Archive for September, 2010

Previously, in the July/August Serving You, we discussed the Australian process of decision-making about disease causation, the Repatriation Medical Authority (RMA), an independent statutory authority which determines Statements of Principles (SOPs) for disease related to military service in Australian military forces. The United States, like Australia, has a similar formal process. Through the Office of Regulation Policy and Management, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) publishes proposed rulings and planned amendments to regulations concerning veterans’ benefits. This formal process consists in posting draft rulings with planned effective dates of implementation, seeking public input either online or in person. A not [...]

1 SEPTEMBER 1939 The Second World War begins as German forces sweep into Poland with the power of the “lightning war,” better known as the blitzkrieg. PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA Advance East of Arras. 2 SEPTEMBER 1918 In France, throughout September and October, the Canadian Corps breaks through the Hindenburg Line, pushing the German army back from east of Arras to Cambrai and beyond. 3 SEPTEMBER 1943 The Allies invade mainland Italy by crossing the Strait of Messina and landing near the town of Reggio di Calabria. 4 SEPTEMBER 1939 Pilot Officer S.R. Henderson, a Canadian serving in No. 206 Squadron, Royal Air Force, becomes the [...]

It was the perfect city in which to reaffirm a longstanding and honourable commitment to Canada’s veterans and their families. Located midway between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, Winnipeg is known as the “bull’s eye” of Canada, but for Legionnaires, the city—and one hotel in particular—holds an even more central meaning; it is the birthplace of their grassroots cause, one that has helped shape Canadian society and improve the lives of the people they care most about. Recognition of the Legion’s birthplace and the sanctioning of the Legion’s founding as an event of national historic significance were celebrated June 12, one [...]

Under a clear Prairie sky, with sunlight glinting off the Golden Boy statue atop the Manitoba Legislative Building, more than a thousand Legionnaires marched toward the cenotaph in the city recognized as the birthplace of the Canadian Legion. The men and women making up the sea of blue and grey were in Winnipeg for The Royal Canadian Legion’s 43rd dominion convention, June 12-16, and to celebrate the historic unity that has bettered the lives of veterans and their families.