IN THIS ISSUE Schedule Announced - rclbr50.ca 20080503.pdf · Congrats to all. Sunday, April 27, 2008 Alf Ash, PRO Section: Sports Veterans Affairs Minister Honours Veterans in Manitoba

Volume - 2 Edition 17 Week Ending May 3, 2008

IN THIS ISSUE· Summer Fun Shuffleboard Schedule Announced· Hilda Dietrich Memorial Shuffleboard Tournament · Mixed Pool Tournament Results· Veterans Affairs Minister Honours Veterans in Manitoba · Government of Canada Announces Additional Funding for Deer Lodge Centre Operational Stress Injury Clinic

· Soldier's legacy will light up birthplace· The elderly parking lot attendant wasn't in a good mood!· Branch 50 Bowling Team wins Provincial Championship.· Forever Friends; War veteran meets brother of fallen comrade· Home fire escape plans even more crucial for seniors, disabled· 65th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic · Guelph native provided aerial show· Just call this town Big Red· Yellow bows hail efforts of soldiers· MacIntyre promises prov. funding for legion· Veteran to mark anniversary· Off-duty officer's heroics earn bravery award· Vet was a survivor· Bio-Fuels· Afghanistan, Picture of the week,· Race honours heroes· A flight of honor· Thousands participate in March of Living· Battle of the Atlantic Parade and Ceremony· Giving a voice to the battle of atlantic: one veteran’s story of survival· Battle of Atlantic Sunday · Vandals spray paint Quebec legion with 'FLQ' · Government of Canada Denounces Vandalism at Quebec Branch of Royal Canadian Legion

· Lost soldier's father finds understanding in Kandahar· UK: Britain's oldest WW1 soldier and a brave young Marine join ranks to back Salute Our Heros Campaign

· Hitler plot survivor dies aged 90 · Battle Of Atlantic Statistics· Red Fridays set to roll along Highway of Heroes · Vimy Ridge: Students Remember Canada's finest hour· Hope on the horizon for seniors· Sunday parades salutes vets of North Atlantic· WHEN A SOLDIER COMES HOME .....

Summer Fun Shuffleboard Schedule Announced

The Summer Fun Shuffleboard will be starting up on May 21st and will continue through the summer according to the schedule listed below. All nights are Wednesdays, and start at 7:00pm, for a cost of $2.00 per player.

May 21stJune 4thJune 18thJuly 2ndJuly 16thJuly 30thAugust 13thAugust 27thSept 10th - (End) 'Hilda Dietrich Memorial"

Sunday, April 27, 2008Raymondé Hachey, Sports

Section: Sports

Hilda Dietrich Memorial Shuffleboard Tournament

The annual CIR Hilda Dietrich Memorial Shuffleboard Tournament was won by GINNY POLAI and PAT WYMAN.

Advancing to the LEGIONS PROVINCIAL TOURNAMENT are WAYNE MORGAN and VERN.

Page 1The Royal Canadian Legion, Fred Gies Branch 50 (Ontario)

Sunday, April 27, 2008Charles Neumann

Section: Sports

Mixed Pool Tournament Results

The final mixed pool tournament of the season was held yesterday with sixteen contestents competing.

Winners were,

1st Trevor German and Ginny Polai

2nd Steve Bradley and Bev Waters

3rd Mike Moser and Maggie Fleming

Congrats to all.

Sunday, April 27, 2008Alf Ash, PRO

Section: Sports

Veterans Affairs Minister Honours Veterans in Manitoba

Winnipeg - Five citizens of Manitoba were honoured on April 24th, 2008, for their commitment and devotion to Veterans. The Honourable Greg Thompson presented them with the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation at a ceremony today in Winnipeg.

"It is a privilege to be in the company of these distinguished individuals. They served their country with courage, and they continue to serve their communities and their comrades with the care and respect they so rightly deserve," said Minister Thompson. "With their service they have honoured us all."

Minister Thompson presented the Commendation to the following Canadians:

Albert Aldrich, Winnipeg, MB

Thomas Faulkner, Winnipeg, MBArmand Lavallee, Winnipeg, MBDonald Mackey, Winnipeg, MBJohn Reilly, Winnipeg, MB

The Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation consists of a bar, which can be worn below official decorations on a Veteran's blazer, a lapel pin for civilian wear, and a certificate.

It is presented to individuals who have contributed to the care and well-being of Veterans or to the remembrance of the contributions, sacrifices and achievements of Veterans. It is intended primarily for Veterans, but in some circumstances may also be awarded to non-Veterans. Nominations may be submitted by the public at any time and are reviewed annually by an Advisory Committee.

More information on the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation, including citations for the five recipients, can be found on the Veterans Affairs CanadaWeb site.

Sunday, April 27, 2008Veterans Affairs Canada

Section: Veterans

Government of Canada Announces Additional Funding for Deer Lodge Centre Operational Stress Injury Clinic

Winnipeg, April 24th 2008 - The Honourable Greg Thompson, Minister of Veterans Affairs, announced today more than $500,000 in additional annual funding for the Winnipeg Deer Lodge Centre Operational Stress Injury Clinic. This increases the clinic's budget to more than $1.18 million for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. As well, an additional $525,000 in funding was announced to expand and upgrade the clinic so that more clients can be helped.

"The Government of Canada is committed to those Canadians who have served this country, which is why we are investing further in the Deer Lodge Clinic. These additional funds will ensure local quality services can

be provided," said Minister Thompson. "Our government has been building our network of operational stress injury clinics across the country since 2006, to better serve these important Canadians living with mental health conditions, and their families."

Michael Kaan, Manager of the Deer Lodge Centre Operational Stress Injury Clinic was on hand for the announcement. "The additional funding is excellent news for members and Veterans of the Canadian Forces in Manitoba, Northern Ontario and Saskatchewan, and their families," said Mr. Kaan. "We are delighted with the Government of Canada's continued commitment to this program. The additional funds will allow us to increase our physical size, expand our clinical staffing resources and adopt critical new technologies that will enhance both the quality and the timeliness of services to those who defend Canada and to their families."

The clinic, funded by Veterans Affairs Canada and managed by Deer Lodge Centre, provides specialized services to members and Veterans of the Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who suffer from operational stress injuries resulting from their service. The clinic, which opened its doors in 2004, offers standardized assessment, treatment, prevention and support to Canadian Forces and RCMP members and Veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or other operational stress injuries including anxiety, depression, or addiction.

It is part of an integrated network of clinics with National Defence's Operational Trauma Stress and Support Centres-a key part of mental health services for Canadian Forces members and Veterans.

Educational programs as well as individual, group, and family counselling are also available. In 2006, Veterans Affairs Canada implemented a suite of programs and services through the New Veterans Charter to better address the needs of today's Veterans, including those with operational stress injuries.

Sunday, April 27, 2008Veterans Affairs Canada

Section: Veterans

Soldier's legacy will light up birthplace

Capt. Nichola Goddard was serving as a forward observer with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in

Afghanistan.Credit: Department of National Defence

When Tim and Sally Goddard left Papua New Guinea a quarter-century ago, it wasn't goodbye forever.

"We always planned to go back," says Tim of the South Pacific paradise where he met and fell in love with his Canadian wife. "To go fishing, lie on the beach, visit old friends -- you know, tourist stuff."

But life, as the old saying goes, got in the way. The nomadic couple, trained as educators, spent the next 25 years living and working across Canada, from the Black Lake Reserve in northern Saskatchewan to Baffin Island to Nova Scotia.

They raised three daughters, Nichola, Victoria and Kate, and a decade ago the couple settled in Calgary, where Tim is vice-provost (international) at the University of Calgary and Sally a teacher and curriculum writer.

"It's been quite an adventure," says Tim, a native of England, with his trademark beaming smile.

It is because of their eldest daughter, Nichola -- Canada's first female soldier killed in combat -- that the Goddards are returning in July to that country of about six million souls, and for a very different intention than originally planned.

Launching the three-year Captain Nichola Goddard Project through the Light Up the World Foundation and the University of Calgary, the Goddards will be part of a team

bringing solar powered LED lighting to medical aid posts in Papua New Guinea, Nichola's birthplace.

Once there, they will begin the task of lighting up the first of the country's 1,820 first aid posts, with the goal of lighting all posts by 2011.

"This feels right," says Sally of their mission. "We have this feeling with this project; we're moving forward."

On a recent day, I meet up with the Goddards at their northwest Calgary home to talk about life after Nichola, and about their new cause -- one that came about through the power of connection between people and communities.

The cosy, art-and-artifact-filled home is a buzz of activity as the Goddards prepare for the first annual Light Up Papua New Guinea: The Captain Nichola Goddard Project Gala Fundraiser, to be held Friday at Calgary's Red and White Club.

They haul out several donated artifacts sent from Papua New Guinea -- there are eight boxes of them, they say -- that will be raffled or auctioned off, and talk about the amazing prizes offered to them to help raise funds, from hot-air balloon trips to sports memorabilia.

"The way the community, both here and abroad, has come through for us has been amazing," says Sally. "They've donated so many great things to help us make this a success."

My meeting with the quick-witted, warm couple is a reunion of sorts, and a happy one.

Seventeen months ago, they granted me two days of interviews at a time when the pain of Nichola's death on May 17, 2006, her father's 53rd birthday, was still at times overwhelming.

Needless to say, the Goddards still mourn for their beloved eldest child, who would have turned 28 on the day of the fundraiser. Tears come easily, especially when they talk about Nichola's gap-toothed smile or her stubborn streak.

But they have worked hard to heal their broken hearts, with the help of family, friends and the greater

community.

At our first meeting they shared Nichola's letters home, in which she eloquently told of life in Afghanistan and her deep commitment to Canada's mission: "There is nowhere else that I'd rather be right now."

The soldier, praised by the men she led as strong and trustworthy, and as brilliant by her superiors, put a new face on today's Canadian soldier through the writings she left behind.

Rather than being singled out simply for being female -- something Nichola, say her parents, would have hated -- in death, the 16th Canadian soldier to perish in Afghanistan stood out for her compassion, humour and

insight.

The Goddards understand their daughter's gender played a major role in how a very private grief was played out on the national stage.

"It was a bit of a tsunami," recalls Sally of living under the media glare.

But even in their darkest hours, she says, they realized their instant celebrity brought degree of power and influence.

"We saw we could do something with that power, something positive," she says.

In the early days, that came in the form of several initiatives. Organizations such as the University of Calgary and the Canadian Islamic Conference stepped up to the plate with scholarships in her name.

The Goddards also commemorated Nichola through private ceremonies, like the sagali they held on the first anniversary of her death. The event included more than 200 family, friends and colleagues.

The ceremony originates from the Trobriand Islands of Papua New Guinea, where Nichola spent her first three years of life.

Marking special occasions such as the death of a loved one, the main feature of the sagali is the distributing of food to community members.

"We told people not to bring anything," says Sally with a laugh. "Do you know how hard it is for Westerners to show

Page 2 The Royal Canadian Legion, Fred Gies Branch 50 (Ontario)

WEBNEWS Volume - 2 Edition 17 Week Ending May 3, 2008

up at your home empty-handed?"

During this first year of mourning, the seeds for the Goddards' latest and most ambitious project were being sown.

Tim's friend, David Irvine-Halliday, the internationally renowned founder of Light Up the World Foundation, came for dinner a few months after Nichola's death.

Talk turned to the Goddards' former home in the Trobriand Islands, a place of 12,000 inhabitants where there is only 12 hours of light each day, where running water and electricity are still luxuries for many.

"It was just an idea at that time," says Tim. "We weren't quite ready to move forward yet."

That fall, the Goddards were invited to meet Papua New Guinea's president Michael Somare when he was at the United Nations in New York City, so he could give the couple a letter of condolence on behalf of the people of his country.

On that day, both Tim and Sally also received Independence Day medals for their contributions to the education of the people of Papua New Guinea.

Tim struck up a conversation afterwards with Somare's chief of staff, Leonard Louma.

"I told him we were thinking about coming back, to bring lights to the first aid posts in the Trobriand Islands," says Tim. "He came back to me a few minutes later, and said, 'Why not to all of Papua New Guinea?' "

Along with the lights project, while in Papua New Guinea the Goddards will mark the 25th anniversary of a high school they helped build, a celebration postponed on their behalf for two years.

"We were supposed to go in the summer of 2006, the actual anniversary, and Nichola was going to dog-sit for us," says Tim. "They waited for us to be ready to make the trip."

True to their roots, so to speak, this fall the Goddards will be on the move once again, when Tim assumes the role of dean of education at the University of Prince Edward Island.

