharines, Ont., receives the Legionnaire of the Year award from Zone B-5 Deputy Commander Lloyd Cull.

Whitby, Ont., Branch holds a Veterans Appreciation Day. Attending are (front, from left) John Reko, Arthur Seymour, (rear) Dave Barkwell, Bud Maker, Bob Hartley, Rod Buttle, Tom Edwards, Victor Veninga, Freda Holyoake, Ron Carter, Murdock Ferguson and Bob Peddle.

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Kanata, Ont, Branch poppy chairman Harry Needham (left) and President John Cher present $1,700 to Louise Hague of the National Capital Region Military Family Resource Centre.

President John Cher (left) of Kanata, Ont., Branch presents $1,700 for the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League to Dominion Secretary Brad White.

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PHOTO: Shoreline Beacon

At the presentation of $10,000 from Sir Sam Hughes Branch in Lindsay, Ont., to the Ross Memorial Hospital are (from left) Sheren Luca, Dr. Dawn Reid, service officer Penny Watson, public relations chairman John Kozak and President John Sherman.

Southampton, Ont., Ladies Auxiliary President Donelda Thede (left) and treasurer Jane Johnson (right) present $500 to Saugeen Memorial Hospital Foundation representative Mary Ann Weichert.

At Bertie Township Branch in Ridgeway, Ont., lottery chairman Ernie Pigden (left) and President Barbara Hopkins (right) present $500 for the Black Creek navy cadets to cadet Kyler James and Navy League president Murray Gault.

Mount Dennis Branch in Toronto conducts a membership drive, with the table being manned by track and field chairman David Smith (left) and Second Vice David Watkins.

At the presentation of $1,030 from Port Elgin, Ont., Branch and L.A. to the Saugeen track and field club are (from left) Tatiana Velickovic, Alex Morrow, Rick Carr, charity chairman Gord Kelly, L.A. First Vice Joyce Chapman and Caitlyn MacMillan.

At the presentation of awards in the Ontario Command public speaking competition held at Wilson Branch in North York are (from left) District D youth education chairman Jay Burford, Ontario Command President Andre Paquette, Sabrina Fevez, Victoria McArthur, Ashleigh Lindayen, Will Scully, Ontario Command Vice-President Brian Weaver and command Youth Education Chairman Ruth Ann Dodman.

In Pickering, Ont., Helen Wishnowski (centre) receives the L.A. Legionnaire of the Year award from Bay Ridges L.A. honours and awards chairman Gerry Desbois (left) and L.A. President Joann Dickerson.

Trenton, Ont., Branch President Everett MacLean (left) presents the 50 Years Long Service Medal to Ron Sirtonski. september/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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Brantford, Ont., Telephone City Branch poppy chairman Frank Begley presents a $4,000 donation to St. Joseph’s Lifecare Foundation CEO Olga Consorti.

Peterborough, Ont., Branch youth education chairman Sheila Davidson (left) accompanied by co-chairman Una Golding and President Fred Rathburn present dominion-level awards for the Legion literary contest to Frances Milner.

Former president Murray Salter (left) of Col. R.H. Britton Branch in Gananoque, Ont., presents $200 to Maj. Vanessa Hanrahan of 2 Military Police Regt. for the Military Police Fund for the Blind. Capt. Ronald MacNeil of the local army cadet corps also presents $200 for the fund.

At the presentation of $20,000 from Oakville, Ont., Branch to the Oakville Hospital Foundation are (from left) ways and means chairman Dave Hughes, Oakville Hospital representative Michelle Kerby, President Brian Ray, Second Vice Shirley Stacey and First Vice Nestor Yakimik.

Bertie Township Branch in Ridgeway, Ont., celebrates its 80th anniversary. President Jack Etheridge (rear) poses with the entertainers who resemble music legends.

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Fenelon Falls, Ont., Branch second vice Arlene Coleman presents a cheque for $1,000 to Fenelon Falls councillor Doug Elmslie to assist with local Canada Day celebrations.

Huntsville, Ont., Branch hosts the District C, D and E public speaking competition. With their trophies are (front, from left) Mathew Runney, Ashleigh Lindayen, Victoria McArthur and Tara Jamieson. Looking on are (rear) John Lowe, Kate Palmer and Jay Burford.

Perth-Upon-Tay Branch in Perth, Ont., President Jim Boldt (left) accepts a cheque for $750 from Federal Superannuates National Association Ottawa Valley branch president Steve Fahie. The funds will help purchase a defibrillator for the branch.

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VOLUNTEERING IN THE COMMUNITY

Deborah Gaudet (centre) receives the Legionnaire of the Year award from Zone F-2 Deputy Commander Don Ramsey (left) and Trenton, Ont., Branch President Everett MacLean.

Barrhaven Branch in Ottawa presents $5,000 to the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre Foundation. At the persentation are (from left) Presdent Ed Schelenz, hospital managing director Dan Clapin, hospital foundation board member Bob Publicober and service officer John O’Halloran.

Checking out the newly renovated kitchen at Sir Sam Hughes Branch in Lindsay, Ont., are Third Vice Howie Johnston (left), service officer Penny Watson and building committee member Fred Hudson. The branch received a $162,000 grant from the Lindsay Legacy Chest fund for the project.

At Lord Elgin Branch in St. Thomas, Ont., Second Vice Valerie Clark (left) and branch secretary Cathy Sheridan present $2,000 to track and field chairman Cathy Freeman (centre).

Tobermory, Ont., Branch President Rick Lane (second from left) accepts congratulations on the branch’s 75th anniversary celebrations from (from left) MP Larry Miller, MPP Bill Walker and Northern Bruce Municipality mayor Milt McIvor.

Ontario Command Zone F-3 Commander Robert Buchanan (right) and Zone Deputy Commander Dian Drew present $1,000 to the Quinte Legion track and field club, represented by Ontario Command Track and Field Chairman Tom Carr.

Walkerville and East Windsor Branch in Windsor, Ont., second vice Joe Tanguay (left) and President Ron Bastien present student safety bus monitor Patrick Byra (right) with a new bicycle in recognition of his volunteer work. Looking on is teacher Carina Evon. september/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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VOLUNTEERING IN THE COMMUNITY

At Port Elgin, Ont., Branch, (from left) L.A. First Vice Joyce Chapman, poppy chairman Mary Alexander and charity chairman Gord Kelly present $7,500 to Saugeen Memorial Hospital Foundation chairman Erin Zorzi.

At the Valley City Branch in Dundas, Ont., service officer Rick Valois (left) and President Dawn Lewis (right) present $2,000 to Capt. Ken Fowler of the Dundas air cadet squadron.

At the presentation of $3,500 from John McMartin Memorial Branch in Cornwall, Ont., to the MS Society are (from left) President Ken Heagle, MS society fundraising co-ordinator Karen Racine, First Vice Linda Fisher and Third Vice Hugh Primeau.

In Toronto, Fort York Branch President Terry Sleightholm (left) presents $3,000 to Tony Stacey Centre for Veterans Care executive director Catherine Hilge.

Dunsdon Branch in Brantford, Ont., holds a special Newfoundland Night fundraiser for roof repairs. Second Vice Don Wolan holds the microphone as member Jack Walace is screeched in as an honourary Newfoundlander. The event raised over $3,000.

Orillia, Ont., Branch vice-president Len Thorne (centre) presents a cheque for $6,500 on behalf of the Ontario Command Branches and Ladies Auxiliaries Charitable Foundation to Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital staff Meagan Carney (left) and Nicole McCahon (right).

Perth-Upon-Tay Branch in Perth, Ont., purchases a wheelchair lift seat for Susan Herron. From left: Medichair sales manager Jim Mullins, Susan Herron, veterans service officer Glenn Russell and President Ted Moss.

Acton, Ont., Branch presents a cheque for $4,000 to the Georgetown hospital foundation. From left: Georgetown hospital executive director K.C. Carruthers, hospital foundation chairman Laurent Thibault, first vice Peg Graham, finance chairman Cathy Munday and President John Wagg.

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Marc Pelletier (centre) of Winnipeg South Osborne Branch presents $2,000 to Capt. Evan Murray (left) and WO1 Andrew Overton of the St Vital air cadet squadron.

VOLUNTEERING IN THE COMMUNITY

Lisa Galen representing the Kidney Foundation of Canada accepts $500 from Port Arthur Branch Second Vice Lefty Salminen in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Brandon-Souris MP Merv Tweed (right) poses with RCL Sports Foundation Inc. President John Edwards (second right) and foundation members after presenting $62,150 from the Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund. The funds will be used for repairs and upgrading the complex and dormitory used by Legion athletic camps at the International Peace Gardens.

In Thunder Bay Ont., Arielle D’Amore claims first prize in the intermediate colour poster contest for Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario Command. Making the presentation is Port Arthur Branch First Vice Cory Pollock (left) and President Rob Cutbush.

Salomia Gantyuk of Ecole Dugald School is congratulated for her first-place primary colour poster at the provincial level of the literary and poster contests by Hazelridge-Springfield, Man., Branch representatives Marg Skibo, (left) Zone Commander Chuck Lewis, poppy chairman Clint Young and Sherron Litkowich.

NUTANA CURLERS TAKE TITLE

• The winners of the Saskatchewan Command curling championships are lead Trevor Yousie, second Darren Clancy, third Rick Middleton and skip Andrew Hay from Nutana Branch in Saskatoon. • Saskatchewan Command has awarded Cadet Medals of Excellence to 20 cadets. The recipients are: army cadets Sgt. Kaitlyn Pickering of Regina; MWO Shaelynne Nichol, Sgt. Nathan Brown and WO Andrew Duke, all of Saskatoon; sea cadets PO1 David C. Gareau of Prince Albert; PO1 Gloria Hildebrandt and PO2 Melissa Hildebrandt of Swift Current; and LS Kaeden Hanishewsky of Yorkton; and air cadets WO2 Honey Constant of Prince Albert; Flt.Sgt. Holly D. Atkinson, WO2 Melanie J. Hughes and Flt.Sgt. Stirling J. Rempel, all of Regina; Sgt. MaKenzie Mydonick of Kamsack; WO2 Ellen A. Durant of Swift Current; Flt.Sgt. Ashley Vercammen of Oxbow; Flt.Sgt. Adam J. Brownridge of Porcupine Plain; Sgt. Zoey Petit of LaRonge; Sgt. Krystal Lucykj of Melville; Flt.Sgt Megan George of Biggar; and Sgt. Jessie Larsen of Gravelbourg.

Steve Guliak (right) of Robert Combe VC Branch in Melville, Sask., presents $500 to Melissa Kohlenberg, accompanied by her husband Kurt holding daughter Lena, and twin sons Chaise (front left) and Destin. The Kohlenberg famly is raising funds for Cystic Fibrosis of Canada; Lena has the condition.

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VOLUNTEERING IN THE COMMUNITY

PHOTO: Centaur Photography

Membership chairman Maxine Bell (left) of Robert Combe VC Branch in Melville, Sask., and Deputy District Commander Wayne Reinson (right) welcome new members (from left) Randy Karius, Crystal Karius, Edwin Miller and Barry Dilts.

Frenchman Butte, Sask., Branch member Ken McGerrigle congratulates Chinu Youn of Paradise Hill School on placing first in the intermediate colour poster contest at zone level and third at district level.

Nancy McGerrigle of Frenchman Butte, Sask., Branch congratulates Ayden Weighill of Paradise Hill School whose black and white poster placed second at the zone level in the primary poster competitions.

Zayden Robles receives a first-place certificate for his junior black and white poster from President John Davidson and Sylvia Scherbluck of Saskatoon Branch.

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President John Davidson of Saskatoon Branch congratulates Christopher Gecomo on winning first place in the colour poster contest.

Vice-president Candice Wallin of Tisdale, Sask., Branch presents $300 to cadets Kaley Teale (left) and Leanne Allan-Bater.

At the presentation of bursaries from Naicam, Sask., Branch are Naicam School graduates (from left) Joshua Becker, Mackenzie Wilson-Anderson, Shawn Meekins, Stephanie Parry and branch poppy chair Alie Neish.

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VOLUNTEERING IN THE COMMUNITY

President Connie Wilson of Tisdale, Sask., Branch presents $200 to students Amanda Burns and Colby Thibault and teacher assistant Laurie Hobin of Tisdale Middle and Secondary School. The funds are for a track and field event hosted by the school.

Veteran Don Nelson (left) cuts into Camrose, Alta., Branch’s 85th anniversary cake with the help of branch President Gord Minnes. Don later received a pin for 70 years of Legion service.

Wetaskiwin, Alta., Branch education and publicity chairman Roy Foster (rear left) congratulates local student winners in the literary and poster contests.

PHOTO: Murray Green, Camrose Booster

Saskatchewan Command’s golden age bowling champions are (rear, from left) Elvin Mitchell, Adrien Brisebois, Allan Nelson, (front) Anne Burns and Roy Burns from Glentworth Branch.

President Barry Wood and Tara Horst of Kingsway Branch in Edmonton receive donations of $1,000 for the branch and $1,000 for the poppy fund from the Canadian Historical Arms Society of Edmonton.

Camrose, Alta., Branch members Agnes Minnes and Bill Hart (right) present $500 to Mark Fulton of Dogs With Wings (centre). Looking on are Dogs with Wings executive director John Wheelright (left) and Camrose and District Victim Services Program co-ordinator Michelle Hauser. Trained dogs like Lucy (left) and Hutch assist the Camrose Police Service and help children with disabilities. september/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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VOLUNTEERING IN THE COMMUNITY

Redcliff, Alta., Branch public relations officer Gail Walker (left), and poppy fund chair George McLennan present $2,800 to nurse Brenda Lintott and Heather Bach of the Medicine Hat and District Health Foundation. The donation goes towards the purchase of a vital-signs monitor.

At the presentation of a cheque representing the $1.6 million donated by Camrose, Alta., Branch to the community over the last 30 years are (from left) L.A. President Grace Torpe, city councillor John Howard, Camrose County Reeve Don Gregorwich and Branch President Gord Minnes.

Sylvan Lake, Alta., Branch created picture boards showing the Legion’s history as part of the town’s centennial celebrations.

The Grade 4 to 6 choir from Chester Ronning School, directed by Cheryl Nester, sings In Flanders Fields for veterans and guests at the 85th anniversary of Camrose, Alta., Branch.

The float from the Alex Brereton VC Branch in Elnora, Alta., joins the Village of Elnora’s Founders Day parade, marking 95 years since the village was founded.

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Camrose, Alta., Branch L.A. President Grace Torpe pins a poppy on a cross to pay tribute to deceased past presidents. The Canadian flags are in honour of unknown soldiers lying in graves near foreign battlefields.

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VOLUNTEERING IN THE COMMUNITY

At Kingsway Branch in Edmonton, Alta., Lisa Baldwin (right) presents to President Barry Wood a poppy stool made by the Grade 10 students of East Glen High School construction technology class.

Secretary Douglas Lock of California Branch in Manhattan Beach, Calif., presents $1,000 to Kristin Rasmussen of the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to help provide patient and family support services for children with life-threatening diseases.

KAMLOOPS RECOGNIZES CADETS

• Kamloops, B.C., Branch presented the Cadet Medal of Excellence to PO Erica Spijksma of the Kamloops sea cadet corps and to WO Samantha Pomeroy of the Rocky Mountain Rangers army cadet corps. • Oliver Branch presented Daniel Maclean and William Glassford the 50 Years Long Service Medal and Jack Bousefield a 55-year pin. The branch also posthumously recognized Ron Amos for 55 years of service.

Viola Brown celebrates her 100th birthday with friends and L.A. members at Qualicum Beach, B.C., Branch. She joined the L.A. in 1960 and has held many offices, including president.

Vice-president Barb Walter Venne (left) of Vancouver TVS Branch in Burnaby, B.C., presents $1,000 to pediatrician Barbara Fitzgerald, president of Mom2Mom Child Poverty Initiative Society.

Squamish, B.C., Branch President Ed Robertson and Zone Commander Valerie MacGregor congratulate Graeme Bowers, whose essay placed third provincially in the literary contests. september/october 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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VOLUNTEERING IN THE COMMUNITY

Delta, B.C., Branch director Steven Henderson (left) and treasurer Deborah McMahon present $500 to torch holder Debbie McLeod of the Delta Police for the Torch Run for Special Olympics British Columbia.

Fiona Anderson (left) president of the Hospice Society of North Kootenay Lake, accepts $1,000 from President Mary Linn of Kaslo, B.C., Branch. The donation was made in memory of former president Bill Seafoot.

At the presentation of $2,000 to Deltassist are (from left) Delta, B.C., Branch President Jim Ingram, Lynne Walker of Deltassist and Sgt.-at-Arms Trevor Castle.

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President Clive Brown (left) of Cranbrook, B.C., Branch and poppy co-chair Les Radcliffe congratulate Darrynn Bednarczyk, whose poster placed first in East Kootenay Zone and second at provincial level.

At the presentation of $500 to the Transforming Education Society are (from left) Barb Walter Venne, second vice of Vancouver TVS Branch in Burnaby, society president Helen Hughes, principal Meghan Carrico of Windsor School and branch President Jim Irvine.

Alberni Valley Branch in Port Alberni, B.C., raised $6,100 for local good causes at Bonanza Bingo. At the presentation of donations are (rear, from left) Sue Morrison, Darleen Watts, Joe Snowden, Jack Buffie, Donna Michaud, Jack Issacs, Norm Nicholson, branch representative Ron Smith, Bruce MacKenzie, Lenore Benedict, (front) Ruth Hartt, Deanna Green, Sylvia Springer, Dora Farrell and Pamela Day.

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VOLUNTEERING IN THE COMMUNITY

Nelson Winterburn of Squamish, B.C., Branch congratulates students from Garibaldi Highlands Elementary School who received prizes in the literary and poster contests.

At the presentation of $500 bursaries from Agassiz, B.C., Branch are (front) Grant Morley, (middle, from left) poppy chairman Colin Morris, Kathleen Striker, Amanda Amirault, President Betty Brewer, Sandy Balascak and (rear) youth chairman Jim Johnson.

Gord Kendrick of Cloverdale Branch in Surrey, B.C., presents certificates to literary and poster contest winners at Sullivan Heights School (rear, from left) Joanna Huang, Lazar Savic, Johanna Linke, Harsukhreet Singh, Ivy Elora and Nancy Huang and (front) Amanda Wong, Danika Martin and Natalie Krzynowek.

Cranbrook, B.C., Branch President Clive Brown (left) and executive member Rob Stevely present Ian Stevely with $200 for the Wild Turkey Association.

Cloverdale Catholic School students receive their certificates in the literary and poster contests from Gord Kendrick of Cloverdale Branch in Surrey, B.C. Donna Grainger (front, right) of the East Kootenay Foundation for Health, receives $6,800 from members of Cranbrook, B.C., Branch. The funds will help buy mattresses and alarms for the Dr. F.W. Green Memorial Home.

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HONOURS AND AWARDS

LONG SERVICE AWARDS

Blanche Byrne, St. John’s Br., Nfld. 65 years

Eldon Mackie, Kitley-Toledo Br., Toledo, Ont. 65 years

Art McGinn, R.L. Beattie Br., Copper Cliff, Ont. 65 years

John Thompson, Mackenzie Br., Woodbridge, Ont. 65 years

Robert Watson, Port Alberni Br., B.C. 65 years

Cliff MacDonald, Nutana Br., Sask. 70 years

PALM LEAF

Hector McInnis, Port Hawkesbury Br., N.S. 65 years

Jean Marie Deveaux, Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command

Correction

In the July/August issue, Cliff MacDonald was incorrectly identified. We regret the error.

MSM AND MSA (L.A.)

Dave Cole, Centennial Br., Dartmouth, N.S.

Malcolm Hughes, Turner Valley Br., Alta.

William Meadus, Clarenville Br., Nfld.

Victor Newey, Col. Paul Poisson Br., Tecumseh, Ont.

Mona Saulnier, Vimy Br., Halifax

Mark Stevens, Yarmouth Br., N.S.

Peter Miller, Sault Ste. Marie Br., Ont.

Joan Mosher, L.A., Westside Br., Sydney, N.S.

Stan Myers, Kingsway Br., Edmonton

ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION COMMAND OFFICES Provincial/Regional Commands: British Columbia/Yukon, 152-5489 Byrne Rd., Burnaby, BC V5J 3J1, 604-736-8166, 604-736-1635 (fax), [email protected]; Alberta–Northwest Territories, 2020–15th St. N.W., Calgary, AB T2M 3N8, 403-284-1161, 403-284-9899 (fax), [email protected]; Saskatchewan, 3079–5th Ave., Regina, SK S4T 0L6, 306-525-8739, 306-525-5023 (fax), [email protected]; Manitoba–Northwestern Ontario, 563 St. Mary’s Rd., Winnipeg, MB R2M 3L6, 204-233-3405, 204-237-1775 (fax), [email protected]; Ontario, 89 Industrial Parkway N., Aurora, ON L4G 4C4, 905-841-7999, 905-841-9992 (fax), [email protected]; Quebec, 410–1000 St. Antoine St. W., Montreal, QC H3C 3R7, 514-866-7491, 514-866-6303 (fax), [email protected]; New Brunswick, 490 Douglas Ave., Saint John, NB E2K 1E7, 506-634-8850, 506-633-4836 (fax), [email protected]; Nova Scotia/Nunavut, 61 Gloria McCluskey Ave., Dartmouth, NS B3B 2Z3, 902-429-4090, 902-429-7481 (fax), [email protected]; Prince Edward Island, Unit 27A, 161 St. Peters’ Rd., Charlottetown, PE C1A 5P6, 902-892-2161, 902-368-8853 (fax), royalcanadianlegionpei.aibn. com; Newfoundland and Labrador, Box 5745, St. John’s, NL A1C 5X3, 709-753-6290, 709-753-5514 (fax); Dominion Command, 86 Aird Place, Kanata, ON K2L 0A1, 613-591-3335, 613-591-9335 (fax), [email protected].

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HONOURS AND AWARDS

Life Membership B.C./YUKON

ONTARIO

Helen Waller, L.A., Qualicum Beach Br.

Keith Andrews, Acton Br.

ALBERTA/NWT

Annamarie Lowin, L.A., Acton Br.

Florence Empson, Gibbons Br. Brian Phelan, Gibbons Br. Karl Kuss, Kingsway Br., Edmonton James Murdock, Kingsway Br., Edmonton James Neilson, Kingsway Br., Edmonton James Stewart, Kingsway Br., Edmonton Mac Torrie, Kingsway Br., Edmonton Brian Walters, Kingsway Br., Edmonton Mona Walters, Kingsway Br., Edmonton Florence Werner, Kingsway Br., Edmonton Barry Wood, Kingsway Br., Edmonton

MANITOBA/NWO John Catellier, Morris Br. Verna Earl, L.A., Morris Br. Helen Godkin, L.A., Morris Br. Lorna Lewis, L.A., Morris Br. Vi Skoglund, L.A., Morris Br. Cliff Gussie, Swan River Br. Kaz Nowak, Swan River Br.

John McNabb, Acton Br. Kerwin McPhail, Acton Br. Jim Thornhill, Acton Br. Edward Graham, Arnprior Br. Doreen Dunham, Burlington Br. Lillian Rushton, Burlington Br. Jane Eke, H.T. Church Br., St. Catharines Helen Fetterly, H.T. Church Br., St. Catharines Elsie Scott, H.T. Church Br., St. Catharines Jane Lowe, MacKenzie Br., Woodbridge Jack Hull, Oil Springs Br. Carol Piper, Sault Ste. Marie Br. Gary Bond, Streetsville Overseas Veterans Br., Mississauga Eric Ketchin, Streetsville Overseas Veterans Br., Mississauga Jack Porter, Streetsville Overseas Veterans Br., Mississauga Larry Scullion, Streetsville Overseas Veterans Br., Mississauga

Ruth Barrie, L.A., Trenton Br. Opal Fergson, L.A., Trenton Br. Betty Hyatt, L.A., Trenton Br. Lois LaFleur, L.A., Trenton Br. Helen McCormick, L.A., Trenton Br. Mabel Woroch, Waterloo Br. Doug MacLean, Whitby Br.

NEW BRUNSWICK Lyla McCrae, Hampton Br. Tim Good, Herman Good VC Br., Bathurst George Anderson, Sackville Br. Hugh Purvis, Sackville Br.

NOVA SCOTIA/ NUNAVUT Bonnie Hutchinson, Centennial Br., Dartmouth Richard Malin, Centennial Br., Dartmouth

MARKETPLACE Military Medals—plated & mounted Full Size & Miniatures, Replacements, Shadow Boxes, Plastic Medal Holders ($12.95) Buying & Selling military memorabilia

Call today 1-800-263-3896 Ivan Greenham Medal Dept., 354 Richmond St., London, ON, N6A 3C3

70th ANNIVERSARY D-DAY & 100th ANNIVERSARY WWI May 27 – June 10, 2014 – from $4190 incl air Paris – Verdun – Mons – Arras/Vimy – Ieper – Dieppe – Normandy beaches

ITALIAN CAMPAIGN incl SICILY May 14 – 26, 2014 – from $3390 incl air Sicily – Rome – Cassino – Ortona – Rimini – Venice For free, detailed brochure on all tours: SPECIAL TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL 4603 Main Street, Vancouver, BC V5V 3R6 Phone: 1-800 665 0998 Website: www.sticanada.com

D-DAY 70TH ANNIV. TOURS “KEEPING THE MEMORY ALIVE” May 31 – June 12 London-Dieppe-Normandy-Vimy-Amsterdam

D-DAY NORMANDY REMEMBRANCE June 2 – 12 Paris – Normandy-Ypres-Amsterdam For information/free brochure:

Verstraete Travel & Cruises 14845 Yonge St., #300, Aurora, ON L4G 6H8

Tel.: 416-969-8100 or 1-800-565-9267 Or visit www.verstraetetravel.com

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DEPARTMENTS

ALLAN/ALLEN, Bert—Navy, joined in Winnipeg, March 1943. HMCS York, Toronto. HMCS Ste. Hyacinthe; coder. Worked for CPR, Winnipeg, after war. Sought. Ralph Hardy, Guildford Marquis, 204-15030 101 Ave., Surrey, BC V3R 0N3, 604-581-9634. DEMPSTER, Pte. Jack—K349, 4 Cdn. Scottish Pipe Band, WW II. From Victoria. Friend Cy was a cousin of Stanley Hutson with whose family he stayed while on leave in England. Sought or info. Jean Harding, 45 Southlands Ave., Orpington, Kent BR6 9NE, U.K., [email protected]. FORT CHURCHILL, Man.—USAF rocket trials, 1961-62. Special flight sent to care for EARY, Pte. Ronald, who injured eye in vehicle repair shop. Witnesses and info sought for VAC claim, espec. MARR, Cpl. John. Brad Bradbury, 379 Meadowvale Rd., RR 6, Kingston, NS B0P 1R0, 902-765-0936, [email protected]. LINEHAM, Jack W.—RCN, 1964. Died Nov. 28, 2005. Mother Florence. Sisters Marlene, Janet, Patricia and Joan. Father was furniture upholsterer for Hotel Vancouver and then had his own business. Info sought by school friend. Jay Tompkins, 3590 State Rd. J, Fulton, MO 65251, U.S.A., 573-220-0605, [email protected]. NFLD. REGT.—Relatives of those buried in cemetery in Dadizele, Belgium, espec. BRINTON, Thomas, died Oct. 14, 1918, aged 16. Son of Henry and Ellen from Burin, Nfld. Relatives or info sought for 100-year commemoration. Jean-Pierre Outtier, Ledegemstraat, 13A B8890, Dadizele, Belgium, [email protected]. PENNEY, Norman G.—RCE, CFB Petawawa, Cyprus and Germany, peacetime service. Born English Harbour, Trinity Bay, Nfld. Grew up in Shoal Harbour. Wife Virginia Webster. Daughter Karen. Lived in Halifax early 1960s. Sought or info by childhood friend. Marie Hunt, 7 Church Rd. Shoal Harbour, NL A5A 4E9, [email protected]. SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE REGT.— 2nd. Bn., Arnhem 1944. Those who served sought, espec. Cdn. lieutenants TURNER, 476; HARVIE, 150; GODFREY, 455; NORWOOD, 645; MACDONALD, 637; and BOUSTEAD, 434. Simon Haines, 7 Dean Cl., Partington, Manchester M31 4BQ, U.K., [email protected]. TOYE, Don—1 Cdn. Guards, Germany and CFB Petawawa, 1958-65. Sought or info by comrade who worked with him in officers’ and junior ranks’ messes. Mickey Lipton, 815 Behm Line, Cobden, ON K0J 1K0, 647-962-3587 (dtr.), [email protected].

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UNIT REUNIONS

FIRST SPECIAL SERVICE FORCE— Sept. 25-28, Windsor, Ont. Cathy Moczko, 2238 Byng Rd., Windsor, ON N8W 3E3, 519-567-2720, [email protected]. 424 SQDN.—Sept. 27-29, Trenton, Ont. Gillian Parker, 70th Anniversary Committee, c/o 424 Transport and Rescue Sqdn., 8 Wing CFB Trenton, Box 1000, Stn. Forces, Astra, ON K0K 3W0, 613-8854823, [email protected]; http:// www.424sqn70th.ca.

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COMMUNITY

Find-Share-Discuss

LOST TRAILS

Do you have an old photograph that captures a moment, important or ordinary, in Canada’s military history? Find-Share-Discuss Legion Magazine invites our readers to contribute their old photos and stories. We’d love to hear from you.

To submit a high quality photograph (no paper photocopies), please mail it to: Find-ShareDiscuss c/o Legion Magazine, 86 Aird Place, Kanata, Ontario, Canada K2L 0A1 (photos will not be returned) or by e-mail (large file JPEG) to [email protected]. Include your daytime phone number and mailing address along with a description of the photo, its date and location and the identity of the people. Have questions? Call us at 1-613-591-0116.

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Travelling ABOUT Learn About The Plight Of Women At War

The plight of civilians on the battlefield is often overlooked, and the travails of women especially so. Rectify that situation with a visit this fall to the Military Museums in Calgary to view a new exhibit called Eleven Women Facing War, which tells the stories of women from conflict zones in Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Colombia, the Balkans, Israel and the Palestinian territories. Eleven Women Facing War Until Dec. 2 Military Museums, Calgary http://www.themilitarymuseums.ca

Illustration: Peter Rindlisbacher

3

Experience History Firsthand In Ontario

Visit southern Ontario to see the story of the War of 1812 come to life at Backus Heritage Conservation Area. Hundreds of historical re-enactors and settlers will be setting up camp in the heritage village to provide tours, period demonstrations and a children’s mini militia.

Go To The Hamilton And Scourge Memorial In Hamilton

Travel to the Dundurn National Historic Site to celebrate 200 years of peace and remember the 53 American sailors who lost their lives during the sinking of the United States Navy schooners Hamilton and Scourge in August of 1813. There will be music, indoor and outdoor children’s activities such as military drills and dress-up. Dundurn Castle and the Hamilton Military Museum will also be offering free admission. Dundurn National Historic Site Sept. 21 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Hamilton, Ont. http://www.hamilton-scourge.hamilton.ca/

5 Photo: Parks Canada/H. Thompson

2

Backus Heritage Conservation Area Sept. 7-8 Port Rowan, Ont. www.lprca.on.ca/events.htm

4

Visit The East Coast To Revel In Celtic History

For nine days in October, Cape Breton Island is home to a unique celebration of music and culture as the Celtic Colours International Festival presents dozens of concerts all over the island, an extensive line-up of community events, and a nightly Festival Club. By all accounts, it’s a great reason to visit an amazing part of Canada and learn about the Celtic culture that settled much of Canada in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Photo: Murdock Smith

1

Five things to do and see in SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

Celtic Colours International Festival Oct. 11-19 Cape Breton Island, N.S. http://www.celtic-colours.com/

Remember Halifax During The Second World War

If you are visiting Nova Scotia in October, visit the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site to recall the Citadel’s role in the Second World War. Members of the Atlantic WW II Living History Association will be dressed in the uniforms of the Canadian, British and American troops who inhabited the city during the war. World War II Living History Encampment Oct. 19-20 Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, Halifax ww.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/Halifax/activ4/MNS%20events.aspx SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER JULY/AUGUST 2013 LEGION MAGAZINE

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VIEWS

Canada

and the

The Cuban missile crisis neared its peak on Oct. 24, 1962, when the United States Navy’s “quarantine” of Cuba went into effect. Soviet freighters either slowed down or continued to steam toward Cuba, 43,000 Soviet troops raced to finish the missile installations and the surface-to-air missile sites that protected them in western and northern Cuba, and Soviet-supplied MiG-21 fighters and Ilyushin bombers moved to their combat stations. In the U.S.S.R., missile crews received the code word BRONTOZAVR, the order to move to combat alert status. For its part, the U.S. military moved its ships, aircraft and troops to the ready. Norad’s alert status went to DEFCON 2, a very high state of readiness. The world was at the brink. And in Ottawa? On the 24th, Defence Minister Douglas Harkness again tried and failed to persuade the prime minister and cabinet to place Canada’s Norad fighter squadrons on alert. Frustrated, outraged, the minister shouted at his colleagues that “we were failing in our responsibilities to the nation and must act, which produced,” Harkness wrote later, “an outburst from the Prime Minister to the effect that he would not be forced into any such action.” But when Harkness went to his office and learned that the U.S. had moved to DEFCON 2, he returned to Diefenbaker, “and said we just could not delay any longer...” Diefenbaker was reluctant, but Harkness continued to press. “All right,” the Chief finally grumbled in an agitated way, “go ahead.” Harkness’ actions in putting the Canadian military on alert on his own the day before had been legalized (Canada and the Cold War, July/August). Canada at last stood openly with its ally.

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cold war

For the next few days, the most critical period of the crisis, formal and informal contacts between American and Soviet diplomats, officials, and journalists sought a way out. But not Fidel Castro who urged the suddenly cautious Soviets to use surface-to-air missiles to shoot down American U-2 spy planes. At sea, the Royal Canadian Navy tracked Russian submarines in the North Atlantic, taking over responsibilities from the United States Navy, all its ships devoted to enforcing the quarantine. Unaware of the behind-the-scenes efforts to avoid a nuclear holocaust, the public mood throughout the world verged on panic. External Affairs Minister Howard Green said later that when he went to sleep during the crisis, he was never certain if he would be alive in the morning. The way out for Green and the world came on Oct. 26 when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev wrote to Kennedy: “Let us then display statesmenlike [sic] wisdom. I propose: we, for our part, will declare that our ships bound for Cuba are not carrying any armaments. You will declare that the United States will not invade Cuba with its troops and will not support any other forces which might intend to invade Cuba. Then the necessity for the presence of our military specialists in Cuba will be obviated.” Kennedy essentially accepted this offer and, although it took three weeks to work out the modalities, the turning point had been reached and nuclear war averted. On Oct. 28, the Soviet leader duly announced that his nation would remove its missiles from Cuba. Privately, the Americans agreed to withdraw their Jupiter missiles from Turkey, and Kennedy soon offered a public statement that the United States would not invade Cuba. Four decades later in the autumn of 2012, the world learned that

BY j.l. granatstein

Cuban leader Fidel Castro, unaware of Kennedy’s and Khrushchev’s progress toward a resolution of the missile crisis, at 2 a.m. on Oct. 27, had decided to write to the Soviet leader, encouraging him to use his nuclear weapons to destroy the U.S. in the event of an invasion. “If they attack Cuba,” Castro told the U.S.S.R’s ambassador, “we should wipe them off the face of the earth!” Khrushchev received this message during a tense Politburo meeting. His reaction was instant and accurate: “This is insane; Fidel wants to drag us into the grave with him!” The next month, Castro, continuing his apocalyptic ranting, engaged in lengthy and difficult negotiations with senior Soviet Politburo member Anastas Mikoyan and argued that the Russians must keep a hundred tactical nuclear weapons—weapons that the U.S. surveillance flights astonishingly had not discovered—in Cuba. Some retired Soviet commanders long after the fact stated that they could employ the tactical weapons without further authorization from Moscow if they were necessary to meet a U.S. attack. But after a threeweek bargaining session with the Cuban leader, Mikoyan and Moscow decided to pull out the weapons. If Castro’s wishes had prevailed, the Americans, when they inevitably discovered the tactical weapons, might well have decided to attack. Castro had become a wild card, too untrustworthy even for Khrushchev who himself fell from power two years later, his Politburo colleagues still embarrassed by his erratic actions. Kennedy, however, was hailed in the West as a leader of courage and decisiveness for his role in the affair. The praise for the president was loud in Canada, with four in five Canadians, according to opinion polls, supporting his actions. There was, however, no similar support for the Diefenbaker government.

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PHOTO: UN #77286

When word leaked out that the government had delayed putting the military on alert, the reaction was sharp with words like “inglorious,” “humiliating” and “embarrassing” expressing the popular mood. Harkness noted that the crisis shook confidence in the Chief; even ministers who had supported him in the cabinet during the crisis were now wavering. Diefenbaker justified his inaction by stating that it was too much to expect any country to react instantly when it learned of a crisis only an hour before it became public. That was true enough, and Canada had been entitled to consultation under the North American Air Defence Agreement. But the Cuban missile affair was the greatest crisis of the Cold War to that point, and the harsh public judgment was that Canada’s leader had failed the test. The issue in cabinet now became whether Canada should take the nuclear warheads for the weapons systems it had acquired from the U.S. There ought to have been no question of what was to occur. When Diefenbaker had announced the acquisition of the Bomarcs in February 1959, he had said, “The full potential of these defensive weapons is achieved only when they are armed

with nuclear warheads.” His government had also told NATO it would arm its CF-104 strike fighters with nuclear weapons. But by the end of 1962, Howard Green was pursuing disarmament and urging the prime minister not to take the warheads. Harkness disagreed: Canada had made commitments, and it would destroy the nation’s credibility to renege. Wavering, undecided, uncertain was the prime minister who worried about the survival of his government against the resurgent Grits. The Liberal leader made his move in January 1963. Lester Pearson had hitherto opposed acquiring nuclear weapons, but he could read the polls that showed strong support for their acquisition. Canadians wanted their military to have the best available weapons—nuclear weapons. Thus Pearson changed course: “I am ashamed if we accept commitments and then refuse to discharge them.” Canada had to accept “nuclear warheads for those defensive tactical weapons which cannot effectively be used without them but which we have agreed to use.” If he formed a government, Pearson said, he would take the weapons while trying to negotiate a “more realistic and effective” role without them.

Members of the United Nations Security Council meet to discuss the Cuban missile crisis, October 1962.

The rest was history. After a Diefenbaker speech in Parliament that revealed too much secret information and offered no solution for his self-inflicted nuclear dilemma, the U.S. State Department released a statement on Jan. 30 that contained a bombshell: “the Canadian Government has not as yet proposed any arrangement sufficiently practical to contribute effectively to North American defense.” The carefully crafted statement destroyed the government’s position that all was going well on the nuclear weapons front. Within days, Diefenbaker’s cabinet imploded, ministers resigned, the government lost a vote of confidence in the House of Commons and, after a bitterly contested campaign that saw Diefenbaker repeatedly play the anti-American card, Pearson’s Liberals won the election on April 8 and formed a minority government. The Cuban missile crisis had terrified the world with the threat of nuclear war. In Canada, the Cuban crisis and nuclear weapons had destroyed a government. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2013 LEgion MagazinE

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VIEWS

by CARL CHRISTIE

Readers who have ever “brownbagged it,” i.e., taken their lunch to work, should appreciate the following little tale from Ivan Chovan of Nutana Branch in Saskatoon. It concerns something that happened 43 years ago at Canadian Forces Base Moose Jaw, Sask. As a corporal with the trade specialization Radar Systems Air, Chovan worked in Transient Servicing, part of a crew of five, representing the trades essential in

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keeping a plane flying, mandated to service incoming aircraft travelling to and from other bases. One night shift, Corporal Chovan left his barracks and stopped at the mess hall to have an early supper and fill up a box lunch to take to the hangar. There it proved to be a slow night, so the crew caught up on a lot of housekeeping chores. One member of the crew, Fred, had an annoying habit of getting into the box lunches early and taking all the good stuff. The others decided to correct this bad habit. Fred was terrified of salamanders, which were all out and all over the place after an all-day rain. His crewmates emptied one of the box lunches, substituted the contents with a captured salamander, put it back in the fridge, and waited. True to form, Fred went for the box lunch and opened it. Out came a horrendous scream. The others joined in with bouts of laughter, with some rolling on the office floor, their sides splitting from the exercise. George, the crew chief then commented on Fred’s bad habit. The final scene saw George running down the tarmac with Fred right behind him screaming bloody murder. No one ever opened a box lunch again before they were all ready to eat. Let’s catch a flip east, to borrow an air force expression, to another base (or station in pre-unification Royal Canadian Air Force parlance) little more than a stone’s throw east of Trenton, Ont., the self-proclaimed Air Force City. In 1944, on completion of the

course at Initial Training School (or ITS), the young aircrew-intraining of Flight 98 reported to RCAF Station Trenton, to await postings to their respective flight schools. Regular readers will not be surprised to learn that, on arrival at Trenton, they met the station warrant officer (SWO), the famous “Long John” Silver, possibly the most famous warrant officer in the RCAF’s storied history. He certainly left an impression. John Larke, a member of Flight 98, writes that each morning Reveille was played over the loudspeakers throughout the station. Someone, he knows not who, came up with the idea of substituting a recording of a Jimmy Dorsey song called Long John Silver, featured in a Bud Abbott and Lou Costello movie, Lost In A Harem, released just that year. The prank proved an instant hit, even if only partly played. Still, the jokesters had only a few days to enjoy the reactions to their little trick. Before the week was out some of them were ordered to report to the main administration building at 17:00 hours (or 5:00 p.m. for us civilians). They had not a clue why. SWO Silver arrived at 17:00 and took the trainees inside the office complex. He pointed out a number of very high stepladders–for the rooms were double height. His instructions were terse: “Two men per ladder, one up, one at the bottom. The ladies complain about insects dropping onto desks. You will remove every spider from the ceiling. And there

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ILLUSTRATIONS: MALCOLM JONES

will be no splats left on the ceiling, nor on any of the desks or floors below. You will dispose of the said spiders and not leave a trace.” It proved a long night–on shaky ladders, with frequent visits from authority. Morning brought dismissal and a remark from The Warrant (the term often used to refer to RCAF WOs): a caution about music tastes. A laugh now, with good memories for the men involved, our confidant still does not know who made the musical switch on the PA. As an aside, it is probably a good thing this practical joke predated a song of the same name recorded about 30 years later by Jefferson Airplane. The lyrics of the 1972 Long John Silver begin with these two lines: “Long John Silver ring in his ear, He’s the hero, make that clear.” Catelli was a loser from his first day in the air force, until his discharge a year later. His sleeping area was a disaster. He missed parades and musters. One day on roll call, his name was called twice. No answer. The sergeant repeated the call one more time: “Catelli!” Still no answer. “Where is that bird?” “Sir!” came a shout from the ranks.

The sergeant went over to the airman who had responded. “Are you Catelli?” “No, Bird, Sir!” We can thank Floyd Brown of Bridgewater, N.S., for this little anecdote. Finally, as a child in Tecumseh, near Windsor, Ont., Bob Lamarche of Petawawa, Ont., loved to sit around the table listening to the stories of his father Elie (apparently known as Pete) and his best friend and war buddy, George Young. During the war both had served as cooks with the Royal Montreal Regiment as it advanced through Sicily and up the boot of Italy. Since the regiment was not part of the first couple of waves, the troopship ferrying its soldiers pulled in to a North African port. There the troops awaited their turn to join the battles waging in southern Italy. Meanwhile, time in harbour gave the men an opportunity to get into trouble, or so writes son Bob. Even confined to ship, this pair of Canadian soldiers decided they could get themselves some fresh oranges, a rare commodity in wartorn England, where they had languished for too long. They sneaked ashore and found their way to an open market.

Both had wives in England and, therefore, not a penny in their pockets. They solved the problem by trading their underwear for the coveted fruit. Then it was back to the ship, where they were caught trying to get on board. Naturally, they were charged— with desertion. Even so, they were found not guilty by a board with a sense of humour, one can surmise. Having returned to their ship no doubt had a positive influence on the board’s decision; however, trading their unmentionables for oranges was probably a bigger factor–especially when they were not even able to consume the fruit they had obtained at such a high cost. You see, son Bob Lamarche informs us, the oranges were the type used for making marmalade. They were so bitter they were unpalatable and were thrown out. As an add-on to the story that shows the cooks’ ingenuity, on a

day when the troops were able to get a fresh meal, George could not find a bowl in which the radishes could be kept in water. After digging around in the rubble of a damaged house, he found an old chamber pot. It did the job just fine. Lamarche Junior’s $25 reward for this story will go to the poppy fund, just as he requested. Keep those letters and e-mails coming, either to magazine@legion. ca or [email protected].

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Find-Share-Discuss

COMMUNITY

ater w in p e e d e l k n A . 18 19 t s u g u A , d and mu

Robert Gillan r jo a m d e ir t e R ., shares two of Surrey, B.C grandfather, photos of his s Gillan, taken a m o h T l ra o rp Co t World War. during the Firs

Gillan says his grandfather served with 9 Field Ambulance of the Canadian Army Medical Corps. He believes the photo, showing Cpl. Gillan (centre) and other soldiers standing in muddy water, was probably taken near Arras, France, where the unit was located in 1918. “They were difficult conditions for a medical unit to operate under to say the least,” offers Gillan. “Note the field kitchen in the background at right.” The portrait of Cpl. Gillan was taken in Perth, Scotland, while he was on leave to visit his wife. On Aug. 28, 1918—not long after the “muddy waters” photo was taken—Gillan was wounded by a German artillery barrage while performing stretcher-bearer duties at the front. The young corporal, who had first arrived in France in 1916, lost his right arm. He was also peppered with shrapnel, “lucky to have survived at all,” says his grandson. We thank Robert Gillan for his contributions to Find-Share-Discuss, and invite readers to share similar memories of wartime or peacetime service.

Welcome to Find-Share-Discuss, where readers can share old photos and stories. In each issue a selected photo or selection of photos will be published. Selections are also posted online in our Community Section. To submit a high quality photograph (no photocopies), please mail it to: Find-Share-Discuss c/o Legion Magazine, 86 Aird Place, Kanata, ON, Canada, K2L 0A1 (photos will not be returned) or by e-mail (large file JPEG) to [email protected]. Include your daytime phone number and mailing address along with a description of the photo, its date and location and the identity of the people. Have questions? Call us at 1-613-591-0116.

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