Archive for March, 2010

From his trench barrack on the front line at Avion near Vimy Ridge, Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert Molson ripped a piece of paper from his notebook and began writing his eldest son. “When this war is finished, when the battle has been won,” he resolutely stated on July 25, 1917, “I will return to Canada to fight an enemy which is as tyrannical as the Kaiser.” Herbert Molson would not be alone, however, in his fight against his Canadian enemy—the prohibitionists. As they had in the trenches during the First World War, his brothers in arms would stand beside him. Together, they proved a potent force.

Delegates attending the 43rd dominion convention in Winnipeg this June will be meeting under the theme, “Birthplace of the Legion—Uniting the Nation.” The theme refers to the founding of The Royal Canadian Legion at the historic Marlborough Hotel in November 1925 which was officially declared an event of national historic significance last fall by Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada Jim Prentice. The designation, recommended by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, was announced Nov. 28 in Winnipeg by local MP and Minister of State for Democratic Reform Stephen Fletcher. “Founded on the twin pillars of loyalty and comradeship, [...]

a. The violence that accompanied the partition of India and the establishment of the independent states of India and Pakistan during the period 1947-49 led to the creation of the United Nations Military Observer Group India-Pakistan (UNMOGIP).  UNMOs are effectively unarmed peacekeepers. Canada ultimately contributed 27 observers to UNMOGIP. The UN. UN operations in Korea were considered part of a collective security effort, rather than as peacekeeping. c. Canada’s Secretary of State for External Affairs, Lester Pearson, proposed to the UN General Assembly the formation of a peacekeeping force to separate and maintain order between the British, French, and Israeli invaders and [...]

Like most people, Carrie, a former border customs officer in Vancouver, never thought much about the trillions of microscopic creatures inhabiting her body—until internal germ warfare first threatened—then saved—her life. A broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribed prior to dental surgery set the stage for an infection of Clostridium difficile, antibiotic-resistant bacteria whose toxins attack the intestines. C. difficile is one of the most common infections in hospitals and long-term care facilities; it spreads easily and is difficult to control. Nearly one in 10 hospitalized adults contract C. difficile—and up to 17.9 per cent of them die within 30 days. Even though Carrie, then 25, [...]

Royal Visit Headlined Year A little after 11 a.m. on November 11, 2009, His Royal Highness, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, placed a wreath at the National War Memorial in memory of all Canadians who have died in the military or merchant navy services of Canada. Dressed in his Canadian Forces uniform—he is Colonel-in-Chief of six regiments in Canada—he joined Michaëlle Jean, the Governor General of Canada and Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces, also resplendent in her green army uniform. They formed the vice-regal group, with the national Silver Cross mother, the Prime Minister of Canada, the speakers of both [...]

For 65 years his body lay in the Moro River Canadian War Cemetery near Ortona, Italy, beneath a grave marked “Known unto God.” Ortona and its surrounding area had seen some of the fiercest fighting endured by Canadians in the Second World War. The 1,614 other graves in the cemetery attest to that. But while the body still lies there, he is no longer unknown. In a simple Canadian Forces ceremony, delegates of a Veterans Affairs Canada pilgrimage to mark the 65th anniversary of the Italian Campaign and Canadian students from CCI Renaissance School in nearby Lanciano participated in the dedication of [...]

They may be fewer and a little less inclined to march, but the Canadian veterans who choose to return to the Netherlands this spring will be made as welcome as when they liberated the country 65 years ago. “The enthusiasm is in no way diminished and 2010 is a milestone year,” The Netherlands Ambassador to Canada, Wim Geerts, said in a visit to Legion House in Kanata, Ont., in January. Geerts said activities are planned on both sides of the Atlantic to mark the 65th anniversary of the liberation in May (Journal, January/February). While at Legion House, the ambassador presented a liberation [...]

Karen Bailey is passionate about drawing attention to the uncelebrated workers in countless jobs across this land. When she was chosen in 2007 as part of the Canadian Forces Artists Program (CFAP) she carried her vision into the hospital at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

We will highlight in this and coming Serving You columns information on the New Veterans Charter (NVC). Implemented in April 2006, the NVC offers job placement assistance, rehabilitation services, financial benefits, health services, education assistance and disability benefits to current or former members of the Canadian Forces (CF), including certain reservists. Financial Benefits include the following: • Earnings Loss (EL): a taxable monthly benefit that equals 75 per cent of gross pre-release salary, minus the sum of the monthly amounts of other income from prescribed sources. This can be provided on a temporary basis if the veteran is participating in an approved [...]

While the Vancouver 2010 Olympics may now be over, certainly not every story of those games has yet been told. And among the stories of triumph and tragedy there’s something a little smaller, a little closer to home, and that’s the story of how more than 50 Legionnaires were recruited through the branches to help run the torch across Canada. From coast to coast, in every province and territory of the county, Legionnaires signed up and got dressed up in the white Olympic outfit and took the torch through their communities. From Michel Albert of Iqaluit Branch in Nunavut to peacekeeping [...]