But they say they will never forget

Calgary, and the community that rallied around them in their time of greatest need.

"We're now moving forward, honouring Nichola's life with this project, rather than focusing on her death," says Sally.

"Since Nichola died, we learned the true meaning of community."

And it's a sure bet this community won't soon forget the inspiring Goddards, a Canadian hero's parents who transformed tragedy into hope and light.

Sunday, April 27, 2008Valerie Fortney, Calgary Herald

Section: Afghanistan

The elderly parking lot attendant wasn't in a good mood!

Neither was Sam Bierstock. It was around 1 a.m., and Bierstock, a Delray Beach, Fla. , eye doctor, business consultant, corporate speaker and musician, was bone tired after appearing at an event.

He pulled up in his car, and the parking attendant began to speak. "I took two bullets for this country and look what I'm doing," he said bitterly.

At first, Bierstock didn't know what to say to the World War II veteran. But he rolled down his window and told the man, "Really, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you."

Then the old soldier began to cry.

"That really got to me," Bierstock says.

Cut to today.

Bierstock, 58, and John Melnick, 54, of Pompano Beach - a member of Bierstock's band, Dr. Sam and the Managed Care Band - have written a

song inspired by that old soldier in the airport parking lot. The mournful "Before You Go" does more than salute those who fought in WWII. It encourages people to go out of their way to thank the aging warriors before they die.

"If we had lost that particular war, our whole way of life would have been shot," says Bierstock, who plays harmonica. "The WW II soldiers are now dying at the rate of about 2,000 every day. I thought we needed to thank them."

The song is striking a chord. Within four days of Bierstock placing it on the Web, the song and accompanying photo essay have bounced around nine countries, producing tears and heartfelt thanks from veterans, their sons and daughters and grandchildren. "It made me cry," wrote one veteran's son. Another sent an e-mail saying that only after his father consumed several glasses of wine would he discuss " the unspeakable horrors" he and other soldiers had witnessed in places such as Anzio, Iwo Jima, Bataan and Omaha Beach. "I can never thank them enough," the son wrote. "Thank you for thinking about them."

Bierstock and Melnick thought about shipping it off to a professional singer, maybe a Lee Greenwood type, but because time was running out for so many veterans, they decided it was best to release it quickly, for free, on the Web. They've sent the song to Sen. John McCain and others in Washington. Already they have been invite d to p erform it in Houston for a Veterans Day tribute - this after just a few days on the Web. They hope every veteran in America gets a chance to hear it.

GOD BLESS every EVERY veteran...

and THANK you to those of you veterans who may receive this !

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO HEAR THE SONG AND SEE THE PICTURES:

Sunday, April 27, 2008Sam Bierstock

Section: Veterans


WEBNEWS Volume - 2 Edition 17Week Ending May 3, 2008

Branch 50 Bowling Team wins Provincial Championship.

Congratulations go out to a team from our branch for winning the trophy at the provincial bowling championship which was held in Tillsonberg Ontario.

score 1152: Gary Prosperscore 1326: Kevin Klein score 1221: Terry Churchill score 1312: David Phippsscore 1525: Mike Atkinsonscore 1134: Mitch Pape

Good job guys.Monday, April 28, 2008

Section: Sports

Forever Friends; War veteran meets brother of fallen comrade

Bob Shortreed sift though dozens of old photographs during a meeting at the home

of Second World War veteran Bill Ford. Shortreed met with Ford to learn more

about his brother, John, who served with Ford during the war.; Bob Shortreed, right,

sifts though dozens of old photographs with Second World War veteran, Bill Ford.

The meeting, held Saturday, gave Shortreed a unique opportunity to learn

more about his brother, John, who served with Ford in Italy during the war.

Credit: Mark Wanzel Photo

A high school history project was the catalyst for the meeting of a lifetime between a Second World War veteran and the younger brother of a fellow

soldier who died during the war.

"Ever since he was killed, he was always in my memory," Barrie's Bill Ford said of the friend - John Shortreed - he lost in battle.

Ford was only 19 when he enlisted and met Shortreed on a British troopship destined for Africa, and the two became fast friends after learning they were both from the Barrie area.

"We were both in Africa from late October to Christmas 1943. We landed in Naples on Christmas Day," Ford said. "We swam in the Mediterranean together."

On May 30, 1944, Shortreed, then 21, was killed while fighting in Italy after the tank he was in was shelled and exploded.

"I helped to bury him in a church yard," Ford said.

Ford was in a tank in the same battle. He visited the final resting place of his pal back in 2004.

More than 60 years after Shortreed's death, Clint Lovell, a teacher at Eastview Secondary School, headed up the Boys of Barrie project to better connect his students to the horror and honour that war represents.

Part of the research project was the creation of a poster featuring pictures of local soldiers who gave their lives in the war.

Bob Shortreed, from the Severn Township area, saw the poster on a local news program, and recognized the familiar face of his older brother, John.

This past weekend, Bob was finally introduced to Ford, possibly the only living link to his brother's last moments.

"(The meeting) was an emotional time for me. I don't know why I've thought about (John) so often over the years," Ford said.

He said he started looking for Shortreed's family when he came back to Barrie after the war, but was unsuccessful.

"My wife and I went to Elmvale to search for his parents," Ford said.

Later, he found out Shortreed had lived in Hillsdale, not Elmvale.

Ford said seeing Bob made him feel closer to John.

"Their smile is the same," Ford said.

He said the meeting may help bring him some closure after years of unrest.

The encounter is a milestone for the Boys of Barrie project.

"It shows that history isn't really the past. It's alive in all of us," Lovell said.

"(John Shortreed) gave his life for us 60 years ago, and now I can actually do something for him," Lovell added.

Information on The Boys of Barrie is available on the Veterans Affairs Canada website at www.vac-acc.gc.ca.

Monday, April 28, 2008Kelly McShane, The Barrie Examiner

Section: Veterans

Home fire escape plans even more crucial for seniors, disabled

If a fire starts in your home, your window of escape can be minutes, or worse, only seconds.

City of Kawartha Lakes Fire prevention officer Brian McCuaig says that along with working smoke alarms, having a home escape plan is vital for every resident.

But, it's even more so for those who are elderly, suffering from a disability or other infirmity, particularly if they live alone.

Researching news reports shows that so far this year, at least three people who were elderly or in a wheelchair have been among more than 30 fire fatalities in Ontario this year. A wheelchair-bound Toronto man died in his home in February, and an elderly



man died in a three-alarm blaze in a seniors' apartment building in Toronto in January.

Mr. McCuaig gave some examples of factors elderly or disabled people need to consider in case of a fire.

"Do you have a housecoat and slippers nearby? Do you use a walker? Do you have a cleared escape route? These are the things that need to be part of your plan," he said. "Especially if you are elderly, disabled or have some infirmity."

Mr. McCuaig said it's impossible to say exactly how much time a person has to escape a house fire, because there are so many factors involved.

"It depends where the fire starts, how quickly it spreads; where it is," he said. "But, even with smoke alarms, the time is usually only minutes; sometimes seconds, because fires are so unpredictable. That's why the smoke alarms and home escape plans are so important."

He advised homeowners to consider the interconnected smoke alarm system, which is also available as a wireless option.

"All the smoke alarms in your house would go off, not just the one where the fire is," he said. "If you're sleeping on the second floor and the fire started in the basement, the one on your floor would also go off. It gives you just that much more time to get out."

Mr. McCuaig pointed out that age, disability or an infirmity can have a profound effect on how to devise a home escape plan, because such problems can be a serious impediment to leaving a burning house quickly."

"What if you live in an old house where the window [frames] are painted and they stick?" he asked. "Could you get the window open? What if you have a large dresser in front of it? Is the dresser in the way of your escape, or would you use it to climb up on to get out the window?"What if the fire is in your hydro panel? Could you find your way out of the house in the dark?"

His advice, for all homeowners is to plan two ways out of every room, and for those who, for health reasons

cannot move as quickly, to make sure nothing gets in the way of getting out.

For more information on a home escape plan, contact your local fire prevention officers.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008Mary Riley, My Kawartha.Com

Section: Seniors

65th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic

The Battle of the Atlantic was Canada's longest military engagement of the Second World War, lasting from September 1939 to May 1945. This battle was bravely fought by the men and women of the Canadian Merchant Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force. More than 4,600 courageous service men and women lost their lives at sea.

May 1943 marked the turning point for the Allies in the Battle of the Atlantic. On May 3 and 4, Canada will mark the 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. Ceremonies will be held in Halifax, at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, and other key events will take place in various locations across Canada.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008Veterans Affairs Canada

Section: Veterans

Guelph native provided aerial show

Credit: Guelph Mercury

Graham Morgan was pilot of CF-18.

GUELPH: Captain Graham Morgan hardly snuck back into his hometown on the weekend.

The Guelph native was at the control stick of that CF-18 Hornet fighter jet that roared over the Royal City a couple of times Sunday afternoon before setting down at the Waterloo International Airport in Breslau.

"It was a total fluke actually," Morgan's sister Jackie said yesterday. "He just happened to be in the area."

Jackie Morgan contacted the Mercury to shed more light on the appearance of the high-tech jet that had Guelphites craning their necks skyward Sunday.

The family gathered in the backyard of the family home on Balmoral Drive to watch Morgan fly over a couple of times and then head off to Breslau to pick the captain up.

"We were laughing," Jackie Morgan said. "My mom told him, 'Don't go too fast because it's so noisy.' He told us he went as slow as he could to keep the plane in the air."

Morgan, 27, has been a Canadian Air



Force pilot for four years and is currently stationed in Bagotville, Que. He was at an air show in Louisiana this weekend, where the CF-18 was part of a static, on-ground display.

Brian Koshul, a spokesperson for the 1 Canadian Air Division, said the stop in Breslau was a scheduled "pilot rest" session.

Morgan departed with a roar about 9 a.m. Monday

Tuesday, April 29, 2008Scott Tracey , Guelph Mercury

Section: Miscellaneous

Just call this town Big Red

David Mitchell, a Bridgewater town councillor, is hoping to be immersed in a

sea of red shirts on May 23 when his town hosts a Red Rally in support of Canadian

Forces members.

Credit: Renee Stevens

BRIDGEWATER — David Mitchell is hoping that his town will be the talk of the country on May 23, when people don their red shirts to host what could be the biggest Red Rally that Canada has ever seen.

"My goal is for this to be the top news story coast to coast that day," the town councillor said Saturday of the event in support of Canadian Forces members serving in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

"It would be really nice to broadcast some good news here by showing how much support the troops have for what they are doing, instead of just broadcasting funerals."

The inspiration for the event, which Jeff Hutcheson of CTV News will host at the South Shore Exhibition Grounds, came last May, when Mr. Mitchell and Mayor Carroll Publicover heard Rick Hillier speak at a conference.

Mr. Mitchell said they were both so moved by what the outgoing chief of defence staff said that they decided to invite him to Bridgewater.

"It elevated this event so much to have him come because his message is something you don’t forget, and I’m so glad to be able to share that," he said. "We want this to be the biggest rally in support of the troops, but we are also hoping that it will be different from the others that have been held, too."

Mr. Mitchell said planning is underway but they already have 1,000 people confirmed for the parade, which will include a colour party of 120. The local Royal Canadian Legion is involved as well.

Members decided this weekend they would break tradition for that one day and step aside to allow uniformed soldiers to lead them in the parade.

Prime Minister Steven Harper is not able to attend, due to a prior commitment, but Mr. Mitchell said Defence Minister Peter MacKay will be there, along with MPs from across the country.

The organizing committee has also received numerous letters of support, including one from Wayne Gretzky and another from Prince Harry’s office.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008RENEE STEVENS. The Chronicle Herald


Yellow bows hail efforts of soldiers

Joined by Loren Brais, back left, and Wayne Donnelly, Wendy White, of

Wiener's Floral Designs, affixes a yellow ribbon to a sign at Lord Elgin Branch 41, Royal Canadian Legion, on John Street/

Veterans Way. Brais is sports officer at the branch, Donnelly, its president.

Credit: T-J photo

Daffodils are Wendy White’s favourite

flower.“Since I was little, I’ve always loved daffodils,” says the 30-year floral designer.

“They’re just bright and happy.”

But it’s another yellow that White is planting these days around St. Thomas.

The owner of Wiener’s Floral Designs, St. George Street, White has built and given two dozen yellow bows to Lord Elgin Branch 41, Royal Canadian Legion, on John Street/Veterans Way as a show of support for Canadian troops.

“My father fought in the Second World War,” she says.

“If we don’t support our troops, everything they have done in the past is in vain.”

In fact, it’s so important to White that she has refused payment from customers who have asked her for the important symbol -- just as she refused money from the Legion.

“I couldn’t charge for them,” White says.

Instead, she asks that a donation be made in support of soldiers and their families.

“I think its a great job they are doing.”

White’s gesture is appreciated by Wayne Donnelly, Branch 41 president.

“It’s terrific,” he says.

When he sees the growing show of yellow around town, including yellow banners lining Talbot Street, Loren Brais, Legion sports officer, feels the emotion of the moment.

“At city hall, when I see the big banner, that really gets to me!”White says she’s prepared to make more bows for city residents -- no matter how many ask.

“But if I run out of ribbon, they’ll just have to wait until I get more!”

Wednesday, April 30, 2008St -ThomasTimes-Journal Staff




MacIntyre promises prov. funding for legion

Erwin Ellis, president of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 20, in Sussex,

accepts a giant cheque from Sussex Rotary president Donna Gilchrist. The

Rotary hosted a fundraising dinner April 17 where more than $9,000 was raised for the legion as it rebuilds after a fire last winter.

Roly MacIntyre, formerly the minister responsible for the Regional Development

Corporation, indicated the Regional Development Corporation could kick in another $200,000. Guest speaker Mark Fracchia of PotashCorp briefed the 180

guests about plans for its new potash mine in Penobsquis.

Credit: MacKenzie / KCR

SUSSEX- He may have turned in his cabinet minister wings in January, but Roly MacIntyre was playing funding fairy by delivering glad tidings of cash here in April.

A figure of $200,000 in potential funding for the Sussex legion has been circulating in media reports but has not yet been verified by the provincial government.

At an April 16 gala dinner hosted by the Sussex Rotary Club to raise funds for the legion's rebuilding efforts, MacIntyre told the 180 guests he'd likely have some funds for the legion pending official government approval.

"I'm here to make a non-announcement," he joked, promising the approval would come through soon.

"We are going to approve the project. The paperwork has to be finalized."

Nothing had been finalized a week later, April 23, at the Regional Development Corporation and a spokesperson for the Crown corporation admitted surprise at reading of MacIntyre's "non-announcement" in the paper that morning.

"We have an application and it's under

review," RDC spokesperson Bruce MacFarlane confirmed Thursday.

Legion president Ervin Ellis was also surprised to learn the cat was out of the bag about the rumoured $200,000, a figure which seemed a little firmer but not yet solid when he chatted with MacIntyre at the Rotary dinner before the former cabinet minister addressed the crowd.

MacIntyre resigned Jan. 17 as minister responsible for the Regional Development Corporation, minister of Supply and Services and minister responsible for southern New Brunswick to spend more time in his Saint John East constituency.

He got involved in Sussex legion fundraising efforts after legion member and Rotarian Harley Geldart called him to see what could be done for the legion.

"I told him I'm not the minister anymore, but he said no, you're the man!" MacIntyre told guests at the dinner.

Last week, MacIntyre said he'd spoken with RDC staff before making his "non-announcement" in Sussex.

"I never would have driven down there if I wasn't sure," he said. "We enthusiastically support the [legion] project. They have to show us their figures and plans, but I went to the dinner to encourage the legion," he explained.

"Once it's approved we'll do it formally. The important thing here is that the money is available."

At the Rotary dinner, Ellis accepted a $9,000 cheque from the local Rotary on behalf of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 20. The branch is rebuilding its Magnolia Avenue building, heavily damaged by a Dec. 17 fire, and needs extra funds for expenses not covered by insurance.

While he didn't have big cheque to match, MacIntyre, a Liberal MLA, did present a $300 donation at the Rotary dinner on behalf of the Kings East Liberal Association, remarking he wished he had a $200,000 cheque to present as well.

Even with insurance money, Ellis said Thursday, it'll take at least $300,000 to cover the cost of replacing contents

and starting up again at the rebuilt Magnolia Avenue facility this fall, along with the debt the branch is incurring by the uninsured loss of rental income this spring and summer.

The Rotary donation and other fundraisers in the community and around the province will help offset those expenses, but the branch is waiting for more information about the RDC funding and whether it comes with any "strings attached."

MacIntyre said it could take about a month before the funding application is processed, approved and delivered. