WARTIME HOCKEY HEROES
OBAMA VERSUS BIN LADEN
RETURN TO LEBANON: A LONG LOST GOODBYE
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
CANADA’S
GREATEST
BATTLES From the Plains of Abraham to Afghanistan
P LU S L SPECIA
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battles,
in five different generations, have shown Canada’s true mettle when it goes to war. See page 26.
Canadian engineers build an extra bridge to cross the Canal du Nord, November 1918. DND/LAC/PA-003500
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Features 26 FIVE BATTLES THAT SHAPED CANADA
From the Plains of Abraham to Afghanistan By J.L. Granatstein
38 MEMOIR: REMEMBRANCE
Remembering Acting Lieutenant DonaldFrench By Fraser McKee
40 MEMOIR: TEARS OF REMEMBRANCE
A daughter walks in the steps of her father By Sheila May Brownrigg
42 CARE THROUGH THE COMMONWEALTH: THE RCEL DELIVERS IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD Three days in Kuala Lumpur at theRCELConference
48 LOVE LONG LOST
A grieving widow goes to Lebanon By Adam Day
56 WHERE BURIED LOVE DOTH LIE: RESCUING, REMEMBERING, REVIVING AGING MEMORIALS Keeping our 7,500 memorials fromdisappearing By Sharon Adams
60 WARTIME HOCKEY HEROES How the NHL kept up morale during the Second World War By D’Arcy Jenish
By Jennifer Morse
NEW MEMBER BENEFITS PARTNERS Go to pages 8 and 11 for details!
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THIS PHOTO: OVER THE DIKE Canadian infantrymen go over the dike during the Battle of the Scheldt, 1944.
COLUMNS 6 OUR BACK PAGES Stepping out of the shadows
Lieut. Daniel Guravich/DND/LAC/PA-198133
ON THE COVER: Benjamin West’s famous painting, The Death of General Wolfe.
16 MILITARY HEALTH MATTERS Do richer countries have higher PTSD rates?
Wikimedia Commons
By Sharon Adams
20 FRONT LINES So quietly, a new war begins. By Adam Day
24 EYE ON DEFENCE How Canada’s defence money is spent By David J. Bercuson
54 FACE TO FACE Should Remembrance Day be a statutory holiday? By Serge Durflinger and J.L. Granatstein
88 CANADA AND THE COLD WAR Mr. Trudeau goes to Moscow By J.L. Granatstein
90 HUMOUR HUNT Rumble in the jungle By Carl Christie
92 HEROES AND VILLAINS Obama and bin Laden By Mark Zuehlke
94 ARTIFACTS Hong Kong craftsmen By Sharon Adams
96 MY STORY The great beer caper
DEPARTMENTS 5 8 14 64 75 87 87 87
EDITORIAL LETTERS ON THIS DATE IN THE NEWS SNAPSHOTS LOST TRAILS REQUESTS MARKETPLACE
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Published six times per year, January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October and November/December. Copyright Canvet Publications Ltd. 2016. ISSN 1209-4331
Subscription Rates Legion Magazine is $9.96 per year ($19.93 for two years and $29.89 for three years); prices include GST. FOR ADDRESSES IN NS, NB, NL, PE a subscription is $10.91 for one year ($21.83 for two years and $32.74 for three years). FOR ADDRESSES IN ON 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 or phone 613-591-0116. The single copy price is $5.95 plus applicable taxes, shipping and handling.
Change 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. Or visit www.legionmagazine.com. Allow eight weeks.
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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, PO Box 55, Niagara Falls, NY 14304. Member of CCAB, a division of BPA International. Printed in Canada.
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We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF), for our publishing activities. On occasion, we make our direct subscriber list available to carefully screened companies whose product or services we feel would be of interest to our subscribers. If you would rather not receive such offers, please state this request, along with your full name and address, and e-mail [emailprotected] or write to Legion Magazine, 86 Aird Place, Kanata ON K2L 0A1 or phone 613-591-0116.
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EDITORIAL
One year later
I
t has been a little over a year since the Liberal government came to power, promising a new era of openness. One of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s first actions was to release the mandate letters sent to his new ministers. These letters, usually cloaked in cabinet secrecy, outline the actions expected of the minister during the government’s first term. Veterans Affairs Minister Kent Hehr was given 14 actions to ensure veterans receive the respect, support, care and economic opportunities they deserve. These were generally welcomed by veterans advocates but, a year later, what has been done? There has been some success, to be sure. The 2016 federal budget tackled a few key points in the New Veterans Charter. One was that the Disability Award, a non-economic benefit which recognizes pain and suffering, will increase from $310,378 to $360,000 as of April 1, 2017. Also changing on April 1, the Permanent Impairment Allowance will become the Career Impact Allowance to better reflect the intent of the program which is to compensate for lost employment potential and career advancement. Assessments will be judged more on an individual’s circ*mstances and more access will be provided to the higher levels of this benefit. Already, the Earning Loss Benefit has been increased from 75 per cent to 90 per cent of an eligible veteran’s pre-release military salary, with a guarantee that the veteran will receive a minimum of $44,496 per year. The Funeral and Burial Program, administered by the Last Post Fund, will see the estate exemption for lower-income veterans raise from approximately
$12,000 to approximately $35,000 with annual cost-of-living increases. The minister has been in the news visiting the nine, communities where Veterans Affairs Canada closed its district office to announce the office’s reopening and new location. These closures invoked veterans’ anger and the return of the offices are appreciated locally. But there is a lot left to do on that mandate list, including: • Re-establishing lifelong pensions as an option for injured veterans; • Working with the minister of Defence to reduce complexity and overhaul delivery service for personnel leaving the Canadian Armed Forces; • Adopting a “one, veteran, one standard” of service and care; • Providing greater education, counselling and training for families living with a disabled veteran; and • Increasing the survivor’s pension. There are other actions as well. These recommendations are not new. They have been presented by The Royal Canadian Legion, other veterans organizations, the veterans and military ombudsmen and House of Commons and Senate committees several times. The mandate letter is a list of good intentions. Budgets and bureaucracies can get in the way but in the end, the government has given us the measuring stick with which to judge its success. Things have started but there is much more to be done.
More partners join
T
wo new partners have joined The Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) Member Benefits Package (MBP), adding even more services for members and their families. SimplyConnect provides services for mobile devices like Internetenabled smartphones and tablets, while Revera Inc. is a leader in providing retirement living for seniors. SimplyConnect features easy-to-use interfaces and apps that make staying connected, updating bank accounts and addressing health care needs easier. Each time a new plan is activated, SimplyConnect will donate $25 to The Royal Canadian Legion. Revera is offering Legion members and their
family and friends 10 per cent off the suite rate at any of its retirement communities across Canada. The MBP offers discounts on hotel rooms, satellite TV, specialty designed travel insurance packages, personal response and support services, hearing aids, funerals and more. The other MBP partners are Best Western, Shaw Direct, Medipac Travel Insurance, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Philips Lifeline Canada, Starkey Hearing Technologies Canada, Arbor Memorial Services Inc., Canadian Safe Step Walk-In Tub Co., Iris Eyewear and MBNA Canada Bank. The list of partners in the MBP is growing. The package is one more reason to join the Legion. L
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90
A Y
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G I O L E N
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SINCE 1926
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A M A G
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YEARS
OF PUBLISHING EXCELLENCE
OUR BACK PAGES 1999-2016 Stepping out of the shadows
A
fter six lean years in which Legion Magazine had gone from 10 to five times a year, finances improved and in 2003 the magazine was able to publish a July/August issue. This brought the magazine up to its current schedule of six times a year with each issue being approximately 100 pages. The turn of the century brought other changes. In September 2000, the magazine launched its website, www.legionmagazine.com, featuring selections from the print magazine and special blogs. Its presence on the Internet has expanded by interacting with readers through Facebook, Twitter and videos posted on YouTube. In 2009, the magazine began selling on newsstands. The covers acquired a
Sixth in a six-part series looking back at 90 years of The Legionary and Legion Magazine
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AWARDS
Since 2010, Legion Magazine has received nearly 20 awards or nominations from organizations ranging from the National Magazine Awards to the Govenor General’s History Award.
dynamic new look highlighting not just the cover story but also other feature articles. The number of direct subscriptions to the magazine began to grow. The magazine published its first special interest publication (SIP) in 2010. Called WW I: The war that shaped a nation, it featured a text by historian Tim Cook, a timeline, more than 100 archival photographs and a map. It was the first of a series subtitled “Canada’s Ultimate Story.” The latest, Battle of the Pacific, is the 13th in a series. A second series, Celebrating Canada, will be on newsstands in November. Not only was Legion Magazine gaining prominence on newsstands across the country but its work started to be recognized by peer organizations. That first SIP received an honourable mention in the National Magazine Awards and a bronze medal in the Canadian Newsstand Awards. Twice, in 2012 and 2013, Legion Magazine was a finalist for the Governor General’s History Award for
popular media, the Pierre Berton Award. In 2014, the magazine won gold medals in the National Magazine Awards for feature articles. The magazine received a further three nominations in 2016. This year, in recognition of the magazine’s 90 years of publication, Legion Magazine refreshed its look and began devoting more
pages to military history. The readability of the text improved and new columns such as “Heroes and Villains,” “Artifacts” and “My Story” were added. No doubt other changes await Legion Magazine in the years to come. L
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Ad
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LETTERS
SimplyConnect keeps Legionnaires Connected with Mobile Technology
SimplyConnect is a friendly, affordable and easy-to-use wireless service. It is focused on providing mobile technology to help more and more Canadians with what’s most important: staying connected and engaged while maintaining happy and healthy lives after retirement. Mobile devices like internet-enabled smartphones and tablets offer all sorts of technology-enabled lifestyle advantages. They feature easy-to-use interfaces and apps that make things like getting updates from loved ones, accessing bank accounts or addressing health care needs easier than ever before. These devices are a great solution for seniors looking to stay connected, keep learning, easily access services, stay healthy and avoid isolation. With some providers however, wireless and data plans can be convoluted, cost prohibitive while providing unaccommodating customer service. That’s where SimplyConnect comes in. With its focus on affordability, transparency, friendly service SimplyConnect makes staying connected simple for seniors while matching all of their wireless needs.
SimplyConnect plans start from $18/month with a wide selection of cell phones available starting from $0. It also offers easy pairings between phones and plans with reliable national network coverage, as well as other wireless services such as Wireless Home Phone and Tablet plans. SimplyConnect’s Canada-Wide plans are without any surprises, and for any troubleshooting or inquiries customers may have, their Customer Service is accessible seven days a week at convenient hours via phone, email or live chat. With a 30-day money back guarantee and access to usage online with My Account, SimplyConnect is all about building the kind of seamless and long-term customer relationships that seniors value. Legion members will have the pleasure of knowing every time they activate a plan with SimplyConnect, $25 will be donated to The Royal Canadian Legion.
LETTERS
Credit finally given
I
n the notes for events occurring in September (On this date, September/ October), the interesting thing about the sinking of U-756 by the corvette HMCS Morden in 1942 is that although Lieutenant (N) Jack Hodgkinson was himself sure he’d made a good attack, he was only credited with a “possibly damaged.” Not until detailed research into German
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radio traffic in 1986 was it determined that, indeed, it must have been Morden that sank her, not a United States Navy Catalina, as wartime records said. That aircraft had attacked U-91 her log revealed. Mark Milner tells that story in your March/ April edition of last year. There have been four Royal Canadian Navy credits of this type in more recent years. FRASER McKEE, TORONTO
Comments can be sent to: Letters, Legion Magazine, 86 Aird Place, Kanata, ON K2L 0A1 or e-mailed to: magazine@ legion.ca
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 > legionmagazine.com
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Housewife still comes in handy Just finished reading the September/October issue of Legion Magazine. The article on the housewife brought back fond memories (Artifacts). I was on a pipe-band course in Ottawa in 1971, and became quite popular with the rest of the guys as I was the only man that had one with him. I still take it on camping trips. R OBERT REDDEN, MIDDLE MUSQUODOBOIT, N.S.
I always enjoy Sharon Adams’ writing. I still have my navy housewife
neatly sewn in my best needlework stored in one of my “man cave” boxes and grinned my way through the recent Artifacts column. As a result of that early foray with a needle and thread, early on in my military career, I used to produce one-of-a-kind military badges, logos and presentations to some very senior people in needlepoint. It helped me garner quite a few ribbons over the years. SAM NEWMAN, LONDON, ONT.
Arming drones The subject of armed drones for the Canadian Armed Forces seems like a no-brainer (Face to face, July/August). They have been proven by numerous countries to be effective for both armed and unarmed operations. What seems to be the hang-up for making a decision to purchase, is whether to arm them or not. Of course,
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Revera Inc. is proud to be working together with The Royal Canadian Legion As a leader in senior living for more than 55 years, Revera is proud to be part of The Royal Canadian Legion’s Member Benefits Package. Every day, we have the honour of being part of the lives of veterans and other seniors who have chosen to call a Revera community home. Whether it is in a retirement residence or long-term care home, we help people live their lives to the fullest. Celebrating veterans is a true highlight of our calendars in November, as all of our communities host or participate in Remembrance Day commemoration events. This year will be especially meaningful, as it is our first as an official partner in The Royal Canadian Legion's Poppy Campaign. Additionally, Revera communities will be conducting fundraisers to support the important work of The Royal Canadian Legion.
About Revera Through our portfolio of partnerships, Revera serves more than 50,000 seniors in Canada, the US and the UK. Canadian owned and operated, our vision is to celebrate the ageless spirit of people through service and innovation. Believing that “Ageism is getting old”, Revera challenges the stereotypes associated with ageism through our social initiative, Age is More. Revera is also working to improve the aging experience through our Innovators in Aging Program and intends to invest up to $20 million over the next five years supporting new products and services that will improve the lives of seniors. To learn more visit ReveraLiving.com, Facebook.com/ReveraInc or follow us on Twitter @Revera Inc.
For the first time ever, Revera is offering an exclusive benefit to Legion members, family members and friends of 10 per cent off the suite rate at any of our retirement communities across Canada. Further details are in the advertisem*nt below.
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legionmagazine.com > NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
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LETTERS they should be armed! Then the only question remaining is: who should be accountable for initiating the use of the arms? D OUG MOULTON, CHUTE-À-BLONDEAU, ONT.
Yes, our armed forces should have armed unmanned aircraft if they will protect our military personnel. The very name armed forces says it all, as they are a force and armed and present a deterrent to an enemy when necessary. After all, there is no deterrent if you are threatening someone with a pop gun!
back many memories to me as a young kid on a ranch in the high country of Alberta. A good friend of mine and his mother were on board the Athenia, returning from a visit to England. The person of whom I speak was Bill Gadsby, who at that time was a young boy, three years younger than myself. He had accompanied his mother to visit relatives in England. Several years after they survived the sinking of the SS Athenia, Bill Gadsby was called up to play for the Chicago Black Hawks with the National Hockey League. Bill was later traded to the Detroit Red Wings and played
ROSS RENNIE, WHITBY, ONT.
A survivor of the Athenia Having just watched your Military Moment video, at www.youtube. com/watch?v=U8LS52vdnds, regarding the 1939 sinking of the SS Athenia, it brings
defence with the famous team, along with Gordie Howe. Bill was also a coach for the Detroit Red Wings, and later made his home in Detroit, where he passed away earlier this year. ROY FOSTER, WETASKIWIN, ALTA.
Promoting world peace My idea for a new white paper on defence (Eye on defence, July/August) is the reinstall military bands where they are needed. In my case, at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, N.B., one general figured we didn’t need one. I’ve been trying for more than 20 years to get one back. Music is one of the most inspiring things on Earth. It ought to create world peace. NICOLAAS DE VRIES, FREDERICTON
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2016-09-30 3:29 PM
Our readers respond
A question for our readers
In September/October we asked our readers if transferring veterans hospitals from federal to provincial administration had been successful. Speaking of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, I can say from my experience as a 50-year employee, both before and after the change from the largest veterans hospital in Canada to the internationally recognized facility it is today, that this decision was immensely successful. Never more so than for our veterans whose compassionate residential care in the George Hees Wing and the Kilgour Wing on Sunnybrook’s campus is matched as needed with a standard of excellence for their acute care requirements which are met in the adjacent facilities. Had the transfer from federal jurisdiction to an Ontario University (the University of Toronto), a fully integrated teaching and research hospital, not occurred, this remarkable evolution would not have taken place. There were many naysayers in 1966 when the transfer was finalized but in hindsight, there is no doubt in my mind that no greater legacy could there be but that the children and families of those for whom the hospital was built should find healing and life-saving patient care there into the future. That being said, Sunnybrook’s commitment to the caring of our veterans will never diminish because it always has been, and always will be, a tangible memorial to honour the veterans of our land who are indeed the nobility of Canada’s population.
From time to time, the federal government issues commemorative medals to be bestowed on deserving Canadians. The office of Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed in September that there will no commemorative medals issued for the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Should there be a medal to mark the occasion? Please send comments to [emailprotected] or Letters, Legion Magazine, 86 Aird Place, Kanata, ON K2L 0A1. Advertisem*nt
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legionmagazine.com > NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015-11-18 2016 10:11:21 AM
2016-09-30 1:10 PM
ON THIS DATE
November 2016
1 November 1952 The U.S. tests its first hydrogen bomb. 2 November 1951 One Canadian dies and 13 are wounded in a diversionary raid by the Chinese on Hill 187 in Korea. 3 November 1687 Fort Chambly repels an Iroquois raid. 4 November 1995 Canada launches its earth-observation satellite, Radarsat-1.
5 November 1966 An engine room fire delays the launch of the hydrofoil HMCS Bras d’Or.
6 November 1940 HMCS Ottawa and HMS Harvester sink Italian sub Faà di Bruno off the Irish coast. 7 November 1900 Two Royal Canadian Dragoons earn Victoria Crosses in a Boer War battle near Liliefontain, South Africa.
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8 November 1944 The Battle of the Scheldt ends. (See our coverage of this battle in “5 battles that shaped Canada,” page 26.)
13 November 1813 Canadian turncoats skirmish with militia at Nantico*ke Creek, about 90 km west of Fort Erie, Ont.
9 November 1910 The dockyard in Esquimalt, B.C. is transferred to Canadian ownership and becomes the home of Pacific Command.
14 November 1947 A commission on Korea is formed; the U.S. nominates Canada for membership.
10 November 1916 Canadians attack Regina Trench.
11 November 1918 WW I ends; nearly 620,000 Canadians served, 66,000 were killed and 175,000 wounded.
15 November 1948 After a total of 21 years as prime minister, Mackenzie King retires.
16 November 1941 1,975 Canadian soldiers arrive in Hong Kong.
12 November 1973 The Canadian Forces Post Office sets up shop in Cairo to serve UN peacekeepers.
Canadian Space Agency; LAC; CWM; Wikimedia Commons; Eric Harris; Australian War Memorial; John Stables
2016-09-30 9:56 AM
November 20 November 1945 The first Nuremberg trial begins; 12 Nazis are sentenced to death.
25 November 1943 British and Canadian troops attack German forces along the Sangro River in Italy.
26 November 1940 The Toronto Scottish Regiment shoots down a German aircraft in Portslade, England—with a machine gun. 27 November 1965 Canadian peacekeepers at an air base in Lahore, Pakistan, receive an early Christmas present—tapes of the Grey Cup playoffs. 28 November 1917 The Newfoundland Regiment is designated “royal” by King George V.
17 November 1859 The First Battalion Volunteer Militia Rifles is authorized, origin of Canada’s oldest militia unit, The Canadian Grenadier Guards. 18 November 1943 Nine of 440 RAF planes and 53 aircrew are lost in the bombing of Berlin. 19 November 1943 U-211 is sunk by Wellington pilot FO Donald McRae of Vancouver and his international crew.
21 November 1950 A train collision near Canoe River, B.C., claims a dozen Korea-bound troops, and more die later. 22 November 1951 Defence of Hill 355 costs the Van Doos 63 casualties. 23 November 1944 Overseas service is authorized for 16,000 conscripts. 24 November 1940 The first British Commonwealth Air Training Plan graduates arrive in England.
29 November 1899 Canada’s first troops begin service in the Boer War in South Africa. 30 November 1921 The Canadian Air Force ensign is raised for the first time.
DECEMBER On This Date Events Visit legionmagazine.com. The items will appear December 1. Here’s a taste of what to expect.
25 December 1941 Hong Kong falls; 290 of the 1,975 Canadian troops die in battle, another 260 as PoWs.
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MILITARY HEALTH MATTERS
By Sharon Adams
Do richer countries have higher PTSD rates? Advertisem*nt
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he steady trickle of results from studies of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury (TBI) has provided much food for thought and grist for conversation this year. Tongues are wagging (if that describes online comments and blogs) about the surprising results of a study by a team of Dutch, British and Australian psychotrauma experts reported in the British Journal of Psychiatry this summer. PTSD occurs around the world, and in each country rates are higher among the vulnerable—the poor, undereducated and malnourished, who have less access to health care but greater exposure to trauma. So shouldn’t more vulnerable countries where trauma is common also display higher national rates of PTSD? Advertisem*nt
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Apparently not. National PTSD rates are higher in richer countries. “Our findings were the opposite of what we had predicted,” the team reported. Lead researcher Michel Dückers has dubbed it the “vulnerability paradox.” Perhaps predictably, countries with low exposure to trauma and lots of ways to mitigate its effect (like Japan) have a national lifetime risk of PTSD of under two per cent. Surprisingly, so do countries with lots of trauma and fewer resources, such as Mexico and Colombia. But people in more affluent countries— Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States—have an average lifetime rate of 7.34 per cent, nearly three times higher than less advantaged, and often more violent, societies. And a real shocker— peaceful Canada has a national lifetime PTSD rate of 9.2 per cent and tops the list of 24 countries studied. Beggaring belief, at the bottom of the list is violent Nigeria, with its repeated machete massacres of whole villages, its kidnappings of whole schools, its great divide between the oil rich and soil poor. And a national lifetime PTSD rate of zero. That’s 0.0 in the report’s comparison graph. So what’s up with that?
The authors say it’s not due to better diagnosis and treatment in rich countries, explaining the data on which the study relies came from representative populations in each country, randomly chosen for personal interviews about mental health. Perhaps, they muse, stigma around mental health prevented people in poorer countries from truthfully answering questions during interviews. Or perhaps it’s cultural difference. Some people argue PTSD is “a Western concept we’re trying to impose on people from different cultures,” Chris Brewin, one of the researchers, told the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper. Perhaps those with limited options who expect regular doses of tragedy in life are less likely to have their world view shattered by trauma. Or perhaps poorer societies have more of what the researchers call “social capital” that helps trauma victims rebuild their lives. The authors said their results should spark conversation, and they welcome further research to either replicate their results or identify flaws. Given data showing Nigeria is PTSD free, it’s certainly easier to believe the count is off, or the wrong questions were asked in those interviews. While this study seems to raise as many questions as it answers, one by researchers at the U.S. Defense Department’s Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine has answered a really R130.685 CTP Eng Armed Forces Fridays - CTP 3cpl Window Legion Ad - 4.275” x 2.4375” (Drawn 100%) Advertisem*nt big question. They report finding the first physical evidence of blast brain injury—a relief In appreciation of your service to the many military veterans who suffer from what has until now been described as an invisible wound of war, because the injury goes undetected in per litre sophisticated brain scans. The microscopic injuries were identified in post-mortem examinations of eight U.S. vet*Must show valid Canadian Forces ID or CF1 card to qualify. Offer valid Fridays, with erans, five exposed to multiple payment in kiosk at all Canadian Tire GAS+ locations. Promotion may be modified or discontinued at any time and cannot be combined with any other offer. Qualifying IDs blasts, three exposed to big are: NDI-10, NDI-20, NDI-75, VA Health Benefit Card or the CF1 card with the following designations only: CF, FF, V or D. blasts. Their brains had been donated to the centre’s brain
Peaceful Canada has a national lifetime PTSD rate of 9.2 per cent and tops the list of 24 countries studied.
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Perhaps those with limited options who expect regular doses of tragedy in life are less likely to have their world view shattered by trauma.
tissue repository for research into traumatic brain injury. Some had also been diagnosed with concussion or post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. One had committed suicide shortly after an inconclusive brain scan; several had died of overdoses. All showed scarring along the area where the brain’s grey and white matter intersect, researchers reported in the medical journal, Lancet Neurology. Significantly, this scarring differs from what is found in the brains of athletes with concussions and from a control group, several of whom had
died from drug overdoses. There were also signs the brains had begun healing. Lead researcher Dr. Daniel Perl, the repository’s director, said “through more research, we can come up with better means of prevention, diagnosis and treatment.” Treatment has been a hit-andmiss affair, as doctors have not known precisely what has been damaged in the brain, or how to help it heal, repair it or help rehabilitate it to compensate for the damage (When the Brain Goes Boom, July/August). Now there is a target for treatment. Another target has been identified by neuroendocrinologists with the U.S. Veterans Affairs Healthcare System in Seattle and at Massachusetts General Hospital. They found about 40 per cent of soldiers with blast TBI develop pituitary disorders resulting in hormonal deficiencies that can be mistaken for post-traumatic stress disorder. Hormone therapy may help some veterans’ symptoms. It’s not yet known how the pituitary gland, buried deep in the head, could be damaged in the first place. Are connections between the gland and the brain damaged, or the boundary between white and grey matter? Is inflammation the problem? Answers await future research. L
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FRONT LINES
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By Adam Day
An AV-8B Harrier takes off from USS Wasp on a precision air strike in support of the Libyan Government of National Accord and its allies fighting ISIS.
So quietly, a new war begins
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n Aug. 1, the United States opened up a new front in the war against ISIS, or ISIL, when it began a bombing campaign in Libya. Now, this is far from the first time the United States has bombed Libya. Back in 2011, a large group of NATO Advertisem*nt allies, including Canada, conducted an extensive bombing campaign to help overthrow Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Since then, Libya has largely descended into chaos, with various factions controlling different parts of the country. Many critics 3rd Field Artillery Regiment have pointed out (The Loyal Company) and the that the NATO History of New Brunswick’s Artillery, bombing mission should have been 1893 to 2012 followed up with Lee Windsor • Roger Sarty • Marc Milner another mission $59.99 hardcover • 496 pages to help stabilize 170 b/w and 21 colour illus., 23 colour maps 978-1-77112-237-5 the country. Two factors have www.wlupress.wlu.ca contributed to the facebook.com/wlupress recent return of twitter.com/wlupress the American mili-
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tary to Libya: one is the emergence of ISIS, but a very important second consideration is that there is now a United Nations-recognized government in Libya, which has requested U.S. help in destroying ISIS. “Today, at the request of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), the United States military conducted precision air strikes against ISIL targets in Sirte, Libya, to support GNA-affiliated forces seeking to defeat ISIL in its primary stronghold in Libya,” said Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook in a statement. “GNA-aligned forces have had success in recapturing territory from ISIL thus far around Sirte, and additional U.S. strikes will continue to target ISIL in Sirte in order to enable the GNA to make a decisive, strategic advance. The U.S. stands with the international community in supporting the GNA as it strives to restore stability and security to Libya.” So a new front has been opened up in the war against Islamic extremists, this time on the African continent, a place where Canadian military leaders have consistently been mentioning as a possible location for another Canadian military mission. Chances are very good we will be hearing lots more about Libya in the near future.
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America’s new strategy: scare everyone with wild weapons It sounds more like science fiction than reality, but the United States is developing some truly amazing new weapons in an attempt to deter Russia and China from even thinking about going to war. One of the most interesting is the railgun. It’s an electromagnetic projectile launcher that accelerates rounds to incredible velocities and distances using no explosives at all. Describing exactly how it works really doesn’t clarify very much, unless of course you are a defence scientist or something, but here goes: “a railgun uses a pair of parallel conductors, or rails, along which a sliding armature is accelerated by the electromagnetic effects of a current that flows down
one rail, into the armature and then back along the other rail.” The upshot is that the railgun can send out a round at more than seven times the speed of sound, to a range of more than 100 nautical miles, and it can do it without the risk of carrying around all those high explosives. There are some drawbacks, however. One small problem is that the railgun itself can’t survive too many firings, because all the energy created is so powerful that it basically tears itself apart. Nonetheless, scientists are almost certain they can figure that problem out, and the railgun is slated to go into further testing very soon. This project is a part of the U.S. plan to deter future enemies by creating weapons so dramatically better that it would be unwise to attack them. The key point is that these weapons have
to be conventional, not nuclear, because while nuclear weapons provide a massive deterrent in theory, the reality is that they can’t readily be used at all (for fear of destroying the planet, etc.) and so they actually provide very little real-world effect. Other weapons in the multi-billion-dollar plan includes swarms of airborne drones, unmanned underwater vehicles, high-energy lasers, and lots and lots of supersmart bombs and missiles. In any case, the future of combat looks to be getting stranger and wilder all the time. L
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EYE ON DEFENCE
By David J. Bercuson
Members of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, participate in exercises in Adazi, Latvia, in March 2015.
How Canada’s defence money is spent
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n early July, Justin Trudeau’s government announced that in 2017 it will dispatch a “battle group” of 450 soldiers to command one of four North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) brigades that are being formed in the NATO countries that border Russia, particularly the Baltic states and Poland. The Canadian contingent will be going to Latvia for six months, to be replaced by other Canadian contingents, as necessary, for as long as NATO believes they are warranted. The other brigades will be commanded by Britain, the United States and Germany. The aim of the deployment is ostensibly to aid those countries in the event Russia takes military action against them. In fact, those brigades are not meant to defend anything as much as to provide a tripwire that, in the event of a Russian attack, will kick in
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Article V of the NATO treaty which provides for common defence among all NATO members. How do we know this? Because a NATO brigade’s life expectancy will be very short indeed if Russian forces launch an all-out attack. The four brigades are thus far more a symbol than they are effective defence; with or without those brigades, a Russian invasion of any NATO country is supposed to spark off a NATO military response. Nevertheless, they will send a clear signal, symbolic or otherwise, that Russia ought not to believe that even though these NATO nations are on the far eastern fringe of NATO, they will not be defended to the same extent that Germany or France would. And it is a sure sign of Canada’s ongoing commitment to NATO under the new Liberal government that the commitment was eventually made, even though it came after many weeks of
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open U.S. and NATO pressure on Canada to participate. Many questions remain about the mission: what kind of a force does Ottawa have in mind when it talks about a 450-member “battle group”? For over 25 years the Canadian Armed Forces have used the term “battle group” in the same way that other nations use the term battalion group. These formations add a core battalion of infantry—generally about 600 soldiers—accompanied by other units such as engineers, medics, mortars and/or heavy machine gunners. The battle groups that Canada fielded in Afghanistan and, earlier, in the Balkans were generally from 750 to 900 men and women. So what exactly does the government mean by a 450-person battle group? Of course many of the details may not have been worked out yet (the decision was only made in July) and presumably people at National Defence Headquarters will have
these and other issues worked out before the deployment. But one is already crystal clear: by undertaking a high profile mission, a small one to be sure but an important one for NATO, Ottawa is demonstrating its response to critics, both domestic and international, who say that Canada’s defence expenditures of roughly .8 per cent to one per cent of GDP (as opposed to NATO’s desired two per cent of GDP) are inadequate. From the beginning of the Liberal mandate, the minister of National Defence has said that it is not so important how much Canada spends; what really counts is how Canada’s defence money is spent. In other words, to keep Canada’s critics off Ottawa’s back–especially Americans who speak of Canada as a free-rider—this government has undertaken at least two missions that Washington is, or will be, well aware of: (1) increasing Canada’s logistical, training, special forces, and surveillance troops on the
ground in the Iraq/Syria theatre and (2) commanding a brigade in Latvia and contributing a significant chunk to it. Of course, Canada did pull its six-pack of CF-18s from the Iraq/Syria theatre in order to keep Prime Minister Trudeau’s election promise, but then another six-pack is now to accompany Canadian troops to Latvia. At this point in its mandate, the only consistent defence policy that the government seems to be pursuing is just that—undertaking small, but high profile missions (especially in Washington) to keep our No. 1 ally from focusing too much on our anemic defence spending. It’s not a bad idea and one that Canada could get away with. It should at least hold off serious U.S. criticism until the new president assumes office and Canada’s new defence policy review emerges as a serious, cohesive policy that Canadians are ready to support financially. L
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BATTLES CANADA T H AT S H A P E D
BY J.L. GRANATSTEIN
WAR SHAPED CANADA. Those three words do not often occur to Canadians living in our peaceable kingdom, but they are surely true. The future of British North America was decided on the Plains of Abraham in 1759 and confirmed during the War of 1812 in which the Canadas barely survived American invasion. Two great world wars demonstrated that Canada would exert itself to the maximum to defeat the expansionist aims of Kaisers and Axis dictators. And the war in Afghanistan saw Canada deploy its men and women into action to battle extremist Islamists who could—and did— threaten the democracies. Canada was no great power, but its servicemen and servicewomen over the last century have played major roles in war in concert with their allies.
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Canada, “the Peaceable Kingdom,” was nevertheless shaped by war.
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THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM
ARTIST HERVEY SMYTH combines all aspects of the battle into a single painting.
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WAS CANADA TO BE A FRENCH OR BRITISH COLONY? The Seven Years War (1756-63) decided that question, and the key battle was fought at Quebec on Sept. 13, 1759. That engagement pitted General James Wolfe and his British regulars against the Marquis de Montcalm and his larger but mixed force of regulars, First Nations warriors and militia. The preliminaries to the decisive engagement had been lengthy; the battle on the Plains was to be very brief. James Wolfe, born in 1727, had been an army officer since 1741 with service on the Continent, in Scotland, and in the taking of Louisbourg in 1758 where, as a brigadier, he distinguished himself. To Wolfe’s surprise, he received command of the land forces for the expedition against Quebec on Jan. 12, 1759, and was promoted to major-general. His command encompassed some 10 battalions of infantry, in all some 8,500 capable regulars. The expedition had the support of 49 ships, including 22 men-of-war with 50 or more guns.
Wolfe decided to attempt a landing at Anse au Foulon. The rest is history. Wolfe was ill with stomach complaints and rheumatism and, although a highly capable officer, he had difficulty managing his subordinates. Almost from the time the expedition set sail from Louisbourg for Quebec on June 4, 1759, Wolfe and his three brigadiers disagreed on almost everything. On his arrival off Quebec on June 27, Wolfe’s initial plan was to land east of Quebec on the north shore of the St. Lawrence, but Montcalm had anticipated this tactic and fortified the shore. The British commander, confident that if he could force Montcalm to stand and fight he would win, thus found himself forced to revise his planning. If he could not force the French to fight, winter would force Wolfe to retreat to Louisbourg until the late spring of 1760. What to do? Wolfe kept changing his plan, his ill-health compounding matters. He emplaced cannon opposite Quebec and shelled the town; he launched an attack just west of the
Montmorency River on July 31 and suffered heavy losses; and he ordered the burning of settlements east and west of Quebec. Finally, unable to decide on his course, he wrote to his three brigadiers and asked them to “consider the best method of attacking the Enemy.” Wolfe’s subordinates suggested that the army direct operations above the town on the north shore of the great river. Sitting astride Montcalm’s lines of communication to Montreal and the interior of New France, they said, “the French General must fight us on our own Terms….” Wolfe agreed, and on Sept. 8 or 9, he reconnoitered down river and decided to attempt a landing at Anse au Foulon where a track led up the cliffs. The rest is history. At 4 a.m. on Sept. 13, several companies of light infantry scaled the cliff and drove off the small French force at the site. By morning, Wolfe’s regulars were drawn up in line on the Plains of Abraham, and Montcalm, who might have awaited reinforcements coming from the west, instead decided to fight. He came out from Quebec, formed his columns, and launched his men at the British lines at 10 a.m. Wolfe let the French come to within 40 yards, and two heavy volleys destroyed them. In the 15-minute battle, Montcalm was severely wounded and carried back to Quebec where he died. Wolfe, hit three times, died on the Plains. The remainder of the French force soon headed west, moving around the British. The town of Quebec surrendered on Sept. 18. The conquest of New France was not yet complete. The Royal Navy had to leave the St. Lawrence soon after the victory, and the British garrison, ravaged by scurvy, struggled to survive. In late April 1760, the French attacked and won a substantial battle at SainteFoy, just west of Quebec, but the British withdrew within the walls of the town. Overall success now depended on the arrival of supply vessels—if French, New France might well survive; if British, the colony was doomed. In mid-May, the Royal Navy arrived, and the conquest was effectively complete. Montreal capitulated in September, and the Treaty of Paris in 1763 gave New France to Great Britain. The French fact remained in Canada, but the colony’s future now was in London’s hands. Wolfe had not been a great commander, but he had won the decisive battle, his outnumbered regular soldiers defeating the mixed French force. The fate of empires, the destiny of Canada, had depended on a track up the cliffs at what is now known as Wolfe’s Cove.
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MICHILIMACKINAC AND DETROIT
MAJOR-GENERAL Isaac Brock’s dying words were, “Push on York Volunteers!”
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THE WAR OF 1812 POSED AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. Could the Canadas survive an assault from the numerically superior, richer United States? To do so would take strong leadership, and fortunately at the beginning of the war in June 1812, the British forces had such a leader in Major-General Isaac Brock. Brock faced a formidable task in planning the defence of Upper Canada. Many of the settlers who had arrived in the last 30 years had come from the United States; outnumbering Loyalist settlers by at least four to one, their loyalty was naturally suspect. The legislature was unco-operative, unwilling to make serious plans for war. British regular troops numbered only 1,600. And the loyalty of the First Nations hinged on demonstrating that the British defenders had a credible chance of victory. Brock knew he had to strike first. Immediately after he learned that the war had begun, and after some uncharacteristic vacillation, Brock ordered Captain Charles Roberts at Fort St. Joseph, at the head of Lake Huron, to seize Michilimackinac. Roberts moved 600 men—natives, a few soldiers, and some fur traders—the 80 kilometres to Michilimackinac, told a surprised U.S. commander that war had been declared, and quickly accepted his surrender on July 18. The small victory put the First Nations of the upper Great Lakes with the British. More was to come. On July 12, BrigadierGeneral William Hull led American forces from Detroit into Canada. Militia along the frontier deserted to the Americans or fled. Brock was discouraged, worried that public morale was low, everyone fearing that Upper Canada was doomed. But British troops still held Fort Amherstburg, and Brock gathered regulars, natives, and militia and reached Amherstburg on Aug. 13. He found that Hull, a pompous, weak commander, had already returned to Detroit with his 2,000 men. Brock understood, as he said, that “the state of the Province [of Upper Canada] admitted of nothing but desperate measures.” The Provincial Marine had captured a U.S. vessel with General Hull’s correspondence to the Secretary of War in Washington. It was clear, Brock said, that “Confidence in [General Hull] was gone and evident despondency prevailed throughout.” Brock’s cool calculation led to his decision to attack Detroit. On Aug. 16, he moved his
Brock’s cool calculation led to his decision to attack Detroit. force of 1,300, including 600 First Nations warriors led by the Shawnee chief Tec*mseh and 400 militia across the Detroit River, and invited Hull to surrender. The threat of the First Nations becoming “beyond control the moment the contest commences,” as Brock wrote Hull, did the job, and the U.S. general capitulated, surrendering his men, his supplies, and his 35 cannon and other weapons. The effect of Brock’s bluff and boldness on the Upper Canadian population was quickly evident. Brock wrote his family that “The militia have been inspired by the recent success with confidence—the disaffected were silenced.” No one any longer thought a British defeat inevitable. The war was far from over, however, and Brock himself was killed in the first major battle on the Niagara Peninsula, the victory at Queenston Heights in October 1812. The defenders of the Canadas would not always be as well led in the future as they had been by Brock, but the overall stalemate in the two-year-long war meant that the Canadas, simply by surviving, had won a great victory. They had remained in British hands, and American expansionism had been checked. Brock was and remained the hero of the war, the able, charismatic leader who understood the impact even small victories could have on public opinion.
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THE CANAL DU NORD CANADIANS BUILD a bridge across Canal du Nord, September 1918.
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A HUNDRED YEARS LATER, THE DOMINION OF CANADA WAS AT WAR AGAIN. The relationship with the United States had been improving for decades, despite occasional war scares. Canadians had fought the Boers in South Africa at the turn of the century, but the population was completely unready for an overseas conflict. The Great War began for Canada the day Britain declared war on the Kaiser’s Germany; Canada was a colony and was at war when Britain was at war. Men rallied to the call at once, and continued to do so until casualties outpaced volunteers in late 1916. Mainly recent British immigrants, the Canadian troops that went overseas learned on the job. They held against the first major gas attack at Ypres in April 1915. They fought on the Somme in 1916, they took the hitherto impregnable Vimy Ridge in April 1917, and they slogged through the horrors of Passchendaele in the cold of autumn, 1917. Their most crucial battles—the Hundred Days from Aug. 8, 1918, to the Armistice— were yet to come. In Aug. 1918, the Canadians led a major attack at Amiens, advancing up to 15 kilometres on the first day. By now led and staffed by Canadians, its soldiers almost half Canadian-born, the Canadian Corps had a well-earned reputation as a corps d’élite, and LieutenantGeneral Sir Arthur Currie, the General Officer Commanding, was admired by the British high command. Sadly, Currie was not loved by his own troops. After Amiens, the Canadians’ four divisions moved north to Arras. The troops were at full strength and, thanks to Currie, had more engineers, more trucks, more guns and more infantry than any British corps. In a series of costly struggles, the Canadian Corps cracked the Drocourt-Quéant Line, forced a German retreat, and moved west toward the unfinished Canal du Nord. To get across was their task, the most critical of the war. But how? The banks were high, the canal wide, with the German side well-fortified. Enemy machinegun posts dotted the bank, there were successive trench lines to the rear, as well as guns and gas. Currie
did his own reconnaissance, as he always did, and decided that the best place to attack was a 3,600-metre unfinished stretch of the canal. To succeed, he needed the element of surprise, and to send 50,000 men through a narrow gap and fan them out to a 15-20 kilometre frontage. He would require quickly constructed bridges able to handle tanks and trucks, good communications, and enough ammunition, wire and food to sustain his troops against enemy counterattacks. The plan, produced by Currie’s almost wholly Canadian staff officers, was complex, but well-prepared. His British superiors were dubious that Currie could carry out his bold plan. “Old man,” his friend General Sir Julian Byng asked, “do you think you can do it? “Yes,” Currie replied. “If anybody can do it, the Canadians can.” Byng rejoined, “but if you fail it means home for you.” The Canadian guns opened up in the early hours of Sept. 27, and the infantry of the 1st and 4th divisions moved out. The Canadian Engineers quickly provided bridges for the infantry and ramps for the guns and vehicles, getting all over the far bank. The 4th Division got caught in enfilade fire but nonetheless cleared Bourlon Wood, its objective. The First Division, swinging left, cleared villages alongside the canal. The front now approximated 15 kilometres, and the 3rd Division and a British division crossed the canal. The enemy rushed up reinforcements, and the fighting continued until Currie called off the advance on Oct. 1. The road to Cambrai, the major road, rail and supply point for the Germans in northern France, now beckoned. Currie’s Canadians were now in the midst of what later became known as The Hundred Days. The Canadians would smash the German positions on the western front and crush one-quarter of the enemy divisions in the field. Between Aug. 8 and the capture of Mons, Belgium, on Nov. 11, Currie’s four divisions played the most important battlefield role ever by Canadian soldiers. The cost was terrible—45,000 killed, wounded and captured, or 20 per cent of the total Canadian casualties in the 1914-18 war—but the territorial gains and the blows dealt the enemy were real and hugely important. The German aim of controlling Europe had been checked by the Allies, and the Canadian Corps had played a disproportionate role. The Canadian Corps had demonstrated that the untrained civilians of 1914, now turned into proud Canadians by battlefield success, could become the skilled, technically competent and fierce soldiery of The Hundred Days. They had shown that they could learn to fight well on the job, build a great reputation and achieve renown. And Sir Arthur Currie had become Canada’s greatest soldier, a commander who was fertile in imagination, cared for his men and ranked among the very best of The Great War.
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THE BATTLE OF THE SCHELDT
BUFFALO AMPHIBIOUS VEHICLES carry Canadian troops across the Scheldt River, Oct. 13, 1944.
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SADLY, THE LESSONS OF THE GREAT WAR WERE QUICKLY FORGOTTEN IN CANADA. Governments allowed the armed forces to dwindle to almost nothing, the weapons soon became obsolete and once again Canada would fight a war from a standing start. Canada went to war on Sept. 10, 1939, not as a colony as in 1914, but as a dominion in control of its domestic and foreign policy. Still, Canada went to war against Hitler’s Germany because Britain did. And as the war went on, as Britain suffered defeat after defeat, Canada’s primary effort was to build a First Canadian Army of five divisions and two armoured brigades in Britain. In 1943, first one, then two divisions went to fight in Italy. The remaining three divisions crossed the Channel to France in June and July 1944, participating in the fierce fighting in Normandy and the breakout in August. The First Canadian Army formed a substantial part of the Allied effort against the Nazis. By the end of September, the Army’s II Canadian Corps was in Belgium preparing for its major struggle of the war. LieutenantGeneral Guy Simonds, the corps commander, had temporarily replaced General Harry Crerar, ill with serious stomach problems, as Army commander. His task was to clear the Scheldt estuary—somehow forgotten by 21st Army Group’s Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery—so that desperately needed supplies could reach the great port of Antwerp, captured intact by the Allies but 80 kilometres inland. The Germans had been beaten badly in Normandy, but they had recovered with amazing speed and were fortifying the South Beveland Peninsula and Walcheren Island. Getting them out would be the hardest task of the Second World War for the Canadians. The weather was miserable, cold and wet. The battlefield was largely below sea level, with only dikes for easy movement; these, naturally, were covered by enemy fire. Simonds retired to his caravan, thought through the problem and produced his plan. The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division,
assisted by the 4th Canadian Armoured and the 52nd British Division, would clear the Scheldt’s south bank—the Breskens Pocket, as it was called. Meanwhile the 2nd Canadian Division would free South Beveland Finally, Walcheren, controlling the Scheldt estuary’s entrance, would be attacked over the causeway joining it to South Beveland and by assault from the sea. Simple, in concept, Simonds had to persuade RAF Bomber Command to attack the dikes that kept the sea away from Walcheren’s fertile soil. Making his case brilliantly against the skeptical air marshals, he won the argument. The battles were fierce. The Germans in the Breskens Pocket were first-class and well supplied, and it took flamethrowers, relentless artillery fire and much courage to dislodge them from their trenches defending the many canals. The Canadians used their armour, their Buffalo tracked, water-going troop carriers and their mortars to prevail. It took all of October and into November, but First Canadian Army controlled the Scheldt’s south bank. The going was no easier at South Beveland as the 2nd Division struggled through flooded polders and fought fanatical German paratroops. The Black Watch were cut to pieces on Oct. 13, the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry three days later. Not until Oct. 24 was the isthmus cut, and Beveland was finally liberated. Now it was Walcheren’s turn. The RAF’s bombing of the dikes began on Oct. 3 and the island quickly flooded, isolating the enemy. British commandos and soldiers, serving under Simonds, attacked from the sea and resistance ceased by Nov. 8. Meanwhile, to divert attention from the seaborne attack, the Canadians had been forced to continue their attack on the heavily defended causeway linking Beveland to Walcheren. Repeated assaults decimated one battalion after another, and the fighting finally ended on Nov. 8. In all, to clear the Scheldt cost 6,367 Canadian killed, wounded and captured, and an equal number of British casualties. But supplies could reach Antwerp, and Nazi Germany’s defeat was now inevitable. The Scheldt battles mattered. The II Canadian Corps that fought there was entirely made up of volunteers— one million men and women volunteered for service to fight the Axis in the Second World War—demonstrating that Canadians understood what was at stake for their democracy in a war against Hitler’s monstrous regime. The army, untrained, ill-equipped and ill-led in September 1939, had become the best little army in the world, one able to fight and beat the SS and the Wehrmacht. And General Simonds, the sole senior Canadian commander in whom the British and Americans had complete confidence, had demonstrated that he could plan, direct and lead a vital and huge military operation and see his Canadians emerge victorious. Just as in the Great War, the Canadians now knew they could handle the toughest jobs.
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KANDAHAR AND PANJWAII
MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN REGIMENT head into battle near Chalghowr, Panjwaii, in 2010.
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CANADIAN FORCES HAD NOT FOUGHT IN WAR SINCE THE END OF THE KOREAN WAR IN 1953. They had been under fire on several “peacekeeping” missions, and they had suffered casualties, but war? Combat against a formed enemy force? That did not happen until 2006 in Afghanistan. The Afghan War that began after al-Qaida’s 9/11, 2001, attack on New York and Washington saw Canada participate in varying ways from 2001 until the withdrawal from combat in 2012. What was certain was that more Canadians served in Afghanistan than in Korea; the number killed in action fortunately fewer in a very different kind of war. Canada responded quickly to 9/11, dispatching ships, aircraft, Special Forces soldiers and in early 2002, an infantry battalion to Afghanistan and nearby sites. American and allied forces quickly routed al-Qaida, but local Islamist militants, the Taliban, soon re-formed. Canada continued its role, playing a major part in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Kabul. By 2006, the focus had shifted to Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, and to the creation of a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) that was to advance reform, to build institutions while the soldiers fought against the Islamists. To protect the PRT, Canada dispatched a battle group from the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. The expectation was that the most the estimated 200 Taliban militants in the area could do would be to plant roadside bombs. This turned out to be completely incorrect. By July 2006, there were thousands of Taliban in the Kandahar region eager to test the Canadians, and the PPCLI found itself facing a well-led, well-equipped force that could move fast. Equipped with effective LAVIII vehicles, the Canadians soon set up Forward Operating Bases, “living among the locals, in the face of the enemy, out of the back of the LAVs.” This meant quicker reaction time, but difficulties in keeping the troops supplied to fight repeated sub-unit actions. The PPCLI’s first major action came in May at the village of Pashmul where Captain Nichola Goddard, an artillery forward observer, was killed. She was the first female Canadian soldier ever to be killed in action. Two months later, PPCLI fought a major battle in the Panjwaii area where a large Taliban force stood and fought. That was a mistake for the enemy as the Canadians inflicted heavy losses. But in August as the PPCLI prepared to rotate out of theatre and the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment took over, the Taliban repeated their mistake. The Islamists suffered hundreds of casualties, but they killed four Canadians and wounded eleven. The Canadians were astonished to discover that the vacated enemy positions were sophisticated and well-planned. The assault on Pashmul that had threatened Kandahar itself had been defeated at very heavy cost to the enemy.
The fighting went on. The RCR battle group soon faced a major attack on Panjwaii that was shredded by aircraft and artillery and “desperate and unplanned hard-fought actions,” or so one officer described them. Similar smaller attacks continued until the last Canadian combat units returned home at the end of 2011. A training mission remained in Afghanistan until 2014. If protecting Kandahar was the goal, the Canadian role in Afghanistan might be called a success. But if the aim was to hold the countryside and allow Afghan villagers to lead their lives free of the Taliban, the war has to be judged at best as a partial failure. The Taliban had not disappeared, the Provincial Reconstruction Team’s efforts were limited, and peace and security remained a dream. But there was another goal for General Rick Hillier, the Chief of the Defence Staff in most of this critical period. Hillier had served in the former Yugoslavia and had been dismayed by the rules and regulations that bound the Canadians there, rules stringent enough that other national troops amended the term “Canbat” for Canadian battalion to “Can’tbat.” That stung, and Hillier vowed to make his soldiers combat capable once more. The Liberal Paul Martin government and the Conservative Stephen Harper government put up the money and equipment, the troops trained hard and adapted to battle quickly, and the Canadian regulars, their ranks bolstered by hitherto-scorned reservists, proved themselves in the field. The Canadian public was not very supportive of the Afghan war, but they proved to be extremely supportive of the troops. There were “red Fridays” when civilians wore red clothing to show support, bumper stickers and lapel pins. Most striking, every time one of the 158 Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan arrived at the air base at Trenton, the cortege en route to Toronto was met by thousands lining the bridges on Highway 401, renamed the Highway of Heroes. Hillier had changed the image of the Canadian Forces from peacekeepers to fighting soldiers, at least temporarily. In its own way, Afghanistan, much like the Plains of Abraham, the War of 1812, and the two world wars, shaped Canada. The Canadian population was never military minded, but its soldiers in action were skilled and fierce, once they became well-trained and well-equipped. That always took time and money, but fortunately, Canada had allies and, most often, had time to prepare. That might not always be the case, however, and fortunate Canadians should at the very least consider the worst-case scenarios they have often evaded. Time might not always be on Canada’s side. L
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MEMOIR
REMEMBRANCE By FRASER McKEE
Remembrance Day evokes thoughts of a life lost in one blinding flash on a dark sea
ARMED YACHT HMCS Vison (top) was a former civilian motor yacht. The author (below) as an ordinary seaman in 1943.
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ON REMEMBRANCE DAY or, for a naval veteran, Battle of the Atlantic Sunday in May, I am called upon to recall those fellow Canadians who gave their lives for us. At naval events the ships that were lost are frequently read out, but I have this vaguely detached feeling. I was never in a ship that was torpedoed, or even at risk, as far as I know. Nor did I serve in a ship and get to know her and her idiosyncrasies—one I could call “my ship”—that was subsequently lost. Assuredly, I appreciate the price paid, in lives, in ships, in aircraft, during the struggles. After all, we were in the same service, faced potentially the same dangers. But to some extent it’s a bit distant. It doesn’t affect
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me on a personal level, in my heart or gut. And this is probably true enough for many Canadians unless a family member was lost. Then I remember one person, a young man about five years older than myself, with whom I spent a quiet but memorable afternoon 62 years ago. Nine months later he lost his life in the sinking of His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Shawinigan. SubLieutenant Donald French was with me on board the armed yacht HMCS Vison. That’s who I remember on these occasions. In February 1944, Vison was at sea in the Bay of Fundy with a class of anti-submarine students, hunting a tame loaned-in Dutch submarine as part of their training. While it was cold, just above freezing, it was a lovely, clear, mostly calm afternoon. The drill was that the sub would submerge, then
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alter course. The class on the asdic equipment was in a small hut on top of the ship’s bridge, with concealing curtains drawn around its windows (not portholes! This was an ex-civilian 135-foot motor yacht!). They would try and locate the sub and set up a theoretical attack. The sub towed a “buff,” a small buoy, so we didn’t run into her. The exercise was without any kind of danger. I was an ordinary seaman helmsman, about to turn 19. Don French, the officer of the watch, was 24. In a small ship like Vison we were alone on the bridge. The trainees above us simply passed orders for courses and speed down a voicepipe to the officer of the watch and he directed me what to do. Being both Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve members, and both from Ontario— Don from London, me from Toronto—and with similar civilian upbringing and schools, we chatted casually about our lives as we went about our uncomplicated tasks. No big deal, not memorable at the time. Just two sailors enjoying the pleasant afternoon. But in retrospect, a fond memory. A few months later, Don, now an acting lieutenant, was appointed to the corvette Shawinigan of the Western Local Escort Force, patrolling and on convoy escort around Cape Breton. I went for a commission and after a brief familiarization month in the Reserve Division in Charlottetown began my sub’s courses. Then in November 1944, we were all shocked to hear Shawinigan had been torpedoed while travelling between
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DOOMED Sydney, N.S., and Port HMCS Shawinigan was a aux Basques, N.L. There corvette lost in the Cabot Strait were no survivors. The on Nov. 25, 1944. U-boat—U-1228—had been sent into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but was having snorkel problems that her commanding officer was unable to repair. Without it in those restricted waters, he resolved to return to Germany for repairs, and on the dark night by sheer chance encountered Shawinigan heading back to Sydney alone. He sank the corvette with a single acoustic torpedo. All 91 aboard were lost, before even the briefest message could be sent. Then, and since, I remember that quiet, pleasant afternoon I spent with Don French in the small wheelhouse of Vison. Now he’d have no future, no return to the University of Western Ontario, no marriage to his fiancée Marion back in London. No life at all. His parents, William and Lily French, desolated at the loss of their son, with only his sister Frances left to them. I went on to serve for 32 years in the reserves, had jobs, a family, homes. But Don’s whole future, whatever it could have been, was lost in one blinding flash during a dark night at sea. And that is what I remember. Not a distant thought of people I never knew, ships in which I’d never served. But a nice guy with whom I spent but an afternoon all those years ago. L
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MEMOIR
RUINS The inner city of Rotterdam was gutted by fire set by German bombs in May 1940.
Tears of
Remembrance By SHEILA MAY BROWNRIGG Daughter of Major Walter A. Down Daughter joins members of her father’s regiment to retrace his unit’s route through Northwestern Europe during the Second World War AT THE FIRST STRAINS of the anthem, backs straightened and shoulders squared. For a few brief minutes the white hair and canes were forgotten and eyes shone bright with dignity and pride. This was Holland, 1995, and these were the Canadian veterans who gave their youth and innocence without reservation. I am a daughter of one such man, and as I stood humbly beside these men, I felt honoured to be part of the fibre of this regiment, the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards. I was part of a tour organized by members of the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. On the way
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to Rotterdam, we’d stopped at Hastings, on the south coast of England, where the regiment was billeted until they were sent into active combat. I was delighted to see the Canadian flag waving from the masts of the many fishing boats along the shore. I walked down to the shore and thanked the fishermen for the support they had given us during the “Turbot War.” They said, “You were with us when we needed you, twice in fact, so it’s the least we can do.” Initially, the regiment had been in Italy, and at the end of their tour there were sent to Marseilles, France, to start the arduous trek to Rotterdam. During this time, they liberated the Belgian towns of Zulte and Olsene.
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We followed that route and the townspeople waited for our bus, tears in their eyes as they greeted the Canadians. The official ceremonies included the presentation of a Medal of Remembrance for the veterans. My mother was given one in memory of my father, presented by the bergermeister. Then on to Rotterdam, a huge city with a heart to match. It was to be a week of experiences that none of us will ever forget and will pass on to our children and grandchildren as the Dutch people have done with their families. I had always known that there was a special bond between our peoples, but I hadn’t fathomed the depth of it. The bombing of Rotterdam resulted in the city being reduced to literally rubble. Only three significant buildings stood when it was over. One of these was the church of St. Laurenskerk. The people of Rotterdam did without other reconstruction in order to rebuild their cathedral. They felt it was the soul of their city and only when it was restored could life resume again. Following an evening service in this magnificent and historic church, we participated in the annual “Silent Walk” to the monument of the Jewish victims of Rotterdam. As we walked through the city, a route which was about 30 minutes long, we were aware that most of the buildings in this major world city were only 50 years old, younger than most of us. In the morning, we traveled to small villages then re-entered Rotterdam following the routes the members of the regiment had taken on their way into the city in 1944. A mammoth project had resulted in the collection and rebuilding of old Second World War trucks and personnel carriers. The veterans rode in the restored vehicles, draped with Canadian flags, and the dependents followed in buses. As we wound our way back into the main part of Rotterdam, the people were out in the thousands. I expected the crowds to drift away after the veterans had passed but they stayed until the end and cheered until the last vehicle was out of sight. Seniors from nursing homes were brought out in their beds and wheelchairs to the sidewalk to welcome us, and young couples proudly held up their children so that we might see the next Dutch generation. A jeep flying the Stars and Stripes broke down and we all enjoyed
the sight of the Maple Leaf giving it a tow! I went to a service at Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, not far from the German border—row upon row of gravestones for our brave, young, oh so young, Canadians. Their names read like a geography lesson of our country, truly from sea to sea. People spoke to one another as if members of one large family, sharing their grief and memories. A woman told me how she had just found her husband’s grave after 50 years. One white-haired old gentleman with tears in his eyes touched my hand as I walked past and told me that the marker there was for his best friend. I could only press my hand to his hunched shoulders. I didn’t have the courage to speak.
The bombing of Rotterdam resulted in the city being reduced to literally rubble. Only three significant buildings stood when it was over. I met members of the Resistance Force, most of whom were not much more than children at the time. They told stories of harrowing deeds, which included everything from hiding Jewish babies from the SS, to carrying ammunition and messages on their way to school. I had my own war memories: Lorne Greene reading the lists of dead and missing at the end of the evening news and my singing so that if Dad’s name was read I wouldn’t hear it. Ration cards—lining up to get a pound of butter or other luxuries that the grocery store had managed to get and my mother and grandparents sending parcels to Dutch and English families and relatives. Until I was 17 or 18, I had a recurring nightmare of being chased through the woods by Panzer tanks, (not very good terrain for tanks, but what does a dream know). I was one of the fortunate ones—my dad came back. Remembrance Day has always been and will always be treated with reverence in our family. Sometimes we attend special services and other years we just sit quietly and watch the ceremonies on Parliament Hill and remember. The memories will be sharper and dearer because for one short week we had our dad with us again. L
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From left: RCEL’s Deputy Grand President Lord David Richards, Prince Andrew and British High Commissioner to Malaysia Vicki Treadell attend the memorial service.
CARE THROUGH THE COMMONWEALTH:
The RCEL delivers in an uncertain world Story and illustrations by Jennifer Morse
The Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League Conference grappled with the challenges of helping 40,000 veterans in 50 countries
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landed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the 32nd Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League (RCEL) Conference on June 25, arriving to a midnight traffic jam, horns beeping and impatient motorcycles threading between cars. It is a sprawling metropolis of seven million with a vibrant nightlife, and for the next two and a half hours we moved slowly toward the hotel. Memories of war are still vivid in this country; it endured almost 40 years of nearcontinuous fighting, most recently only a generation ago. The Malayan Emergency, where Commonwealth forces fought the communist Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA), lasted from 1948 to 1960. The MNLA was defeated but it rose up again in the late sixties and the Second Malayan Emergency lasted until 1989 when the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party was finally beaten. There were more than 17,500 casualties. The previous generation was engaged in the Second World War. An hour before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese soldiers landed on Malaysian shores and bombed Singapore. A squadron of Bristol Blenheims was sent to defend the country, though all but one were shot down. In less than two months Commonwealth forces were defeated. All of this came to mind at the morning remembrance service at the Tugu Negara Cenotaph, which honours those who died for Malaysia’s freedom. Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, placed the first wreath. He was followed by representatives from 50 Commonwealth countries, including Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) Dominion President Dave Flannigan, who
placed a wreath on behalf of Canada. The next day, business sessions began with the unanimous election of Prince Andrew as the new Grand President. His father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was Grand President for 41 years and now the responsibility has been passed on to Andrew. “My father gave me some fairly strict instruction,” the Prince told delegates. “He said, ‘You’ve got to keep them going.’ Whilst we should be doing ourselves out of a job, started nearly a century ago, the need is just as important today…. I’ve got some ideas and I listened to some ideas last night…but it is your job to discuss and to determine this organization’s continuing role and the way it is best to serve those that we have believed have served us.” The RCEL has been helping veterans for almost a century. More than seven and a half million Commonwealth soldiers fought in the First and Second World Wars and a staggering 800,000 were casualties. Men and women from as far away as Asia, Africa,
VETERANS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE FINANCIALLY; ALL LIVE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE. Australia and the Caribbean answered the call when the Commonwealth went to war, but many of the countries who gained independence from Britain felt no obligation for the welfare of Commonwealth veterans. The League was created in 1921 as the British Empire Services League, but in the late 1950s the charity changed its name to the British Commonwealth Ex-Services League and in 2003, by royal assent, to the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League. It has 58 member organizations in 50 Commonwealth countries; 40,000 eligible veterans have been identified. For three days the convention grappled with the challenges of serving those veterans in the wake of Brexit, falling currencies, rising costs, the threat of terrorism, even the future of the organization itself. Many
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veterans continue to struggle financially. All live below the poverty line, and the League established a clear goal to provide a meal a day to every veteran in need. These practical issues are set against the backdrop of an increasingly unstable world. We were given sad reminders of this during the conference; in those three days, ISIS was suspected of, or claimed responsibility for, a series of assaults around the globe: Mukallah, Yemen: 43 dead; Istanbul, Turkey: 45 killed; Dhaka, Bangladesh: 24 dead. Deputy Grand President Lord David Richards spoke of these problems in his opening remarks. “The defense of democracy and freedom is as vital now as it was 71 years ago when the Axis powers were defeated at the end of [the Second World War],” he said. “Those that still survive that world war may be forgiven for feeling as uneasy about global stability as they did in the 1930s…during the last
Malaysia Ex-British Army Association President Che Onn Bin Neamat speaks to delegates.
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four years we have had some of the heaviest calls on our welfare funds ever.” There are several reasons for this. One problem is the devaluation of the post-Brexit British pound. This is the central currency for the RCEL and it has taken a beating, meaning the money that is distributed doesn’t go as far as it did just months ago. Though there was some happy news on the funding front, with money coming from an unexpected source. The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) scandal revealed that a number of banks had manipulated their interest rates for profit. The resulting fines amounted to billions of pounds, and some of that has gone to the RCEL. On July 8, 2015, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced to the House of Commons, “We’ve been able to use money from the banking fines, paid by those who represent the worst of British values, to support those in uniform who demonstrate the best in British values.” The RCEL was awarded a grant of five million pounds to be spent over the next five years. The normal allocation of 575,000 pounds was almost doubled and the founding members also received a grant. Canada’s share was slightly more than $300,000. But this is a one-time arrangement; the Exchequer doesn’t contribute to the same charity twice. And the LIBOR award has suffered from the post-Brexit devaluation. It was valued at a little over C$10 million at the pound’s peak in February 2016; six months later, it had dropped to approximately $8,500,000. And it isn’t just the British pound that presents conversion problems. Since 1966 the RCL has managed the care of veterans and widows in need in the Caribbean by providing individual assistance grants and poppy supplies to help them encourage donations and remembrance. Adina Munroe from the Bahamas thanked the Legion for the donation of poppy supplies but talked about the challenges of converting our currency. The C$26,000 Canadian that was sent converted to US$16,000, leaving a shortfall of US$10,000. “Therefore,” she said, “we are humbly asking for a tiny raise, for not only the Bahamas, but other islands that might need it.” When Prince Andrew met privately with the founding members of the RCEL— Canada, England/Scotland, Australia/New Zealand and South Africa—he was surprised
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Attending business sessions are (from left) Dominica representative Bert Moore, Dominion Past President Tom Eagles and Dominion President Dave Flannigan.
to learn about Canada’s ongoing commitment to the Caribbean countries. Last June, at the RCL Dominion Convention in St. John’s, delegates donated an impressive $170,002 (as of June 30, 2016, Legionnaires had donated $220,918). The RCL provides an average of $1,080 per veteran per year and $540 annually for widows over 60. Honourary Treasurer Michael Winarick acknowledged the Canadian contribution. “It is appropriate to remind the conference,” he said, “of our debt to the RCL for their significant financial commitment and support of the Caribbean countries they have provided over the past four years [$953,095].” Globally, funds now have to go farther than ever, dealing with not just standard disbursem*nts and fluctuating currencies, but with unforeseen events. John King, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Welfare Programmes, told the convention about new challenges. “In addition to the individual welfare grants that are provided,” he said, “our charity has been able to assist veterans and their families after they have been affected by various disasters that have occurred in the past few years. For example, flooding in India, Burma, Uganda and Sierra Leone, food parcels for
displaced veterans and widows in IDP [internally displaced person] camps in Nigeria, and assistance for those who were severely affected by the dreadful Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone and other areas of West Africa.” In 2015, King had requested all the member organizations assist with a census. “This exercise identified around 40,000 eligible veterans and widows around the globe,” he said. “We were surprised, in a pleasant way, to discover that so many were still alive…. People are living longer than expected and more and more people are falling into the poverty trap and seeking our help. Costs, particularly basic food and medical treatment, are rising steeply.” In some countries, just identifying the veterans is a challenge. Tom Benyon, who was representing Zimbabwe, is the founder of Zimbabwe a National Emergency (ZANE). ZANE partners with the Royal British Legion (RBL) and the RCEL, and since its inception has identified thousands of [Second World War] veterans and their widows. He spoke about conditions in Zimbabwe. “At the beginning of the great inflation,” he said, “the currency was debauched to nothing and the people there in the 41 nursing homes were
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doing what elderly people do whenever there is a financial crisis, which is saving their money—which is the last thing that you should do in the face of hyperinflation. You should be buying tooth paste. You should be buying soap. You should be buying loo paper. So these people had no idea what was going to hit them. And what was going to hit them was the devastation of all their assets, all their pension funds, all their capital assets, all their savings…a group of people ended up completely penniless. About 20,000 people were trapped there, of whom, probably 9,000 suddenly found themselves reduced into poverty.” ZANE now has 24 people whose job it is to find needy veterans and to help them. The risks to these volunteers are overwhelming. “It is a police state,” Benyon explained. “They could get arrested at any time. There is an enormous problem of corruption in all African countries, as I’m sure all your readers know. In Zimbabwe they’ve turned corruption, incompetence and bad management into a sort of an art form. It is absolutely chronic…. We’ve never trusted any of the banks. Four and a half million dollars has been transferred and given in penny packets, in brown envelopes and signed for by the veterans. We have money changers who give us U.S. dollars, because now that’s the currency of Zimbabwe. We transfer all that money into brown envelopes and deliver it to all the veterans in the area. Without which they wouldn’t have survived.” Inevitably, as at most conventions, governance raised its head. RCL Dominion President Dave Flannigan chaired Canada’s group and there were many questions from the 16 Caribbean countries about the charity’s survival, whether the RCEL might lose its independence if it aligns with the RBL, and if the charity can continue after the last eligible preindependence veteran is gone. Flannigan put minds at ease when he explained, “The founding members have been assured that control remains with the RCEL.” In the end, delegates agreed that the RCEL should align with the RBL, which will allow the league to continue to act as an independent charity and secure its financial future. Flannigan also explained that the RCEL’s core business is the distribution of funds to pre-independence Commonwealth veterans and widows, but as those veterans diminish,
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agency work may very well become what sustains the RCEL. Since the RCEL has networks in place to get funding to veterans in remote locations, regiments and units trying to help veterans from modern conflicts can use those logistics to find and help their own. The countries in Canada’s regional group also accepted the revised RCEL constitution with minor alterations. It was agreed that the time between conferences be extended to five years, and there was unanimous support for South Africa to host the next conference, in 2021, the 100th anniversary of the league. After the closing ceremonies delegates were hosted at the British Embassy. Prince Andrew summed up the RCEL’s contribution. “The work that you do for exservicemen around the world is absolutely vital,” he said. “My father did a huge amount whilst he was your Grand President and he was particularly knowledgeable about the issues that faced those who served alongside him in the 1940s. I have a slightly more contemporary ex-service view, having served in the 1980s. I believe that whilst the numbers might have been diminishing for the services you provide, the sentiment, the responsibility and the poignancy still remains absolutely as it has been and will always be.” For these delegates, there is no alternative. They are here to help, and natural disasters, disease, tumbling economies and war must be overcome. L
Dominion President Dave Flannigan joins South Africa representative Godfrey Giles at the Tugu Negara Cenotaph.
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LOVE THE STORY OF A GRIEVING WIFE WHO TRAVELS INTO A DISTANT WAR ZONE TO SAY GOODBYE TO HER HUSBAND ON THE 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH Story and photography by Adam Day
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Cynthia Hess-von Kruedener looks out the window onto southern Lebanon during the bus trip to Khiam.
A At this point, it’s pretty clear that Cynthia Hess-von Kruedener enjoys danger. She is three days into a pilgrimage to southern Lebanon, journeying to the site where her husband was killed 10 years ago, and she’s going there to pay her final respects. She is on a bus heading for Khiam. To her right, there are minefields, to her left, a several hundred-foot-drop off a road with no guardrail. “Ok, we’re having fun now,” she says joyfully. Southern Lebanon isn’t an active war zone, at least in the sense that the combatants in the area are not currently shooting at each other. However, they are all actively preparing to shoot at each other, with the terrorist group Hezbollah among the most active in preparing for what seems to be an almost inevitable future war. By the Canadian government’s current accounting system, southern Lebanon ranks alongside Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia; it is one of the world’s most dangerous places. It could go from its current tranquil Mediterranean peace to something that looks a lot like total war in about 12 minutes. Which is what happened in 2006. On an otherwise nice day in July, a small unit of Hezbollah fighters crossed the border, attacked
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an Israeli patrol, and vanished back across into Lebanon, dragging two Israelis with them. Within minutes the two countries were at war. At least Israel was at war with Hezbollah and the only thing standing in the way was the United Nations. So that’s how Cynthia’s husband, Paeta Hess-von Kruedener, got killed. He was a Canadian Army major deployed to Lebanon as a military observer and while the actual reasons for his death remain unclear, people agree on certain things. Hess-von Kruedener and his three UN comrades were inside their bunker-like base in Khiam on July 25, 2006, when Israeli jets took several concerted runs at destroying their position. The Israelis eventually admitted the base was on their targeting list, but not how it got there, or how they failed to listen to the UN requesting they stop the attack as they had in the past. Eventually, they put a guided bomb through the front door and everyone died. But that’s not what this story is about. Or not just that. This is a story about the long and difficult road that Cynthia has taken to come to terms with what happened in 2006, and what it cost her. She hasn’t worked much since it happened, she hasn’t
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( clockwise from top left) Hess-von Kruedener places a wreath alongside Canadian Major Richard Little; Canada’s ambassador to Lebanon, Michelle Cameron, offers condolences at the site of OP Khiam; former and current peacekeepers gather after the memorial.
really thought of much else, and now she’s come back for the 10th anniversary, the only relative of the dead to make the trip, the only widow there to hear the speeches. Grief is not always a controllable force As Cynthia understands it, the whole thing works as follows: you live for one person, and then that person is taken away from you suddenly, irreversibly and unfairly, and then you have to continue living. In the year after her husband died, Cynthia wanted to go to Khiam but she wasn’t allowed. Instead, she was able to go to Israel and meet with the people who, one way or another, had killed her husband. Which really didn’t make things better. There’s one story from that trip she’ll never forget. She met an Israeli colonel who talked to her about the war before saying, “You will always live in July 25, 2006,” then offering his hand. “I didn’t offer my hand back,” says Cynthia, “I didn’t know what to say to the man.” It’s been almost 10 years since then and it has to be said, the colonel was not wrong. “It gets me thinking about all the things that took place,” says Cynthia. “Ten years have passed. And what’s happened in the past 10 years? Where have I gotten in life? What has happened about this in the past 10 years? “Over the years I’ve watched many people go through this sort of thing, and I’ve watched people get justice, and get satisfaction, and that’s really frustrating when you see there’s been no accountability. The news happens and for three days people are all concerned about that one event and then they move on. But I didn’t.” Nobody knows why Israel attacked the base (other than a handful of Israelis who aren’t
“HE WAS FORGOTTEN, AND THAT IS NOT RIGHT. I THINK ABOUT WHAT HE WENT THROUGH EVERY DAY. WHEN YOU’RE IN THIS BUNKER AND YOU KNOW THIS IS IT.”
talking). Nobody on the trip believes the story that it was put on the targeting list by mistake. Israel has a long history of animosity and outright hostility toward the UN and this is just one example of that. It’s unlikely there will ever be justice for her husband and the other peacekeepers killed that day. “He was forgotten, and that is not right. I think about what he went through every day. When you’re in this bunker and you know this is it. And nobody knows, and you’re on your own,” Cynthia stops, looks off. “I want to move on, but whoever is in my life has to understand…this is there and there is not a thing I can do about it.” It may have to be enough that Cynthia comes to understand that her husband was killed in the line of duty. The prevailing sentiment is that Israel had reasons for wanting the base gone, the observers gone, so that they could go about their war. And she gets that. “He would want me to go on with my life,” she says. “But that’s easier said than done. “That’s why I’m going back—to say goodbye. I have to say goodbye.” A trip to Khiam, a ridge overlooking Israel On July 25, 2016, Cynthia troops down to the parking lot of a hotel in Tyr, southern Lebanon, to meet a huge group of current and former UN military observers (UNMOs) to board a big white bus for the trip up to Khiam for the memorial service. When Cynthia first began planning this trip back in the winter, it was unclear who would be at the 10-year memorial for her husband, and it wasn’t clear that anyone was keen on having her go. But as it turned out, many of Paeta’s colleagues from 2006 came back to be at what may be the best last chance to say goodbye to their fallen comrades. They came from all over to be here, and they took the same risks Cynthia took. When they all got on the bus to leave for the memorial, there was a briefing from one of the camouflage-clad UNMOs currently deployed to southern Lebanon. “Flak jackets and helmets are onboard and we will provide them to you,” he says, standing at the front of the bus. “If it’s required, you will put them on. If something
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Caption
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Cynthia Hess-von Kruedener buries some items for Paeta under a tree near the spot where he died.
happens, stay alert. I will give you direction or any UNMO will give you directions.” It’s a strange pilgrimage, travelling to a memorial ceremony in a place where travelling is technically forbidden, where you’d have to have a very high tolerance for risk to ever want to go. “We’re going through Hezbollah territory. There’s no question about where we are. But I don’t care. I don’t care. Yes, there’s a risk. But so be it,” says Cynthia. She really doesn’t care about the danger. If you ask her if she’s fearless, she says: “Either that or craziness,” and then she’ll laugh and laugh. “I don’t care. I have to do it. I loved him. And knowing that there’s a monument to him and others means I have to be there. I’m his wife, I need to go there. I need to be there and touch the place where he was lost. It’s from the heart. It is the heart.” The trip up to Khiam is slow but certain. Lebanese armed forces are in the lead, then armed UN members, then unarmed UN members, just a giant convoy winding its way up into the hills above the coast, lights flashing. As it turned out, the ceremony couldn’t have gone better. Canadian Ambassador Michelle Cameron came down from Beirut to help Cynthia and pay her respects. There was a huge crowd from the UN, and lots of local Lebanese of every persuasion. The memorial is two stark concrete ramparts, formerly blast walls at the base, full of battle damage. On them are the pictures and names of the four peacekeepers. Major Hans-Peter Lang, 44, from Austria. Lieutenant Senior Grade Jarno Makinen, 29, from Finland. Major Du Zhaoyu, 34, from China. And Paeta. Cynthia places a wreath on behalf of Paeta. She was accompanied by Canadian
SHE HAD BEEN PLANNING THIS FOR A LONG TIME. SHE BROUGHT SOME THINGS TO BURY, AND A FLASK OF WHISKEY TO POUR OUT.
Major Richard Little. It is windy and sunny up on the ridge. Security is tight. Israeli military installations dot the hills all around. When the speeches are over, Cynthia leaves the ceremony and goes to the actual spot where Paeta died. She had been planning this for a long time. She brought some things to bury, and a flask of whiskey to pour out. Afterwards, she explains why. “I had to let the emotion out. I have to go on. I’m at that point where that needs to happen now. I have to go forward.” There will be time In the days after coming back to Canada from the trip, Cynthia says she’s thinking of selling her house. It will be hard though, because there is a room in that house dedicated to the memory of her husband, full of pictures and plaques and clippings. Cynthia has sought counselling for her grief in the past, but it hasn’t worked. One counsellor even told her she was stuck, then stopped seeing her. Before going on the trip, I asked her why she was doing it, why take the risk. She said: “We want a better world but the tactics that we’re taking of killing people don’t seem to be working. I don’t know if it’s possible, to be honest, with the way the world works, to make it better, but we have to go toward it. “I want to come through that violence. I lived through it. It changed me. I’ve learned a lot from my grief. I watched it kill people. I’ve watched it turn people really negative. It’s been hard. And you can see it on my face. And I want to change that as well. I want to smile more, because life is great. You have to wade through it. You have to fight through it.” So she’s going to try to do it herself. She’s in her mid-fifties now. Paeta was 44 when he died. “I don’t know how this works, this closure thing,” she said. “I think maybe it’s learning to live and moving forward. I can’t worry about anything else other than how I choose to face these things. I just have to get up and move on.” The plan may be tentative, but at least it’s a plan. Sell the house, pack up the room. “There’s a lot of pictures in that room that will go into a box,” Cynthia said. L
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FACE TO FACE
Should Remembrance Day be a statutory holiday?
Serge Durflinger says
B
oth sides to this debate seek the same outcome: heightened awareness of, and greater public participation in, Canada’s annual Remembrance Day observances. The question hinges on the most effective means of achieving this goal. By enshrining Remembrance Day as a statutory holiday, on a par with Canada Day, the event would be nationally institutionalized, and the vast majority of Canadians would be available to participate in formal ceremonies and activities. Honouring the revered memory of those men and women who served and sacrificed, coupled with an expressed commitment to support those who continue to do so, would become ingrained as a unifying, national event. The question of whether Remembrance Day should be a national holiday has vexed the country for nearly a century. Those opposed to any change often make the point that most Canadians would use their November 11 paid holiday for purposes other than observing Remembrance Day. It’s hard to know. But let’s have some faith in ourselves as Canadians. Given the necessary time off (though only if the 11th falls on a weekday—no automatic long weekends), and influenced by the elevation of that day to its new status, Canadians who do not at present take a few hours a year to mark the enormous and essential contributions of previous generations might seize the chance to do so. More importantly, those
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YES
hundreds of thousands of working the importance of Remembrance Canadians who deeply desire to Day, but would also be in a position participate in Remembrance Day to facilitate their attendance at, and ceremonies, often to lovingly mark even participation in, these events. the service of a relative or friend, but This would promote the notion of who are unable to participate when participatory citizenship among our November 11 falls on a weekday, youth, and instill a sense of belongwould now be given the opportunity. ing to a wider Canadian family. The participation of school It’s not all bad, though. children in Remembrance Day Remembrance Day is a national, activities is another key point. paid holiday observed by the federal During Remembrance Week, government and federally regulated most of Canada’s youth are exposed to themed activities in their schools, Making Remembrance some of them innovative Day a mandated national and powerful. Students holiday would raise the watch historical films and documentaries, profile of our veterans. or express themselves through writing, poetry, painting and even theatre. The children assemble on November 11 to observe a moment institutions, and is a statutory holiof silence and listen to discussions day in six provinces and the three about the importance of the day, territories. But provinces are not sometimes with veterans presrequired to recognize November 11 ent. Those opposed to upgrading as a statutory holiday. Nova Scotia is Remembrance Day’s status feel partway there but Ontario, Quebec that all of this would change if the and Manitoba—combining for about schools were closed and the children two-thirds of Canadians—have stayed home, falling prey to various stayed outside of this framework. distractions—like computer games. Making Remembrance Day a manThis ignores the fact that schools dated national holiday would raise continue with their Remembrance the profile of our veterans (many of Week activities even if the 11th whom, of recent overseas service, falls on a weekend, at which time are still young) and demonstrate a children are able to attend public national commitment to recalling ceremonies in their communitheir sacrifices and those causes ties. With the benefit of a statutory for which they served the nation. holiday, thousands of dedicated And it would remind Canadians of educators would still teach the chilthe debt owed to all of our veterdren about our military history and ans—past, present and future. L
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SERGE DURFLINGER is a professor of history at the University of Ottawa. His books include Veterans with a Vision: Canada’s War Blinded in Peace and War, and Fighting From Home: The Second World War in Verdun, Quebec. J.L. GRANATSTEIN has written dozens of books, including Who Killed Canadian Military History? and Canada’s Army: Waging War and Keeping the Peace. He is a former director and CEO of the Canadian War Museum.
J.L. Granatstein says
R
emembrance Day, November 11, is a federal statutory holiday. This means that Canada’s public servants have the day off, alongside postmen and bank employees. All the provinces—except Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia—also make Remembrance Day a statutory holiday. In 2014-15, NDP Member of Parliament Dan Harris pressed forward a private member’s bill to make November 11 a Canada-wide holiday, but this effort failed. And so it should have. Let’s be clear. November 11 is and should be the most solemn day on our calendar. But what is the best way to honour our men and women in uniform? A holiday that lets Canadians take a day off work? Or a day that focuses the mind, that considers what was lost and gained in the battles Canadians fought against the Kaiser, the Nazis, the North Koreans, the Taliban, and, yes, the long Cold War against the Soviet Union? I remember hearing a woman, clearly a recent immigrant, ask a work colleague why so many passersby had poppies on their breast. To remember the nation’s war dead, was the answer. That new Canadian will not forget. She may realize that she came to this country because of the values that the people of Canada fought to protect. With a quarter-million immigrants and refugees arriving here
Illustrations by Greg Stevenson/i2iart.com
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NO
each year, the opportunity to important teaching moment? Some inculcate those values should be do it well—having students research a national goal. the lives of students from the 1930s I have seen drivers pull over to who were killed in Normandy or the side of the road at 11:00 to obItaly, which connects past and presserve the two minutes of silence. I ent very effectively. Other schools have stopped walking on the street simply have a brief ceremony, at 11 o’clock and stood with others with readings and a hymn. If it in silence. In Toronto and Ottawa, is perfunctory, it is a waste of the the tolling of bells and the firing of perfect opportunity for schools to the guns at one-minute intervals encourage discussion and dialogue resonates in the sudden quiet. To on what the day really signifies. me, that is much more moving than a one-day holiday could ever be. November 11 can never Remembrance Day has be allowed to become had a rebirth in the last merely another day two decades. The television coverage of the 50th annioff work. versaries of D-Day and V-E Day created new interest in what our soldiers did in the Second World War, and the interment of the Unknown Soldier If Remembrance Day were to at the Tomb in Confederation become a statutory holiday, schools Square in Ottawa renewed intermight discard even the perfuncest in the Great War. The opening tory observances many do now. Do of the new Canadian War Museum we want November 11 to become a in Ottawa with its focus on the ex“happy holiday” such as Christmas traordinary deeds of ordinary men or Easter? Far better to continue and women in the most dangerous the traditions of poppies, two minof times reinforced this trend. So, utes of silence, and solemn crowds too, did the spontaneous gathergathering at the cenotaph. Those ings on the Highway of Heroes in are what make Remembrance Day Ontario every time a fallen soldier truly meaningful, and November11 from Afghanistan was borne from can never be allowed to become Trenton to Toronto. Canadians do merely another day off work. L care. They do remember, and the ever-greater numbers at cenotaphs in Ottawa and across the nation > To voice your opinion on each year make this evident. this question, go to www.legion But what do the schools do magazine.com/FaceToFace. to make Remembrance Day an
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Where buried love doth lie:
RESCUING, REMEMBERING, REVIVING AGING MEMORIALS By Sharon Adams
Time is a bitter foe, eroding memory and memorial alike. But across the country, grassroots efforts are reviving memories of long ago service and sacrifice and preserving memorials that might otherwise be lost to history.
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t was a solemn duty when a teenaged Neil Grainger picked up a shovel in 1943 to plant a blue hydrangea outside Chilliwack High School in memory of his brother Frank. Just 20, and married but a year, Frank died in a training accident in Ireland. Neil repeated the sad duty the following year for his friend Maurice Jorgenson, a welterweight boxing champion both as a civilian and in the service, who was serving in southeast Asia when he died. Both men were pilots. The two bushes were among 49 planted by 1946, their blooms a living memorial to the wartime sacrifice of local young men who wore RCAF blue, many of them graduates of the school. The first planting was organized in 1942 by the Women’s Auxiliary to the Air Services, and attended by a large crowd. “Stone is one thing,” said Grainger, a lifelong outdoorsman. “But I prefer a living thing that should last forever.” Alas, living things die.
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Time has not been kind to the plants. About half were replanted when the school expanded. In following decades, new generations of staff and students of what is now Chilliwack Middle School were unaware the hydrangeas were planted in commemoration. “The bushes deteriorated,” said Grainger, who in 1989 began his campaign to refurbish the memorial and revive the memories. Memories proved an easier goal. In 2000 a new plaque was dedicated outlining the history, and there was a rededication in 2009. But the school is not open year-round, and the long, hot summers take their toll. Only a half dozen bushes survive and they are looking pretty rough. The RCAF Association Pacific Group has taken up the torch. “We have the urge and enthusiasm to create a brand new memorial and maybe expand its territory on the school grounds,” said President Reg Daws. “We want future generations of schoolchildren to never forget the sacrifice of those generations.” Plans are in infancy, and thought is being given to ensuring ongoing maintenance. Perpetual maintenance was likely the last thing on the minds of the grieving people who rallied to establish most of the war memorials across the country.
Chilliwack Museum and Archives/P2003 20 1; Chilliwack Museum and Archives/P. Coll 106
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H ydrangeas in front of Chilliwack High School in B.C. in the 1950s. Nearly 100 people (right) attend planting of the first commemorative bush in 1941. Carman Memorial Hall was erected by practical prairie people in Manitoba a century ago, and was recently renovated by their descendants.
After the First World War, the Imperial War Graves Commission decided not to repatriate the bodies of Canada’s 66,000 war dead. Each death was individually honoured, names incised on identical gravestones overseas or on massive memorials to the missing. And at home, national memorials honour the collective sacrifice. But families and communities who could not gather to grieve graveside felt the need to commemorate their dead in their own way. Across the country rose towers, cenotaphs, columns, statues and monuments. Gardens, parks and avenues of trees formed living memorials. Memorial hospitals, schools, auditoriums, stadiums, stained glass windows, brass bells and bridges provided a constant reminder of a generation’s service and sacrifice. The bereaved of the Second World War and successive generations reacted similarly, with new memorials, or rededication of older memorials, new names and dates added. Funding for most of these memorials was by public subscription, a national grassroots movement to ensure the sacrifice would not be forgotten. But heroic deeds fade from living memory and become history, grief fades to commemoration, memorials crumble, buildings deteriorate, trees reach the end of their lifespans, cities grow and present concerns crowd out the sentiments of previous generations. Memorials can be neglected, forgotten and sometimes sacrificed for modern convenience or priorities of the moment.
MAPPING MEMORIES
The first step in preventing forgetfulness is simply to count what we do have. More than 7,500 memorials are listed on the National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials maintained by Veterans Affairs Canada, and more are added all the time, said Hélène Robichaud, acting director general of commemorations for Veterans Affairs Canada. VAC is among several federal departments with programs that offer funding for building and restoration of
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memorials. Its Commemorative Partnership Program’s Community Engagement and Community War Memorial funding supports 100 to 150 projects a year. “Sometimes only $1,000 or a paint job is what’s needed,” said Robichaud.“It’s our mandate to keep memorials alive. What occurred 100 years ago…that story still means something today.” Funding from Canadian Heritage’s World War Commemorations Community Fund helped Heritage BC create an interactive online map of war memorials. “People were really interested when we launched nominations in the fall,” said Maxine Schleger of the notfor-profit agency that promotes preservation of history and heritage. Nearly 300 memorials were registered between November 2015 and when the map came online
in the spring of 2016, encompassing buildings and brazier lights, monuments, memorials and mountains, parks and plaques, cairns and cenotaphs. They include the Shark 517 Obelisk at Sandspit on Haida Gwaii, one of 13 erected by 101 NF RCAF Squadron memorializing air crews; the All Sappers Memorial Park in Chilliwack; and the Esquimalt Sailors Walk and Totem Pole. Though many requests have been made to add more recent memorials and monuments, the project was funded for just the two world wars, said Schleger. Without that federal funding, it’s unlikely the project would have gotten off the ground. And now that funding has run out. “We are still accepting nominations, but our ability to add them to the map is dependent on further funding.”
REVITALIZING RITUAL
A graceful obelisk in Hamilton Cemetery, one of the country’s oldest memorials, has been rescued from the dustbins of memory. The monument, unveiled in 1898
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ount Allison University’s Memorial Library in M Sackville, N.B. was replaced with an arts centre.
and erected by public subscription, was inscribed first in memory of British soldiers who died between 1862-1868, then to Boer War dead, and finally, to commemorate locals who perished in the First World War. But the monument was forgotten over the following decades. “After the First World War we started getting cenotaphs,” said local historian Robin McKee. “The memorial was forgotten. But the soldiers buried here should never be forgotten.” For the past 15 years McKee, Her Majesty’s Army Navy Veterans Society and other community and veterans’ groups have held early November remembrance ceremonies at the site, now firmly fixed on the map of memory.
RENOVATING REMEMBRANCE
A century ago the practical prairie people of Carman, Man., and the Rural Municipality of Dufferin debated the best way to commemorate their First World War dead. They settled on a building. The cornerstone was laid Oct. 2, 1919. Carman Memorial Hall has provided a home for public business (offices and meeting rooms for both councils) and entertainment (a top floor theatre provided space for plays and concerts for half a century). Construction costs were borne by taxpayers, and the hall was furnished right down to the crockery and stage scenery with support of more than a dozen local groups. The building houses a memorial room and on the grounds are captured First World War German cannons, recently refurbished by local volunteers. When premises became cramped, the town’s descendants chose renovation, rather than new construction. The structure—and memories—were plenty sound enough to build upon. That empty theatre space and basem*nt areas used for storage provided plenty of square footage. Kinsmen Club volunteers pitched in. “The renovation has provided enough space to last us here for another hundred years,” said Mayor Bob Mitchell. And now there’s even room for community groups to meet and work. “And everybody who comes in has to go by that memorial room.”
RETAINING A NAME
The Royal Canadian Legion’s voice was one of many raised earlier this year when a Montreal borough asked city council to rename Vimy Park for former
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premier Jacques Parizeau, who lived on an adjacent street. “We were afraid they would just change the name and there would be no more Vimy Park,” said RCL Quebec Command President Norm Shelton. Community groups immediately—and loudly—registered their concern and outrage, and shortly afterward it was announced that another park will be designated to carry forward the Vimy name. “We didn’t lose it,” said Shelton. The name will live on in a different locale. There are silver linings in this particular cloud. The original park was small, as was its name plaque. “Nobody knew it was there,” said Shelton. But if the new park is big enough, it could provide a permanent home for Remembrance Day services and a cenotaph. The Legion moved the service to McGill University’s football field in 2009 from the smaller Place du Canada. Each year the Legion has provided a temporary cenotaph.
LOST
But not all protests are so successful. Despite sustained opposition, particularly from alumni, the Memorial Library at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., was demolished in 2011 to make way for the Purdy Crawford Centre for the Arts. Opened in June 1927 to commemorate the university’s First World War dead, the library was largely funded by friends and family of those honoured. When space got tight in the 1960s, a new building was built to house the books, and the Memorial Library became a student and alumni centre. In 2008, the memorial plaques listing dead of the world wars and South Africa and Korea were moved to a new student centre. Supporters fought hard to save the building, but the university persevered, citing competing duties: honouring the past and meeting future need.
GRASSROOTS GROUPS’ VITAL ROLE
The Memorial Library shows that when founders fade away, so do the vision and values that created the memorial, said archivist Caroline Duncan of Oak Bay, in greater Victoria. A new generation of grassroots groups is vital now to preserving monuments, but she worries that membership has dwindled in the service groups that traditionally took on funding and caring for memorials. “I don’t know what the future is, but it’s got to come from the community.” As communities prepare for the centenary of the end of the First World War and 75th anniversary of the end of the second, she has observed young people making meaningful connections with commemoration in their communities. A new grassroots generation is coming to realize the sacrifice is not diminished by the passing of time. L
Mount Allison University Archives/2007.07/841
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HOME FRONT
Wartime
Hockey Heroes by D’Arcy Jenish
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n April 1, 1942, Canada’s Minister of National War Services, Joseph T. Thorson, issued a statement advising his fellow citizens that the country’s human and material resources were being mobilized for total war. “Thus far Canada has been an essential and vital factor in holding the forces of liberty intact and preventing their collapse,” Thorson stated, “but more will be required of us.” Already, some 600,000 men and women were working in munitions plants, the minister said, but another 100,000 were needed and the positions would be filled even if people had to switch jobs or relocate. A government advertisem*nt appeared in newspapers a few days later under a headline in big, bold capital letters: “LOYAL CITIZENS DO NOT HOARD.” There was a law against hoarding and violators were liable for fines of up to $5,000 and a prison term of up to two years. “Avoid all unnecessary buying,” the ad stated. “Avoid waste. Make everything last as long as possible.” Day after day that spring, the front pages of newspapers and
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Play-by-play reporting by Foster Hewitt (above) had Canadians glued to their radios during the war.
Hockey was a welcome distraction while posters reminded Canadians that hoarding was illegal.
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many inside pages were given over almost entirely to coverage of the war that had convulsed Europe, North Africa and much of southeast Asia. Bomber Command in Britain was hitting industrial plants in the Ruhr Valley—Germany’s industrial heartland. The Soviet Union, meantime, was then engaged in a life and death struggle with the German Wehrmacht. In those dark days, the Toronto Maple Leafs staged a Stanley Cup comeback for the ages and lifted the spirits of beleaguered Canadians from coast to coast. The Leafs faced the Detroit Red Wings in the final, which opened on Saturday, April 4, in Toronto. They lost that game, the next one and the next and found themselves down 3-0. No National Hockey League team had ever recovered from such a deficit and, after one of those losses, the Toronto Star reported: “There was gloom around the Leafs dressing room as thick as a Vancouver fog. The players walked softly and spoke in the hushed tones of people in the presence of a beloved dead.” Then something nearly miraculous happened. The Leafs won games four, five and six, setting up a seventh game, sudden-death finale to the series.
A record 16,218 fans jammed Maple Leaf Gardens. Hockey fans across Canada sat nervously by their radios listening to Foster Hewitt’s play-by-play and Detroit coach Jack Adams, who was suspended for attacking the referee after game four, paced back and forth in the Wings dressing room listening to the same broadcast. The Wings took a one-goal lead into the third. The Leafs Sweeney Schriner tied it, Pete Langelle scored the winner and Schriner added an insurance goal with less than four minutes to go. “Shortly after 10:20 on Saturday night, before the greatest throng that ever looked at a hockey game in the Dominion of Canada, Leaf coach Hap Day was flying over the ice,” the Star reported. “He caught Schriner with one arm over his shoulder. Hap brought his other fist playfully to Sweeney’s cheek and playfully punched it. “Hello champ,” he said. “Champ yourself,” Schriner replied and he and Day joined the rest of the Leafs at centre ice and NHL president Frank Calder presented the Stanley Cup. The big Gardens crowd cheered deliriously and Canadians who were listening on the radio shared their joy.
The Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate another goal against Detroit in the 1942 Stanley Cup final.
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By the time the war began, Hewitt’s Saturday night broadcasts from Maple Leaf Gardens had become part of the fabric of Canadian life—in English Canada at any rate—and the Leafs had become a beloved national institution. Hewitt’s weekly broadcasts provided Canadians with welcome relief from all the hardship and anxiety brought on by the war.
Some observers questioned whether
able-bodied young men should be playing professional sports when thousands of their peers were serving their country and, in many cases, sacrificing their lives.
Bill Fitsell, a retired Kingston WhigStandard reporter and founding president of the Society for International Hockey Research, was an avid young Leaf fan at the time and eagerly awaited those Saturday night broadcasts. After finishing high school in his hometown of Lindsay, Ont., he went straight from the classroom to a job at a local munitions plant, which employed 1,200 of the community’s 7,000 residents. Fitsell had a pre-game ritual he followed on Saturday nights. He collected the five-by seven-inch Bee Hive corn syrup photos of NHL players, which were issued at the start of each season, and he used them as a visual aid while listening to Leaf broadcasts. “The league was so small in those days, you got to know every player intimately,” he says. “I would clear off the dining room table and lay out the Bee Hive photos as Foster announced the lineups. That was my television.” But in the wake of the Leafs miraculous Stanley Cup comeback, which had brought so much joy to so many hockey fans, the men who ran the NHL were seriously considering suspending operations for the duration of the war. Some teams were losing money, the league was operating
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one of its seven franchises—the perennial money-losing New York Americans—and most clubs were having trouble finding enough capable players to fill their rosters. In early May 1942, New York Rangers general manager Lester Patrick phoned his coach Frank Boucher at his farm near Kingston, Ont., and told him: “It looks very bleak. I would advise you to look for something else.” The situation only got worse over the summer. Some 74 NHLers had either enlisted voluntarily or been ordered to report for duty and the entire NHL comprised only about 120 players at the time. The Boston Bruins had lost their formidable Kraut Line of Milt Schmidt, Woody Dumart and Bobby Bauer, so called because they were all from Kitchener, Ont., a city with a large German-Canadian community. The high scoring linemates left in February 1942 to join the Royal Canadian Air Force. Three of the Leafs four starting defenceman—Rudy (Bingo) Kampman, Wally Stanowski and Bob Goldham—enlisted over the summer. The Canadiens lost goaltender Paul Bibeault and defenceman Ken Reardon. And dozens of lesser known players also departed. Furthermore, some observers questioned whether able-bodied young men should be playing professional sports when thousands of their peers were serving their country and, in many cases, sacrificing their lives for the cause of freedom. But federal authorities in Canada and the United States thought otherwise. Both governments issued statements on the same day in mid-September ordering the major professional sports league to continue operating. Elliott M. Little, director of Canada’s National Selective Service, the agency that drafted men for military service, issued a one-paragraph statement which read: “The number of men involved is so small that it is not considered desirable to destroy the existing media of relaxation through which hundreds of thousands of people—many of them war workers—find enjoyment, which permits them to contribute their maximum to production while they are on the job.” At that, NHL President Calder summoned owners and managers to a meeting to plan the 1942-43 season. The owners decided they could no longer keep the Americans afloat. They folded the franchise and the six-team NHL—later to be branded and marketed as the Original Six—was born. They also extended
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the season to 50 games from 48. Players continued to enlist, but some teams suffered more than others. The Rangers fell from first in 1941-42 to last in 1942-43. They lost goaltender Jim Henry, their two best defencemen, Art Coulter and Muzz Patrick, and their top forward line of Alex Shibicky and Mac and Neil Colville. None of that mattered much to ardent fans like Bill Fitsell. He joined Royal Canadian Navy in September 1942 and after several months of basic training, first in Toronto and then in Victoria, he was sent to Halifax and initially sailed on the HMCS Outremont. “Sometimes we would get Foster Hewitt when we were out in the eastern Atlantic on anti-submarine patrols,” he recalls. “When we could get a Canadian broadcast we felt we were at home. It was quite a thrill.” The Leafs gave their fans plenty to cheer about for duration of the war and so did the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens had won the Stanley Cup in 1930 and again in 1931 but the rest of the 1930s proved to be a dreadful decade for French Canada’s beloved Habs. There was talk of folding the team in the late 1930s and the Canadiens posted their worst record ever—10 wins, 33 losses and five ties—in 1939-40. The Canadiens hired Dick Irvin as coach in the summer of 1940 and built a contender over the next few seasons with addition of goaltender Bill Durnan, defenceman Butch Bouchard centreman Elmer Lach and, of course, Maurice (Rocket) Richard. “I remember Ray Getliffe telling me that the first couple of years he played in Montreal all he could see were the empty brown seats in the Forum,” says Dick Irvin Jr. “In 1943-44, the Canadiens didn’t lose a home game until the opening night of the playoffs. The Forum held 9,000 and the team was selling out. The fact that the team got better each year made a difference to the people. No question about it.” In the spring of 1944, the Canadiens beat the Leafs, their fiercest rival, in five games and the Black Hawks in five to capture their first Stanley Cup in 13 years. This being wartime—a few short weeks before
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D-Day—ownership honoured the players with a small, private banquet at the Queen’s Hotel. Then most of the players went to work in wartime industries. Richard and three others had jobs in a munitions plant, captain Toe Blake worked in a shipyard, Lach and Getliffe in an airplane factory. However, Rocket Richard had emerged as a bona fide NHL star and French-Canadian hero that season and one of his former coaches organized a tribute a few weeks after the season ended. Some 1,200 people attended and many came bearing gifts. Among other things, Richard received a walnut coffee table, a cigarette lighter, a wallet and a four-by five-foot framed photo of himself in action. It was a fitting tribute and a reminder of how much hockey meant to a populace enduring all the hardship and duress of a world war. L
Goalie Bill Durnan and Maurice Richard chat at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.
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IN THE
NEWS 64 YOUNG ATHLETES KEEP THEIR DREAMS IN FOCUS Tom MacGregor
69 APOLOGY ISSUED TO CADETS IN GRENADE ACCIDENT Sharon Adams
70 WAR MUSEUM LOOKS AT DEADLY SKIES Tom MacGregor
71 FOOTPRINTS COMMEMORATE TROOPS’ DEPARTURE Sharon Adams
72 McMURRAY BRANCH RAISES ITS FLAG AGAIN Tom MacGregor
73 MEMORIAL PLAQUES AVAILABLE FOR SCHOOLS 74 SERVING YOU
Young athletes keep their dreams in focus
74 OBITUARY LES NASH Story and photos by Tom MacGregor
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ith the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on the competitors’ minds, the Legion National Track and Field Championships unveiled new gold, silver and bronze medals for this year’s meet on Aug. 4-8, held for the second year in a row in Sainte-Thérèse, Que. The 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel this year presented a unique chance to spread a message of remembrance. “This year marks a particularly
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important milestone in military history,” said Dominion Command Sports Committee Chair Angus Stanfield in unveiling the medals. “On July 1, 1916, 22 officers and 758 other ranks of the Newfoundland Regiment were directly involved in a frontal attack near the village of Beaumont-Hamel, France. Of these, all the officers and 658 other ranks became casualties. Less than 68 soldiers were available for rollcall the next day.” The new design featured an engraving of the caribou on
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IN THE
NEWS
the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial in France. “The design symbolizes the Legion’s commitment to never forget and honour the sacrifices of generations past for the freedoms enjoyed today at home and abroad,” said Stanfield. The medals with their solemn message would be presented to dozens of athletes over the three-day track meet. Since opening up the championships to athletes from track and field clubs outside the Legion, the number of athletes has increased vastly. This year a record 945 athletes attended, competing in two categories, youth (17 and under) and midget (15 and under). The competition was held at the Richard-Garneau Athletic Stadium in Sainte-Thérèse with athletes staying at Lionel-Groulx College, a CEGEP where Quebec
A young athlete prepares to throw the javelin. inset: Dominion Command Sports Committee Chairman Angus Stanfield addresses the athletes.
students go before entering university. Events began Aug. 4, with a welcome and orientation by Stanfield. Afterwards, Stanfield introduced sprinter Hank Palmer who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and who is now a coach, public speaker and an occasional actor. He doubled for the actor in the track scenes of the movie Race about runner Jesse Owens. He told the athletes about competing after an injury and how he was out front at first and couldn’t hear anybody around him. As they got closer to the finish line he could hear heavy breathing and see the hands of
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other runners coming “You have to focus up behind him. He put on your goals. If on a final burst and you don’t remember came in better than his personal best. your dreams, you “Now I get to travel will never be able the world and talk to to follow them.” kids like you,” he said. “You have to focus on your goals. If you don’t remember your dreams, you will never be able to follow them.” Competition began the Friday morning but the opening ceremony was held Friday evening. The athletes were grouped by province as they paraded into the stadium just as the sun began to set. Once the athletes took their seats in the bleachers, a solemn remembrance service was held with Stanfield and John Ladouceur reciting the ritual in English and French respectively. Then Dominion President Dave Flannigan, escorted by Stanfield, placed a wreath. Others breaking records at the 2016 championships Sainte-Thérèse Mayor Sylvie Surprenant and were Sadie Sigstead of Edmonton Harriers in the midget Richard Perrault, mayor of the adjacent community 1,500-metre steeplechase with 4:46.17; Chloe Royce of of Blainville, gave a joint welcome in both official lanQuebec in midget pentathlon with 3,274 points; Megan guages. Finally, Flannigan used a torch which had Champoux of British Columbia in youth 400-metre been carried to the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal hurdles at 1:00.00; and Grace Tennant of Ontario in to light a flame and officially open the competition. youth one-kilogram discus throw at 42.82 metres. Among the athletes in the competition was 15-yearThewomen’s youth three-kilogram shot put record was old Jasneet Nijjar from Surrey, B.C. She took gold in broken twice. Trinity Tutti of Ontario threw the shot three events. In the 200-metre hurdles she came in with put 15.65 metres, while Camryn Rogers of the Kayaks 26:25, breaking the previous record of 26:82 set in 2014. Track Club in Richmond, B.C., threw 15.28 metres. Two Her other gold wins were in the midget 300-metre teams broke the record for women’s midget 1,600-metre dash with a time of 39:57 and in 80-metre hurdles sprint relay, the Ontario team with time of 4:03.49 and with 11:62. She also won a bronze medal as part of the Alberta-Northwest Territories team at 4:05.40. the youth 4 x 400-metre relay team. “This is my second time at the Legion nationals. above: Hank Palmer tells of his experiences. I competed in 2014 in Langley, B.C., but I was there below, left: Stanfield assists Dominion with my track club, not as part of the B.C. Legion President Dave Flannigan in placing a wreath. team,” she said. The Grade 10 student hopes to follow right: Master of Ceremonies Bruce Poulin her athletics with a career in the police service. hands the Olympic torch to Flannigan.
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STATISTICS
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Number of athletes in the Canadian Olympic Track and Field team in Rio
32
Number of those athletes who had attended Legion Nationals in the past
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clockwise from top left: Jasneet Nijjar accepts the LeRoy Washburn
Award for top female athlete; A surprised LeRoy Washburn receives the Palm Leaf from Flannigan; Garrett Chong accepts the Jack Stenhouse Award for top male athlete from Nancy Stenhouse.
Also with Team British Columbia/Yukon was Garrett Chong for Port Coquitlam. His forte is throws. He took gold in men’s midget four-kilogram shot put, throwing a distance of 16.56 metres, four-kilogram hammer throw with a distance of 56.71 and javelin throw with a distance of 54.83. “I tried the various jumps and runs in track but I always did better when it came to throws,” he said. The Grade 10 student is taking courses in mathematics and sciences with his eyes on a career as an engineer. “Right now, I have my eyes on the 2024 Olympics.” The track and field championships this year also celebrated their 40th anniversary. The Legion had been involved in track and field long before the youth track and field. In the 1950s and ’60s, the Legion ran a track competition open to all ages at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. “They were run by Jack Stenhouse and people like that. I learned a lot from them, but I was there as a competitor in those days,” remembered LeRoy Washburn, a member of the Dominion Command Sports Committee and technical advisor for track and field. “In 1976, the Legion held its first competition for youth. That was in Oromocto, N.B., and I ran it,” said Washburn. “Of course, we were planning the program since 1975.” Since then Washburn has become a fixture of the track meet for the next 40 years, missing the completion only twice for personal reasons and had
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been involved in planning those. Washburn’s commitment to the program was given special recognition at the closing banquet when Flannigan presented him with the Palm Leaf to go with his Meritorious Service Medal. “LeRoy Washburn has served as the ambassador and driving force for Legion youth athletics since its inception in 1975. A firm supporter of Canadian youth, a proponent of development through sport, an avid believer in fitness and equality in sports, LeRoy Washburn exemplifies the human standard we should all try to achieve,” read Flannigan from the citation. Following the presentation, the Jack Stenhouse Award for the top male athlete was presented to Garrett Chong by Nancy Stenhouse, Jack’s daughter. Washburn presented the LeRoy Washburn Award for the top female athlete of the games to Jasneet Nijjar. Recognition was also given to head chaperones Helen and John Ladouceur and co-chairs of the Local Arrangements Committee, Catherine Borisov and Claire Loiselle. Borisov handed the Olympic torch used in the opening ceremony to Barb Andrew of Brandon, Man., who will chair the local arrangements committee for the 2017 and 2018 championships. Guy Scherrer of Sainte-Thérèse Branch, who acted as one of the sergeants-at-arms during the medal presentations, was also recognized. His son, Yannick Scherrer of the Royal 22nd Regiment, was killed in Afghanistan in 2011, the last combat casualty of the mission. As the following day, Aug. 9, was Peacekeepers’ Day a tribute was given to peacekeepers followed by a piper playing Amazing Grace. L Correction The article “Valour Canada to honour Legion” in the September/October issue should have noted that Valour Canada is no longer affiliated with the Military Museums in Calgary.
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Apology issued to cadets in grenade accident By Sharon Adams he minister of defence has issued a long-awaited apology to cadets injured in a grenade accident at a 1974 summer camp at Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, Que. “I wasn’t sure it would ever happen,” said Gerry Fostaty, a former cadet instructor who rendered first aid and identified victims. “Acknowledging the degree of seriousness…it helps a lot of sick guys who are still suffering.” During a safety lecture, cadets, who were mostly 14 or 15 years old, were allowed to handle inert grenades. One asked an instructor if it was safe to pull the pin, and when told yes, did so. But it was a live grenade. Six cadets were killed and 65 injured. Subject to a military investigation, the traumatized cadets were warned at the time not to talk about the incident. Many have lived with physical problems and mental health issues ever since. Several committed suicide. Military members who were responsible for the boys and claimed benefits recently received much more compensation than cadets suffering the same injuries, many of whom were not compensated at all. The military ombudsman launched an investigation in 2013 after receiving 52 complaints. His scathing report in 2015 concluded there had been an inexcusable lack of consideration for the teens (“Ombudsman condemns handling of cadets after 1974 grenade accident,” November/December 2015). It said the cadets had been callously treated during the investigation and unfairly treated afterwards. Four decades later, more than half
are still affected by the incident. “We also understand that some of the Because they were not members victims have kept silent all these years of the Canadian Armed Forces or after being instructed to do so by National Defence employees, the military personnel. We encourage all cadets did not qualify for benefits those who have been affected by this from the DND, the Canadian Armed event to discuss the circ*mstances Forces or Veterans Affairs Canada. of the incident and its after-effects At the time, their parents were not on their lives without restriction— informed of remedies and avenues of privately and in public forums.” recourse. “It is evident that to provide assistance, compensation and benefits to a group “We encourage all those of Canadian Forces members who have been affected who were either directly or by this event to discuss indirectly affected by the 1974 incident, yet not provide the circ*mstances similar support to the young of the incident and boys who were under their care and present in the barits after-effects on racks during the explosion, their lives without goes against the principle of restriction—privately fairness,” the report said. The ombudsman recomand in public forums.” mended assessing the survivors and providing medical care for those who need it and financial compensation where appropriFostaty said, “I think this apology ate. Many families of the injured coming from this minister of defence had to pay medical costs. is important. He has had a history “We are writing to you to express in the army and is a dedicated our sincere apologies for the pain soldier. It has more gravitas than and suffering you endured as a result [an apology] from a politician. “ of this horrific experience,” says the In 2015, then-Defence Minister apology signed by Defence Minister Jason Kenney sent a letter saying Harjit Sajjan and Vice-Chief of the federal government regrets the Defence Staff Lieutenant-General effect the event had on its victims Guy Thibault. “We recognize that and their families, and that it took many of those affected by this ter41 years to address it. At the time, rible tragedy have struggled with survivors said an expression of the long-term effects of the trauma regret was not a full apology. they experienced. We regret that it “I’m very optimistic about how took this long to formally recognize things are going,” Fostaty said. and address this tragedy and its Health assessments have been done, impact on you and other victims.” former cadets are receiving medical The letter goes on to release the treatment and psychiatric care, and cadets from the order to keep silent. compensation is being studied. L
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War museum looks at deadly skies By Tom MacGregor he Canadian War Museum opened an innovative exhibit using panels in the form of a graphic novel to capture the experience of aerial warfare during the First World War. Called Deadly Skies—Air War, 1914-1918, the exhibit uses more than 80 artifacts to tell the personal stories of nine individuals whose lives during the war involved aerial warfare.
Eric Ohman stands in front of his aircraft. The exhibit uses images in graphic novel form (above) to tell his story among others.
“Most people think of dogfights when they think of aircraft in the First World War,” said historian John Maker. “We wanted to demystify the air war and show all its aspects.” The exhibit is organized in four themes: training, observation, bombing and aerial combat.
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“Observation was the first use of air flight but it developed into so much more,” said Maker. In the training area, the exhibit follows Marjorie Stinson, known as the Flying Schoolmarm. She ran one of the 11 civilian flying schools in the United States where Canadians trained up to 1917. There is also Eric Ohman who learned to fly in 1917 when military training was more formalized. After training, he went on to conduct bombing missions and escort observation planes where he would challenge enemy aircraft coming up to attack. In the observation zone, there is the story of French balloonist Maurice Arondel who undertook a number of successful observation flights during the war. These flights routinely lasted eight hours but could go as long as 16 hours. Visitors can step aboard a balloon basket and look over a simulated battlefield with both Allied and enemy forces. Also in the observation zone is James Moses, a warrior from the Six Nations Confederacy, who left the trenches to transfer to the Royal Flying Corps. Many of his letters are in the exhibit and form the basis for the graphic story told. In the bombing zone, there is the story of Ada May Smith of England who witnessed the first mass bombing Germany undertook over Britain on May 25, 1917. Visitors
can listen to an interview she gave the Imperial War Museum in 1986, two years before her death. The enemy’s stories are also told. The bombing exhibit includes the story of Heinrich Mathy, the German Zeppelin commander at the start of the war. Zeppelins were the most feared and hated aircraft. A model illustrates the fateful night when Mathy’s dirigible was shot down by British pilot Wulstan Tempest. As the Zeppelin exploded in a fiery ball, the crew faced a choice of death by jumping or burning. The aerial combat section tells a personal story of the legendary Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen. His red triplane was the most recognized plane in the skies as he was credited with 80 victories. The exhibit uses diaries and letters to tell of a visit home to his family shortly before his final confrontation. The exhibit also revisits the controversy over who fatally wounded von Richthofen on April 21, 1918. Canadian pilot Roy Brown is officially credited with shooting him down, but there is evidence that he could have been hit by gunfire from Australian soldiers on the ground. Another feature of the exhibit is the Ace Academy kiosk developed by the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in which visitors can test their own ability to fly an aircraft. The exhibit runs until Jan. 29. L
CWM; Courtesy of Audrey Ohman Southward and Gordon Southward/CWM
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Dozens of boot prints are burned into the boardwalk leading to The Last Steps memorial to the First World War soldiers who sailed from Halifax.
Footprints commemorate troops’ departure
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n May 1915, 2,000 soldiers of the 25th battalion (Nova Scotia Rifles) and Quebec’s Royal 22nd Regiment boarded HMTS Saxonia in Halifax harbour, among the first of 350,000 troops who departed from this port for the First World War in Europe. For many, it would be the last time they stood on Canadian soil. A new living memorial, The Last Steps, sponsored by the Army Museum Halifax Citadel, commemorates those soldiers and the nearly 630,000 who served, the more than 66,000 who died, the nearly 140,000 physically wounded and the legions who suffered with mental wounds for the rest of their lives. “A lot of people don’t realize that we have some things here in Canada to commemorate the
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By Sharon Adams service and sacrifice, to mark the time when great things were done by people on our behalf at a time of great national need,” said Ken Hynes, the museum’s creator. Designed by artist Nancy Keating, the memorial consists of dozens of boot prints burned into the boardwalk, leading out to the end of the pier from which troop ships sailed. The prints lead people around panels, provided by Parks Canada, that explain the history of the war and Nova Scotia’s contribution. They converge into one set of hobnail boot prints leading up the gangway through the centre of the arch. “We thought it was important to create a spot for commemoration and reflection for citizens of our country and for visitors to try and make a connection,
whether it be an emotional one or a connection to their own family history,” said Hynes. Hundreds of people are now going out to the end of the pier. “It’s amazing to watch children in particular put their feet on the footprints leading to the arch, and their parents explain to them what it’s all about,” said Hynes. “It’s touching.” The memorial, he said, “humanizes things. It’s on a scale people can relate to.” It also draws people into the First World War display inside the museum. The arch, said Hynes “is a symbolic portal to Flanders.” In 2017, the museum hopes to unveil a second phase of the project, another memorial arch in Belgium, during the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele. L
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The Maple Leaf flag is raised outside McMurray Branch in Fort McMurray, Alta.
McMurray Branch raises its flag again
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anada’s Maple Leaf flag is once again flying proudly over McMurray Branch of The Royal Canadian Legion, a sign that the town of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta is starting to recover from the devastating wildfires that swept through it in April. The flag-raising ceremony was held Aug. 27 at the branch, which remarkably survived the fire, contrary to earlier reports. The flags were important in keeping up the morale of the community. Many residents lost their homes completely. “During the fires someone asked if anyone knew where we could get flags for our trucks,” said President Pat Duggan who is also a member of the local fire department. “I said I knew where I could get my hands on three or four. We went down to the branch and got them. We had them on the trucks all through the fire. People liked to see them.”
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By Tom MacGregor The branch is in Waterways, the older part of town which suffered heavy damage. “Right now the Waterways area is open between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.,” said Duggan in September. “We are in the demolition stage right now. People have to clear the rubble and a layer of topsoil before reconstruction can begin.” The large parking lot and surrounding area at the branch forms a firewall that saved the building. “We only suffered smoke damage but it has been painted now and being cleaned for inspection, so we can open again,” said Duggan. “Right now, the chef is reorganizing the kitchen.” The branch is being used as a support building for the community while people return to their properties and try to get their lives back to normal. The response to the crisis from Legionnaires across the country was tremendous. In early
September, Alberta-Northwest Territories Command President Chris Strong sent a letter to update Legionnaires on their activities and the fundraising program. “Pictures of our friends, family and comrades fleeing the wildfire in Fort McMurray touched our hearts and weighed heavily on our minds,” wrote Strong. “On May 5, a call went out across Canada asking for support for those affected and the response, in true Legion style, was overwhelming. Your donations total $1.196 million and counting.” The Red Cross also set up a fundraising drive. It quickly surpassed its goal and stopped accepting donations. The command office began administrating the Fort McMurray Wildfire Relief Fund. “In the first few weeks, we assisted evacuees with funds for food, clothing and accommodations. Although the fire is out, and people have begun the process of returning to Fort McMurray, the
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need is still there and your donations continue to fulfil that need,” wrote Strong. “It has become evident that insurance does not replace everything. Many of our veterans and comrades have been without work for several months, making it difficult to replace needed items.” Strong also included a breakdown of the fundraising efforts. Dominion Command donated $100,000. Ontario Command donated another $468,328 while
Alberta donated $289,147 and British Columbia $108,339. By early September $220,081 had been spent on assistance to individuals and families. McMurray Branch received $74,747 while donations of $25,000 each were given to the Fort McMurray Fire Fighters Relief Fund, the Northern Lights Health Foundation, Wood Buffalo Bank and the Salvation Army in Fort McMurray. Smaller donations were made to the Fort
McMurray Public School Board, the Catholic School Board and other local organizations. The flag that had been flying over the branch during the fires was taken to the dominion convention in St. John’s, N.L., where Legionnaires signed it. “That flag is now being framed,” said Duggan. “We want to hang it in the branch to show the generosity and solidarity of Legionnaires.” L
Memorial plaques available for schools
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anadian Pacific Railway is continuing its long association with Canada’s military through the Afghanistan Memorial Plaque Program commemorating those who fell in Afghanistan in schools they once attended. The first such presentation was in November 2011 when CP Superintendent Greg Squires attended the dedication of a plaque for Sapper Steven Marshall at Central Memorial High School in Calgary. Marshall, 24, was a member of 1 Combat Engineer Regiment who was killed by improvised explosive device southeast of Kandahar City on Oct. 30, 2009. Since then Squires has supported and supervised the presentation of more than 40 plaques. The cost of the plaques, shipping and other expenses are all covered by CP. Typically, plaques have been dedicated in the high schools of fallen members of the military, allowing those who have been killed to live on in the memory of attending students for generations to come.
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However, at the family’s request, there have been alternate venues including a water park in Saskatchewan. Provided both the families and appropriate authorities approve the use of the property, any venue is suitable for the commemoration. Murray Marshall (left), father of Sapper Steven Marshall, and The plaques Alberta Lieutenant-Governor Don Ethell unveil a plaque are designed and to Steven at Central Memorial High School in Calgary in manufactured by a November 2011. retired locomotive engineer. The program administrator co-ordinates Canadian Pacific Railway has with schools, families and any been involved in all of Canada’s other authoritative body required conflicts. As a relatively new for a plaque dedication. Program corporation in 1885, Canadian administrators will contact any Pacific Railway transported school that the soldier attended or soldiers from central and eastern other appropriate facility. Families Canada to serve in the Northwest of the fallen are treated with the Rebellion in what is now Alberta utmost respect and dignity as the and Saskatchewan. During the program administrators adhere First World War, Canadian Pacific to their wishes regarding the continued to serve Canada through location of the plaque donation. the transportation of troops and
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materials. This included Canadian Pacific Steamship lines which were active in the transportation of troops and materials to Europe. For more information on this
SERVING
YOU
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program or how to have a plaque made and donated in the memory of a family member killed in Afghanistan, contact Greg Squires through program administrator
Darrel Sundholm at dreya@ telus.net using the subject line Afghanistan Memorial Plaque Program, Canadian Pacific, or call 403-720-2020. L
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
Helping homeless veterans
ince 1926, The Royal Canadian Legion has operated a Service Bureau providing a continuum of assistance to veterans and their families through representation, benevolent assistance and advocacy. This service has included assisting homeless or near homeless veterans. The plight of homeless and near homeless veterans is of growing concern, which is why the national homeless veterans program called Leave the Streets Behind was launched in 2012. The Leave the Streets Behind program’s mission is to reach out to homeless veterans or near homeless veterans by providing immediate financial assistance and support when and where needed and connecting
them with the appropriate social and community services to establish a long-term solution. Almost 1,000 homeless and near homeless veterans have been helped by The Royal Canadian Legion through this program. Legion branches across the country have been fielding an increased number of poppy trust fund requests from veterans of all ages and walks of life for emergency funds to assist with rent to avoid eviction, food, clothing and emergency needs with an emphasis on near homeless veterans. It is anticipated that there will be an increase in the number of veterans coming forward with both physical and psychological injuries as a result of the high
operational tempo over the last 20 years and the number of multiple tours. The Legion is ensuring consistent financial support is available in each provincial command to meet the demand when and where needed. The Legion has the experience, knowledge and capacity through the Service Bureau Network to reach out to veterans and make a difference. If you are aware of a homeless veteran or of a veteran needing assistance, please call 613-591-3335, or toll-free at 1-877-534-4666, to speak with a service officer or e-mail us at [emailprotected] or visit our website, www.legion. ca, to contact a command service officer in your area. L
OBITUARY
Les Nash
1942-2016
Former Nova Scotia/ Nunavut Command president Les Nash died Aug. 3 in the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre in Upper Nappan, N.S. He was 74. Born in Glace Bay, Nash served in the Canadian navy for three years. After leaving the navy, he spent most of his life in Springhill where he enjoyed fishing and hunting. Nash worked for the Springhill Institute for 26 years.
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Nash was involved in many organizations including The Royal Canadian Legion. He was a member of Springhill Branch where he served in many positions. He rose through the ranks of Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command, becoming president for 2009-11. He was involved in many Legion programs especially helping veterans file for disability benefits from Veterans Affairs Canada. He was also very active with the Legion National Track and Field Championships. Nash is survived by his wife Ruth, children Sherie, Denise, Susan, Kim and Marilyn and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. L
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SNAPSHOTS Volunteering in the community Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario
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Prince Edward Island
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Alberta-Northwest Territories Quebec
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Newfoundland and Labrador
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New Brunswick
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British Columbia/Yukon
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Nova Scotia/Nunavut
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Ontario
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United States
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Europe
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Correspondents’ Addresses
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IN THIS
ISSUE Legion branches donate more than
$218,000 to their communities
Ronn Anderson, first vice of Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario Command, presents $90,000 to Oliver Thorne, national director of the Veterans Transition Network, which provides counselling and transition programs for veterans and members of the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP.
Virden, Man., L.A. President Chris Dunning (centre) presents $500 for navy cadets to Lieut. (N) Nicole Day (right) and 2nd Lieut. Erin Gray. Funds were raised through teas and luncheons.
Hartney Fairgrounds Chair Trevor Deralgo (right) accepts $3,000 from Hartney, Man., Branch President Cole Turner. The branch has donated a total of $9,000 towards upgrading washrooms at the community fairgrounds.
Hartney, Man., Branch President Cole Turner (left) presents $2,500 raised through meat draws to Don Dodds, president of Hartney Golf Club, bringing to $7,500 branch contributions toward purchase of a fairway mower for the community-run course.
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SNAPSHOTS
Volunteering in the community
Rick Kokiw and Diane Maxwell (in Legion jackets) were among members of Rossburn, Man., Branch who joined community representatives in planting a battlefield apple tree in Veterans’ Park to commemorate the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, which stopped in town on its cross-Canada relay.
President Gary Goebel of Mulhurst Branch in Mulhurst Bay, Alta., presents $500 to Leah Netzer, accepting with grandparents, members Rick and Sue Martin. Netzer will attend the University of Alberta.
District 8 Deputy Commander Dave Velichko presents a $1,000 bursary, named for Joe Wynne Branch in Edson, Alta., and Floyd Olsen, to Nicole Fossheim. BOBBI FOULDS
At the presentation of $750 bursaries from Hudson, Que., Branch to graduates of Westwood Senior Campus are (from left) Jacob Menard, Jasmine Gibra, branch President Peter Mansell, Julianna Trumpler, Kathleen Miller and Kelsey Taylor Colahan. ROD HODGSON
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Prince Edward Island Command President John Yeo (left) presents Westjet airline tickets to draw winner William Coffin.
First Vice Eric Connor of Hudson, Que., Branch presents $2,000 to Erin Tabakman of the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital Foundation. ROD HODGSON
President Micheline Charest of DanvilleWindsor Branch in Danville, Que., presents bursaries to Benjamin Schmalenberg and Erika Schmalenberg. OWEN SCHMALENBERG
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At the unveiling of a plaque at Shefford Branch in Waterloo, Que., dedicated to the memory of soldiers who died by suicide are (from left) Sgt.-at-Arms Michel Lapointe, padre Michel Martin, Yvan Couture and Linda Lagimonière, Honour Our Canadian Soldiers founder Lise Charron, Micheline and Philippe Reed and President Daniel St-Germain. MICHEL LAPOINTE
Clarenville, N.L., Branch member Curtis Skiffington presents awards in the poster and literary contests to (from left) Trey Hann, Taylor Noel, Sophia Sheppard, Abby Asukwo, Sarah Smith, Jessica Ricketts and Andrea Payne.
At Bay D’Espoir Branch in St. Alban’s, N.L., President Christine Farrell presents poster and literary contests awards to (from left) Barika Sutton, Shawna Rae Farrell, Taylor Lee, Shianne Engram and Johnny Collier.
Bruno Leclerc of Arthabaska Branch in Victoriaville, Que., presents $500 to Capt. Emilie René of the Richelieu air cadet squadron. ALAIN FOURNIER
Newfoundland and Labrador Command President Frank Sullivan presents $10,886 to annual 50/50 draw winner Rene Ryan.
President Christine Farrell of Bay D’Espoir Branch in St. Alban’s, N.L., presents poster and literary contests awards to (from left) Parker Nugent, Michael Coombs, Alyssa Organ, Nicole Hoskins and Melanie Collier. legionmagazine.com > NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
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SNAPSHOTS
Volunteering in the community
President John Grenning of St. John’s, N.L., Branch presents Kay Scheeler with the Legionnaire of the Year award.
St. John’s, N.L., Branch member Selby Luffman presents $5,000 to local army cadet commanding officer Capt. Barry Power.
At the presentation of bursaries by St. Croix Junior L.A. in St. Stephen, N.B., are (from left) bursary chair Linda Thomas, Allister Nicholson, Breanna Curran, Noah Jones and President Gail Savoie.
Bursary chair Charleen Bodley of St. Croix Junior L.A. in St. Stephen, N.B., congratulates recipients (from left) Nathan Gullison, Kody Lusk, Brandon Glazebrook and Jacob Bartlet.
At the presentation of bursaries at Fredericton Branch are (front, from left) Adrianne Durley, service officer Jim Burns, Katie Smith, (rear) President Don Swain, chair Millie Lewis, Julianne Baker, Dana MacDonald, Katelyn Caverhill, Sydney Hetherington, Spencer Watts, Luke Appleby, Bailey Samms and First Vice Tony Quackenbush.
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Hartland, N.B., L.A. President Nora Cormier (left) presents the 50 Years Long Service Medal to Phyllis Robinson.
Sackville, N.B., Branch President Doreen Richards presents the annual Haines Award to Amherst CIBC Wood Gundy Ramblers hockey team representative Glenn Roberts.
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Student Charlie Burtt of Central Blissville is congratulated on his honourable mention at national level in the black and white poster contest by (from left) Daryl Alward, President Wade Campbell and poppy chair Reg Fraser of Oromocto, N.B., Branch.
At the presentation of the 50 Years Long Service Medal from Seaview Centennial L.A. in Lantzville, B.C., are (from left) recipient Dorrie Foster, Sgt.-at-Arms Ann Marment and L.A. Zone Commander Judi Davis.
Ed Robertson (right) and Nelson Winterburn of Diamond Head Branch in Squamish, B.C., congratulate winners of the literary and poster contests from Squamish Elementary School.
Okanagan Falls, B.C., Branch Past President Mary Findlater, President Wayne Knight and treasurer Lorraine Harrison (in uniform, from left) present a donation to staff and supporters of Penticton Safety Village, which provides bicycle, fire and road safety education for children.
Bursaries are presented to (from left) Jacob Engstrom, Kim Arklie, Frances Wilson and Lauren Provencal by President Tim Murphy of Alberni Valley Branch in Port Alberni, B.C.
Heather Bemister of the Burnaby Hospital Foundation accepts $4,000 from President Dave Taylor (left), Second Vice Grace Browning and First Vice Wilson Gurney of North Burnaby, B.C., Branch. legionmagazine.com > NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
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SNAPSHOTS
Volunteering in the community
Marvin Thorgeirson of Cowichan Branch in Duncan, B.C., congratulates Sierrah Borjeau, who placed first in the junior colour poster contest at branch, zone and provincial levels.
President Tim Murphy of Alberni Valley Branch in Port Alberni, B.C., presents the Howe-Tassie Memorial Scholarship to Madisen Forbes.
Calais Branch in Lower Sackville, N.S., welcomes a group of new members to the branch. CAROL MacDONALD
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Florence Hamilton receives congratulations on the occasion of her 100th birthday from Ron Trowsdale of Colchester Branch in Truro, N.S. Hamilton joined the L.A. in 1949 and has been an active member ever since.
New Deal Director Dave Julian Sr. (left) accepts $3,090 from chair George MacIntosh as their share in the Chase the Ace draw at Breton Branch in Sydney Mines, N.S.
RON TROWSDALE
CYRIL HATCHER
Amherst, N.S., Branch Sgt-at-Arms Jack Perry presents a $1,000 bursary to Rebecca McGraw. ED ZAZINSKY
Executive director David Graham (left) and director of development Michelle Bohaychuk of Brigadoon Village accept $1,000 for the children’s camp from Doris Arenburg and Art Leduc of A.H. Foster Memorial Branch in Kingston, N.S. THERESA CORKUM
President Roy Spencer (right) and past president Ernie Harrison (centre) of Calais Branch in Lower Sackville, N.S., present a donation to Relay For Life representative Donna Redmond. CAROL MacDONALD
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St. Peter’s, N.S., Branch honours and awards chair presents bursaries to students (from left) Emily Landry, Gabrielle Sampson and Michael Stone. SHELDON O’BRIEN
At the presentation of bursaries at Uniacke Branch in Mount Uniacke, N.S., are (from left) bursary co-chair Dave King, poppy chair Lorraine Wagner, Andrea Kroll, Devon Keel, President Mabel McCarthy and bursary co-chair Jim Kennickell. PAULETTE FOLEY
President Terry Bobbitt (left) and bursary chair Jaddus Poirier (right) of Earl Francis Spryfield Memorial Branch in Spryfield, N.S., congratulate bursary recipients (from left) Lauren Bellefontaine, Katherine Conran, Hannah Cook, Baillie Hammond, Owen Lewis, Shannon Lewis, Danielle MacDonald, John MacLeod, Anthony Poirier, Clayton Spearns and Rebecca Withers. The branch presented $12,000 in bursaries. SHELLY DEAN
Hanover, Ont., Branch Past President Wayne Schiefele presents $500 to local scout leaders Angela Summers and Crystal James.
In Toronto, Fort York Branch President Evelyn Kelly presents $2,000 to Gil Taylor for the Last Post Fund.
Following a bike run organized by Morrisburg, Ont., Branch, CAV vice-president Mike Joannette (left) accepts $5,000 from President Graham Houze for the Homeless Veterans Assistance Fund.
President Wayne Schiefele (left) and poppy chair Ken Schaak of Hanover, Ont., Branch present $5,000 to Hanover and District Hospital Foundation co-ordinator Sue Paterson on behalf of the Ontario Command, Branches and L.A. Charitable Foundation. legionmagazine.com > NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016
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SNAPSHOTS
Volunteering in the community
Seniors club secretary Myrna Murray (left) and seniors treasurer Bernadette Heagle (right) of John McMartin Memorial Branch in Cornwall, Ont., present $500 to hospice co-ordinator Sandy Collette.
Port Perry, Ont., Branch member Robert Duff (left) receives the 50 Years Long Service Medal from President Dave Durham, honours and awards chair Barb Doupe and membership chair Sandra McCoy.
Byron-Springbank Branch in London, Ont., presents $34,606 to the Parkwood Hospital. Residents Gerald McDougall (left) and Glen Krupp hold the cheque while looking on are (from left) poppy chair Michael Beatty, Parkwood representative Heather Tales, Sgt.-at-Arms John Morris and President Wayne Thompson.
Victor Chan of Barrhaven Branch in Ottawa presents $2,000 for local army cadets to CWO Mahdi Ahsan.
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Ed Sparling (left) accepts $500 towards the cost of a monument commemorating the Battle of the Atlantic from Fort York President Evelyn Kelly in Toronto.
In Guelph, Ont., at Col. John McCrae Memorial Branch, Pat Smith (centre) receives the Legionnaire of the Year award from (from left) L.A. President Charlotte Matthews, youth education chair Kellie Dorman, President Wayne Rahn and Zone C-2 L.A. Commander Laurie Ridgeway.
Bowmanville, Ont., Branch President Ben Kelly (left), poppy chair Gary Switzer and service officer John Greenfield (right) present $6,175 to local hospital representative Andrea Russell on behalf of the Ontario Command, Branches and L.A. Charitable Foundation.
At Beaver Valley Branch in Clarksburg, Ont., District E Commander Bob Ladouceur (left) presents a certificate commemorating the branch’s 80th anniversary to President Andy Weldrick.
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Elliot Lake, Ont., Branch President Al Warman (left), lottery chair Irene Doucet and former president Steve LeBlanc (right) present $1,000 to Maj. Marilyn Furey of the Salvation Army.
Francis Mitchell of Bay Ridges Branch in Pickering, Ont., accepts his 50 Years Long Service Medal.
Cutting the cake to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Hanover, Ont., L.A. are (from left) Celima Swailes, Wendy Doyle, Mary Lou Bastin, Doreen Steffler and Birdie Wenzel.
Ontario Command President Brian Weaver (left) accepts on behalf of Ontario Command, the Veterans Ombudsman’s Commendation from Veterans Ombudsman Guy Parent. The award recognizes the command’s Leave The Streets Behind program for homeless veterans.
Scarborough, Ont., Branch poppy chairman Ken Thompson (left) and President Dan Burri present $1,000 to the Tony Stacy Centre care and development representative Diana LeBlanc.
Barrhaven Branch in Ottawa donates $5,000 towards the revitalization of a veterans dining room at the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre. At the presentation are (from left) President Ed Schelenz, poppy trust chair Bert Boehme, Perley-Rideau executive director Daniel Clapin and poppy campaign chair Sharon Wilson.
At the annual hospice fundraiser at John McMartin Memorial Branch in Cornwall, Ont., President Linda Fisher (left), and event co-ordinator Ken Heagle (right) present hospice co-ordinator Sandy Collette (second from left) with $4,200 while member Sandra Murray donates $805 winnings from a draw at the same presentation.
Lakefield, Ont., President Jim Marsden (left) congratulates Legionnaire of the Year recipient Lee Rhynold.
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SNAPSHOTS
Volunteering in the community
At Ottawa, Westboro Branch President Brent Craig (centre) presents St. Brigid’s Camp representative Michael Keeler and Christie Lake Camp representative Natalie Benson with $1,000 each.
At Trenton, Ont., Branch, Zone F-2 Commander Gary Newman (left) and President Manny Raspberry present the 50 Years Long Service Medal to Joseph Cassibault (centre).
At the opening ceremonies for the VE-Day Commemorative Slo Pitch Tournament held in Mississauga, Ont., are (from left) Streetsville Overseas Veterans Branch vice-president Mike Leonard, cadet liaison Marika Booton, Maj. Erik Medina of the Black Forest air cadet squadron and Korean War veteran Andy Barber.
Teammates Tim Barnard and Phil Pyne (centre) from Hespeler Branch in Cambridge, Ont., receive congratulations from provincial sports chairman Vic Newey (left) and District F sports chairman Jim Corbett (right) on winning the first provincial washer toss championship.
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Student Emma Lunau Smith receives congratulations from youth education chairman Kellie Dorman of Col. John McCrae Memorial Branch in Guelph, Ont., on being awarded second place at the provincial level in the intermediate essay contest.
At Elliot Lake, Ont., Branch, House of Kin representatives Linda and Roger Collett accept a cheque for $1,000 from (from left) lottery chair Irene Doucet, President Al Warman and former president Steve Leblanc.
Members of St. Mary’s, Ont., Branch present $5,097 on behalf of the Ontario Command, Branches and L.A. Charitable Foundation to the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation. At the presentation are (front, from left) President Peter Bushfield, foundation vice-chair Pat Craigmile, social worker Aaron Stokes, poppy chair Owen Marchant, nurse Rebeca Wilker, (rear) Jason Cates, First Vice Tom Jenkins and foundation executive director Krista Linklater.
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CORRESPONDENTS’ ADDRESSES 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:
At Millbrook, Ont., Branch, following the annual bike run, President Diane Corfe, accompanied by committee members Rob McKend and Roger Saunders, present $2,000 to Wounded Warriors representatives David MacDonald and Gord Orr (right).
BRITISH COLUMBIA/YUKON: Graham Fox, 4199 Steede Ave., Port Alberni, BC V9Y 8B6, [emailprotected] ALBERTA–NORTHWEST TERRITORIES: Bobbi Foulds, Box 5162, Stn Main, Edson AB T7E 1T4, [emailprotected] SASKATCHEWAN: Stephanie Anhorn, 3079–5th Ave., Regina, SK S4T 0L6, [emailprotected] MANITOBA: Vanessa Burokas, 563 St. Mary’s Rd., Winnipeg, MB R2M 3L6, [emailprotected] NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO: Janice Pampu, 44 Penfold St., Thunder Bay, ON P7A 3J7, [emailprotected] ONTARIO: Mary Ann Goheen, Box 308, Gravenhurst, ON P1P 1T7, [emailprotected] QUEBEC: Len Pelletier, 389 Malette, Gatineau, QC J8L 2Y7, [emailprotected] NEW BRUNSWICK: Marianne Harris, 115 McGrath Cres., Miramichi, NB E1V 3Y1, [emailprotected] NOVA SCOTIA/NUNAVUT: Jean Marie Deveaux, 651 Church St., Port Hawkesbury, NS B9A 2X6, [emailprotected]
Larry Woolley of Lake Chapala, Mexico, Branch brings his van to collect 545 kilograms of used firefighting equipment to be donated from the Winnipeg Fire Department to the Lake Chapala Fire Department. He will be promoting Legion activities along the way.
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: Dianne Kennedy, Box 81, Borden-Carleton, PE C0B 1X0, [emailprotected] NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR: Brenda Slaney, Box 5745, St. John’s, NL A1C 5X3, [emailprotected] DOMINION COMMAND ZONES: EASTERN U.S. ZONE, Gord Bennett, 12840 Seminole Blvd., Lot #7, Largo, FL 33778, [emailprotected]; WESTERN U.S. ZONE, Douglas Lock, 1531 11th St., Manhattan Beach, CA 90266, [emailprotected]. 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 or [emailprotected]. TECHNICAL SPECS FOR PHOTO SUBMISSIONS (1) DIGITAL 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.
The Europe Zone colour party looks on as the Royal Newfoundland Regiment marches on during the 100th anniversary commemoration at the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Monument in France.
(2) PHOTO PRINTS—Glossy prints from a photofinishing lab are best because they do not contain the dot pattern that some printers produce. If possible, please submit digital photos electronically.
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SNAPSHOTS
Honours and awards
LONG SERVICE AWARDS 60
65
years
70
years
years
JAMES MacDONALD
GEORGE EMMERSON
DOROTHY RICHARDS
EDWARD GROVES
KEN WELLER
Marysville Br., N.B.
Port Perry Br., Ont.
Bowmanville L.A., Ont.
Port Perry Br., Ont.
Beaver Valley Br., Clarksburg, Ont.
ONTARIO
NEWS
HEARST SUPPORTS YOUTH PROGRAMS
MERITORIOUS SERVICE MEDALS AND MERITORIOUS SERVICE AWARDS
Hearst, Ont., Branch presented $2,000 to the Youth Justice and Camp Cadanac youth programs.
BRITISH COLUMBIA/YUKON
LONG SERVICE RECOGNIZED Cowichan Branch in Duncan, B.C., recognized the following members for their long service: Horace Lee, 70 years; Basil McAneeley and Ruth Chaster, 65 years; Eric Brown, 60 years; and Joseph Ball and Ralph Lindberg, 50 years. Vancouver TVS Branch recognized Jim MacKay for 60 years long service.
NEW BRUNSWICK
JUNIOR L.A. SUPPORTS BRANCH St. Croix Junior L.A. in St. Stephen, N.B., presented the branch with $7,000. Hartland L.A. presented Eileen Rutton with a 60-year pin.
NOVA SCOTIA/NUNAVUT
CADET MEDAL PRESENTED Fairfax Branch in Halifax presented the Cadet Medal of Excellence to CPO2 Samuel Morash.
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Sarnia Branch presented $7,795 to the Bluewater Health Foundation. Bowmanville L.A. presented $10,000 to the branch.
GEORGE DELLAVALLE
MICHAEL VAILLANCOURT
Cape Breton District, N.S.
Grand Falls Br., N.B.
Tara L.A. presented $3,000 to the branch.
PALM LEAF
Barrhaven Branch in Ottawa presented the Cadet Medal of Excellence to MWO Eunice Kabaselle. Sault Ste. Marie Branch presented the 50 Years Long Service Medal to Donald Griswold and Gary Diotte, a 60-year pin to Cornellius Vanderburg and 70-year pins to Fred Gard and Bruce Balfour. The Legionnaire of the Year award was presented to Carol Piper. Pte. Joe Waters Branch in Milton presented the Cadet Medals of Excellence to PO1 Damian Moser, MWO Julianne Magalona and WO2 Jacob Deery.
QUEBEC
MEDAL OF EXCELLENCE PRESENTED Quebec Command Vice-President Eugene Montour presented the Cadet Medal of Excellence to cadet Rujing Li of the West Montreal air cadet squadron.
ROBERT HARMAN Saanich Peninsula Br., Sidney, B.C.
LIFE MEMBERSHIP BRITISH COLUMBIA
NEW BRUNSWICK
BARBARA McNEILY
STANLEY GRAHAM
Trafalgar/Pro Patria Br., Victoria
Millville Br.
ALBERTA
NEWFOUNDLAND/ LABRADOR
BRIAN FAIRLEY Centennial Br., Calgary
SELBY LUFFMAN St. John’s Br.
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LOST TRAILS BRINE, L. STO. F.— HMS Porpoise. Information sought about Brine and medal marked with his name, Edward VII, Africa and a bar marked Somaliland 1902-04, on a ribbon with black, gold and green stripes. Glenn Massie, 36 Woodhatch Cres., Ingersoll, ON N5C 0A3, [emailprotected]. GREEN, GERALD—ROTP Common Phase 1, D Troop CFB Shilo, Man. Served in 1968. Friend in New Zealand wants to renew contact. Mike Houlding, 72A Valley Road, Mount Maunganui, Tauranga 3116 N.Z., [emailprotected]. HEBERT, SGT. J.P.E AND ROY, FLT. SGT. W.F—Canadian survivors of Anson aircraft crash near Elgin, N.B., May 7, 1943, in which two Polish crew were killed. Possibly stayed at nearby farm afterwards. Survivors or family sought. Jeff Martin, 89 Drammen Dr., Fredericton, NB E3A 5S1, 506-474-0001, [emailprotected]. HOPKINS, CPL. JAMES ARNOLD—1111951, 33 Air Navigational School in Canada in 1943, signed off September 1944. Information requested. Peter Hopkins, 23 School Lane, Silk Willoughby, Sleaford, Lincolnshire U.K. NG34 8PG, [emailprotected]. LEADER, PTE. GEORGE WALDON—163383, 1st Bn CEF, killed in action June 13, 1916, commemorated on the Menin Gate. Relatives sought for further research. John Fotheringham P.O. Box 91026, Burnhamthorpe PO, Etobico*ke, ON M9C 5N5, [emailprotected]. LEBERT, LS WILLIAM—Served on HMCS Magnificent in 1955 in Halifax. Believed from Ontario. Yvonne Colbert, 20 Richardson Dr., Fall River, NS B2T 1E7, 902-861-4843, [emailprotected]. SMITH, GDSM. ROBERT GEORGE—B114444 RCAC Canadian Grenadier Guards. Born June 15, 1924, died Nov. 23, 1943. Son of James Le Roy and Peal Martha Pelina Smith. Family sought for further research. Jen Sguigna, 5344 John Lucas Drive, Burlington, ON L7L 6A6, 519-709-1987, [emailprotected]. WILLIAMS, PTE. CHESTER—H25187 Canadian WW II engineer or family sought. He was posted in Borstal, Rochester, Kent, England with his brother in 1945 while a bridge was built, and often dined with the Foreman family, who hope to reconnect. Sue Lawrence, 66 Grange Avenue, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU49AU, England, [emailprotected]. 59TH (NFLD.) HEAVY REGT., RA—Contact with WW II comrades in 23 battery or regimental headquarters sought. Ronald Rosenberg, 212-280 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill, Mass., 02467, U.S.A., mrandrr1948@ gmail.com.
429 TRANSPORT SQDN.—The Bisons are updating the alumni list to mark the squadron’s 75th anniversary in 2017. Members from inception in 1942 to today can add their names. Nancy Wilson, 429 (T) Squadron, CFB Trenton, P.O. Box 1000, Stn. Forces, Astra, ON K0K 3W0, 613-392-2811, ext. 5088, [emailprotected].
REQUESTS CANADIAN VIETNAM VETERANS—who fought as members of U.S. forces sought for book interviews. Norman Black, 2861 Interlaken Drive, Marietta, Georgia, 300625669, U.S.A. [emailprotected]. CARLETON ALUMNI VETERANS—Carleton University invites alumni who have served in the military to the Founding Date Celebration in June 2017. Kathy McKinley, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, 613-520-2600, ext. 3780, [emailprotected]. MARVILLE, FRANCE—Canadian pilots and their families posted here between 19541967, particularly relatives of those buried in Marville Cemetery, sought for research. Filip Rogiers, Gustave Van Huynegemstraat 2, 1090 Brussels, Belgium, phone: 0032475852125, [emailprotected]. NAVY WOMEN 1910-1946—CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum in Victoria wants to record names of all navy women, including nursing sisters, doctors, technicians, dieticians, physiotherapists and WRCNS. Veterans and families asked for help in completing information for 8,000 names now on file; also looking for photos, diaries, notebooks, letters, obituaries, naval documents. Dave Freeman, Naval & Military Museum, CFB Esquimalt, P.O. Box 17000, Stn. Forces, Victoria, BC V9A 7N2, [emailprotected]. SHERBROOKE, N.S. AIR CADETS—Former member seeks number of squadron at St. Mary’s Rural High School from 19531954 and 1957-1958. Also seeking shoulder patch. Klaus Scharley, 106-1114 Howie Ave., Coquitlam, BC V3J 1V1 [emailprotected].
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CANADA AND THE COLD WAR
By J.L. Granatstein
Mr. Trudeau goes to Moscow A Canadian prime minister courts the Soviets
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ierre Trudeau came to power in April 1968 determined to make changes in Canada’s foreign policy. One of his immediate priorities, he told Robert Ford, the Ambassador to the Soviet Union, was to improve relations with the USSR. The new policy got off to a bad start when Moscow and its Warsaw Pact satellites crushed the “Prague Spring” in August 1968, sending in the tanks and driving out the Czech reformists. The response from Ottawa to this outrage was mild. As early as he could, Trudeau made plans to visit Moscow. His trip was scheduled for October 1970, but the October FLQ Crisis forced him to delay his trip until May 1971. Trudeau arrived in the Russian capital accompanied by large official and press parties and had a series of talks with the Soviet leadership. He found General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev impressive, the official Canadian account noting that he spoke more in sorrow than in anger when he said that no American President of the five he had dealt with genuinely wanted to resolve problems. Trudeau replied that Canada wished to help lower tensions in Europe, indicating that his cutting Canada’s troops in NATO by 50 per
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Pierre Trudeau with Russian Premier Alexei Kosygin (left, in coat), Moscow, 1971
cent was a step in this direction. Later Premier Alexei Kosygin—“Khrushchev without the rough edges,” Trudeau called him—indicated that his government appreciated the troop reductions. Still, the Canadian leader gave away none of the Alliance positions. The highlight of the visit was the signing of a Protocol on Consultations that aimed to put contacts between the two nations on a more systematic basis, both in crisis and normal times. Whether this Protocol had been
Russian State Archives of Film and Photo Documents
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worked out before Trudeau’s visit remains unclear. Some senior diplomats thought it had, others not, but certainly the cabinet had not been advised beforehand. Some ministers, notably Defence minister Donald Macdonald, were furious, telling his colleagues that the Protocol “marked a very significant change in policy.” Certainly, the Soviets saw it this way. They looked to Trudeau as a leader more receptive to dialogue than his predecessors, and they saw in him an opportunity to weaken Canadian ties to the U.S. and NATO. When Trudeau spoke at a press conference the day after he signed the Protocol, excited Russian hearts beat faster. The Prime Minister pointed out that Canada was a friend and ally of the U.S. but added, “Canada has increasingly found it important to diversify its channels of communication because of the overpowering presence of the United States of America and that is reflected in a growing consciousness among Canadians of the danger to our national identity from a cultural, economic and perhaps even military point of view.” The Protocol, he said, moved Canada toward a more autonomous foreign policy. Indeed. The Prime Minister heaped more coals on the fire a week later when he equated Ukrainian nationalists to FLQ separatists. The large Canadian media contingent covering the visit had their big stories. What was going on here? Rightwing columnist Lubor Zink wrote in the Toronto Telegram that if Trudeau “were an agent of Moscow he could hardly do better.” That was more than a little extreme: Trudeau was no agent of the Soviets and, as a civil libertarian, he was no admirer of Soviet Communism that crushed its people’s liberty. He genuinely wanted better relations with the USSR, and he worried about American pressures on his government. But such public comments made officials in Ottawa nervous, and they certainly made the U.S. government very unhappy. They also made Moscow believe it was worthwhile
cultivating Trudeau further. Very quickly, Premier Kosygin paid an official visit to Canada, his trip coming soon after President Nixon had imposed harsh economic measures on Canada and other trading partners in a move that stunned Ottawa. But Kosygin was attacked by a man shouting “Free Hungary” as he walked on Parliament Hill, and the visit produced little more than an agreement on scientific, cultural and academic exchanges. Moscow was doomed to be disappointed in Trudeau’s government. One of the The highlight of the Russian aims was to get Ottawa to supvisit was the signing port a Conference of a Protocol on on Security and Co-operation in Consultations that Europe, a conferaimed to put contacts ence that would between the two create a more stable Europe on Soviet nations on a more terms. The CSCE systematic basis. began in Geneva in September 1973, and Canadian diplomats used every opportunity to keep after the Soviets with great persistence. The aim, bolstered by a co-ordinated NATO position, was to get ideology out of the human dimension of relations with the USSR on such subjects as family reunification and to leave only resolvable facts. And it worked. The Final Act, approved in Helsinki in August 1975, offered an agreement to which the USSR and its satellites could be held. The East Europeans in particular found in it a way they could tell Moscow that they had to do something on human rights to stay within the CSCE agreement. Thus Trudeau’s openness to changing the relationship with Moscow turned out to be little different than his predecessors. Soon he—and Canadians—came to realize that Moscow evinced real interest in Canada only so long as the U.S. was cool to Ottawa. Once American relations with Canada improved, as they did once Nixon departed the White House, Canada returned to its second rank status. Trudeau’s Peace Initiative in 1983-84 met with little response in Moscow, in part because Trudeau was not carrying American support for his ideas. The realities of economics, military power and geography, it seemed, could not easily be changed. L
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HUMOUR HUNT
By Carl Christie
Rumble in the jungle
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ith United Nations’ peacekeeping operations again on the federal government’s agenda for the Canadian Armed Forces, let’s begin with an account of an incident from one of this nation’s most difficult and dangerous such missions. Gord Penney of Kingston, Ont., sent us this tale, adding that a few signals personnel may remember it from Albertville, Congo, in 1961. One evening at suppertime, a letter, properly sealed with wax and classified “secret,” arrived for the detachment. The commander, a reserve artillery captain, read it, and Comrade Penney remembers what it said, these many years later. UN helicopter crews had observed that the local army had broken into a drug warehouse, some 75 kilometres from
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Albertville. The Congolese soldiers apparently consumed a large quantity of unknown drugs. A further report would follow. The detachment’s captain, getting all serious, asked if all his soldiers had been cleared Secret. Then he ordered them to man their defensive positions. He then departed to his villa, some distance away. The next day the captain received the follow-up message to the one received the previous evening. In essence, it informed as follows: After the UN helicopter crew sent the previous message, it was determined that the drug consumed by the local soldiers was ExLax. They were rushing to Albertville for toilet paper. Clearly, it was not another uprising. The captain turned red, left his men alone, and did not return for two days.
Illustrations by Malcolm Jones
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Periscope ahead Out on the Pacific coast during the Second World War—the summer of 1942, to be more precise—two Royal Canadian Navy Fishermen’s Reservists, Olaf Olsen and his deckhand, Hemar West, while traveling up Johnstone Strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland, spotted what looked like a submarine periscope. Only months after the Japanese attack on the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, people all up and down the west coast of North America feared the possibility of more enemy action against this continent. Mike Olsen of Surrey, B.C., confides his father was certain it was a Japanese submarine; they had been patrolling and attacking targets on our coast. He said they could not outrun it and were doomed if it attacked them. He and Hemar decided to blind the sub by ramming the periscope. The deckhand got on the bow with his .303 rifle, to shoot at the Japanese if they surfaced to fire at them. There they were, Olaf aiming his boat at full speed—six knots—and Hemar with his rifle poised in firing position. Suddenly Hemar began waving frantically waving his arms and yelling. “Turn hard to starboard! Hard to starboard—fast!” Olaf cranked the wheel as hard as he could—just in time to narrowly avoid ramming a large floating log with a branch sticking up that looked amazingly like a periscope. Olaf’s son admits they used to kid him that he had attacked a Japanese cherry tree.
Life on the Bonnie Finally, let’s conclude this column, forthis issue, for this year, for me, and forever, with the following suggestions for people who would like to pretend they are at sea aboard the RCN’s last aircraft carrier from the 1960s, HMCS Bonaventure. Apparently the Bonnie had the unique distinction of its air conditioning not working while cruising in the south, while the heat did not work in the North Atlantic during the winter.
Able Seaman Radar Plotter Lloyd Reynard asks in his e-mail that we please donate any monetary reward to a worthy service cause—and we will. How to simulate being a sailor in the RCN 1. Buy a steel dumpster, paint it grey inside and out, and live in it for six months. 2. Run all the pipes and wires in your house exposed on the walls. 3. Repaint your entire house every month using grey paint. 4. Renovate your bathroom. Lower all showerheads to four and one-half feet off the deck. 5. When you take showers, make sure you turn off the water while you soap down. 6. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, turn water heater temperature up to 300 degrees. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, turn water heater off. 7. On Saturdays and Sundays tell your family they used too much water during the week, so no bathing will be allowed. 8. Put 5W-20 lube oil in your humidifier, instead of water, and set it on high. 9. Leave your lawn mower running in your living room 24 hours a day to maintain proper ambient noise level. 10. Once a month, disassemble all your major appliances and electric garden tools, inspect them and then reassemble them. L
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HEROES AND VILLAINS
By Mark Zuehlke
Obama bin AND
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hile campaigning in June 2008, Barack Obama promised to capture al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden but offered few details of any plan. The Democratic presidential candidate came under heavy fire from media pundits, who called the statement either naïve or a calculated gambit he would abandon once in the White House. Less than five months later, on Nov. 4, Obama became America’s first Black president. He immediately announced a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq—an act that earned Seal Team him the Nobel Peace Prize— Six struck, and ordered a covert hunt descending on for the architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks the compound in that killed 2,996 people and three helicopters. injured more than 6,000. The hunt for bin Laden, of Finding the course, had started immedial-Qaida leader ately after the 9-11 attacks. in an upstairs On Oct. 7, 2001, the U.S. and various NATO allies bedroom. had invaded Afghanistan because the Taliban was sheltering and supporting the terrorist leader. Although scores of al-Qaida terrorists—some directly involved in 9-11—were killed or captured over the years, bin Laden always escaped. Determined to take bin Laden down,
Obama directed CIA Director Leon Panetta to make killing or capturing him the top priority in America’s war on terrorism. In August 2010, the CIA briefed Obama on a possible lead. Over many more months the threads of this lead were slowly tied together. Obama’s national security team kept him closely apprised as the intelligence developed. It soon emerged that bin Laden was hiding in a luxurious and secure mansion compound deep inside Pakistan at Abbottabad—just over a kilometre from the nation’s elite military academy. For several months, CIA agents cautiously watched the compound while drones hovering invisibly high overhead collected hundreds of photographs. Then, in the last week of April 2011, Obama declared the evidence sufficient to confirm bin Laden’s presence and authorized direct action. On May 2 (May 1 in the U.S.), Seal Team Six struck, descending on the compound in three helicopters. Finding the al-Qaida leader in an upstairs bedroom—by some reports with a pistol and assault rifle close by—bin Laden was killed instantly by shots to his head and chest. Five years after bin Laden’s death, Obama reflected in an interview on the terrorist’s elimination. The president said it still gave him “satisfaction to think that in his final moments bin Laden would have realized that an American had come to take revenge or seek justice for the 3,000 L L L Americans who were killed on 9-11.” L
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Immediately after being elected, U.S. President Barack Obama made hunting down al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden his administration’s top mission in the war on terrorism
Laden B
orn in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in either 1957 or 1958 and the son of a millionaire Yemeni immigrant who owned the nation’s largest construction company, Osama bin Laden seemed an unlikely candidate to become the world’s most infamous terrorist. Yet his education led him in the late 1970s to membership in the Muslim Brotherhood and the tutelage of radical pan-Islamist scholar, Abdullah Azzam, who advocated jihad to create a single Islamic state. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Azzam and bin Laden moved to Peshawar, Pakistan, and used their influence to garner financial and moral support for the mujahedeen rebels. In 1988, bin Laden founded al-Qaida (“the base”) as a terrorist organization. With the Soviet withdrawal, he returned to Saudi Arabia to continue building al-Qaida, but the government rebuffed bin Laden’s efforts to work with it. Instead, with Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the Saudis joined the Western coalition against Iraq. Infuriated by this co-operation with the “infidel” United States, bin Laden vowed that al-Qaida—rather than America—would rise as “master of this world.” In 1991, al-Qaida struck for the first time, detonating a bomb in a hotel in Aden, Yemen, that housed American troops. While no Americans were killed, two Austrian tourists died. Emboldened, bin Laden launched a full-blown terrorist
In 1988, bin Laden founded al-Qaida (“the base”) as a terrorist organization.
campaign that spanned the 1990s and reached its zenith with the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people and left more than 4,500 wounded. This was followed on Oct. 12, 2000, by the attack on the American destroyer, USS Cole, which killed 17 sailors and injured 38. Although indicted by a U.S. federal grand jury for the embassy bombings, there was no viable way to bring bin Laden to trial. Then on Sept. 11, 2001, the World Trade Center in New York and Pentagon attacks were claimed by bin Laden. Despite America’s ensuing “global war on terror,” bin Laden eluded American efforts to capture him with seeming ease. From hiding, he continued to plot new attacks and issued a regular stream of taunting radio and television broadcasts. With Obama’s election, however, American intelligence agencies focused their efforts on hunting bin Laden down. On the fateful day following bin Laden’s death, Obama told the American people that “Justice has been done” and bin Laden’s “demise should be welcomed by all who L L L believe in peace and human dignity.”
“It was not a religion that attacked us that September day. It was al-Qaida.” — Obama (OPPOSITE) “America had been hit by Allah at its most vulnerable point, destroying, thank God, its most prestigious buildings.” — bin Laden (ABOVE)
> To voice your opinion, go to legionmagazine. com/HeroesAnd Villains.
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ARTIFACTS
By Sharon Adams A chess set made by a Winnipeg Grenadier PoW.
Hong Kong craftsmen An enlistment poster used in reconstituting the regiment after it was decimated in Hong Kong.
PoWs turned scraps into works of art
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ew artifacts survive to remind us of the fate of Canadians who fought in the Battle of Hong Kong, the then British colony that surrendered to the Japanese on Christmas Day, 1941, after a fierce, 17-day battle. The Winnipeg Grenadiers and Royal Rifles from Quebec City were sent to join 14,000 Allied defence troops, who were no match for the 52,000 seasoned, heavily armed Japanese invaders. The Canadian contingent was undertrained, underarmed, and their transport and heavy equipment never arrived. Every one of the 1,975 Canadians became a casualty of war: 290 were
killed, 493 were wounded, and everyone who survived the battle was taken prisoner. Survivors spent 44 months as prisoners of war, during which 260 of them died, almost as many as were killed in battle. Life in the PoW camps was brutal and miserable. Prisoners were starved, beaten, terrorized and used as slave labour in Japanese mines, dockyards, airfields and railways. Their camps were filthy and infested with lice, bedbugs and millions of flies. Living on as little as 600 calories a day, they became walking skeletons. Always hungry, they fell victim to diseases like dysentery,
THE GRIM TALLY Doomed members of the Royal Rifles of Canada pose with their mascot Gander; [opposite] HMCS Prince Robert crew liberated British and Canadian Hong Kong PoWs in 1945.
1,975 deployed 290 killed 493 wounded 1685 captured 260 died in PoW camps
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“I thought I had gone through hell, but [after the battle] found that I had only entered the gates. I was subjected to starvation, disease… [and] slow torture. At one point I was down to 108 pounds. I was just a bag of walking bones.” Signaller Frank E. Christensen
diphtheria and cholera, which arose from unsanitary conditions, and vitamin deficiency diseases like beriberi, pellagra and blindness. The mail was unreliable and slow. In May 1942 a few prisoners were allowed to write home—but most letters took more than a year to reach their families. Many letters, stored or destroyed by the Japanese, never arrived at all. Few parcels ever reached Hong Kong PoWs; their captors sold them on the black market or kept them for their own use. PoWs weren’t allowed to take much with them to the camps, and possessions were confiscated or stolen. “Things got pretty bad,” said Roland Sawatzky, curator of history at The Manitoba Museum, which contains some of the artifacts. “The few things they did have were very important to them and they kept them throughout their lives.” The museum has
camp toilet paper and a pair of underwear, patched so many times “it looks more like a rag than clothing,” Grenadier Lieut. Richard Maze treasured a handmade chess set and cigarette case. In Shamshuipo camp he experienced his share of sickness and brutality. Sick with dysentery, he once responded slowly to a roll call, and was pummeled in the face. But Maze was made of stern stuff: he died in Chilliwack, B.C., in 2010, aged 99. The objects, fashioned by fellow prisoners in handicraft competitions organized to keep up morale and stave off the boredom of captivity, are made from scrounged wood scraps. The two-centimetre tall chess pieces have thin pegs to secure them to the board, which is made of inlaid bamboo. Arthur Pifher, of the Royal Rifles, kept a Christmas card sent to him in 1943 by Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King. Though hundreds were sent out, only a few were delivered to prisoners. Pifher kept his for 69 years, and presented it in 2012 to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who donated it to the Canadian War Museum. L
Japanese captors filched or stored Red Cross parcels, so few made it to suffering PoWs.
Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King sent Christmas cards to PoWs. The few that made it through in Hong Kong were treasured. The Manitoba Museum/H9-37-547-a-ag; CWM/19720114-016; DND/LAC/PA-116791; PO Jack Hawes/DND/LAC/PA-145983; Canadian Red Cross; Bill Kent/CWM/20130015-001
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MY STORY
From the department of good cheer
The great beer caper Seventy-three years ago, veteran Bud Hannam, who would hit the D-Day beaches with the 23rd Canadian Field Ambulance, helped snitch a barrel in England. Its contents made a very Merry Christmas for some troops preparing for the invasion.
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y buddy Jack Staples and I were stationed outside Southampton. The camp was dry so we got a 24-hour pass to go get ourselves a bottle of beer for Christmas. In town we booked into a service club for the night and went to find a pub. It had two sections, separated by army blankets used for blackout curtains. We picked up our
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pints and walked through the curtains. Jack looked around and saw a 45-gallon barrel of light ale, propped up sitting on a stand, getting ready for a party the next day…and a side entrance. Jack looked at me and says, “I’m going to steal that keg of beer. Are you with me?” He went round the individual tables, leaned over and looked at the chaps sitting there. Jack had done quite a bit of boxing. He had a pug face, looked real mean, and he was a big fellow. He said, “I’m going to steal that keg. Are you going to say anything?” They took one look at that face and said, “No, Canada, we won’t say anything.” So he went over, up comes the barrel, and out the side door. We rolled that barrel and pushed it and shoved it and he carried it on his shoulders. Bobbies were patrolling on their bikes, so every once in a while we’d have to hide behind the hedgerows. We pushed that thing back to a churchyard near an ATS (Army Territorial Service, the women’s army branch) hostel. Jack heaves it up on a gravestone and out comes the cork and up come some glasses I had taken. Just beside the graveyard, there was a lane and ATS women were coming back from parties with their boyfriends. So Jack invited the men to drink. Those two glasses got passed around, people drinking that brew. Some of them were sick and some passed out. Finally, when nobody wanted any more, we corked it and hid the barrel in a ditch, covered with leaves, branches and snow. The next day when we got back to camp, everybody was complaining about how dry it was. So Jack says, “I know where there’s some beer. I’ve got half a barrel hidden.” So the transport sergeant went to his officer and explained the problem. The officer said, “I’ll go with you.” They loaded up a bunch of guysand offthey went. Some guys created a diversionoutside the hostel while the barrel wasloaded. We finished off the beer—there were 30 or 40 of us—and the officer said, “We’ve got to get rid of the evidence.” So they chopped up the barrel and burned it in the stove. I thought after that about the party at the pub and that there was no beer. But it sure made a lot of soldiers happy on Christmas Day. And that’s how I came to be part of The Great Beer Caper. L
Illustration by Janice Kun/i2iart.com
2016-09-30 3:28 PM
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To our brave, fearless and dedicated. We salute you.
Proudly honouring our Veterans.
Docket #:
rvices
BMOProof.indd 1
16-2077
Trim Size:
7.5" x 10.875"
Newspaper:
Legion Magazine
2016-09-30 11:00 AM
Thank you Your sacrifice will never be forgotten
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Every day Canadians have so much to be thankful for. Our lives are shaped by the peace and freedoms our Veterans have provided for us. Yet every day we lose more of these heroes that provided all of this for us. Our pledge to these men and women who gave so much and never asked for anything in return, is to never forget and to always remember. It is the least we can do. To all those who have served and continue to serve and protect us, thank you. You are our Heroes.
Journey s
1. 800. 265. 8174
jerryvandyke.com [emailprotected] TICO #2069734
VanDykeProof.indd 1
285 Fountain Street South, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada N3H 1J2
2016-09-29 11:43 AM
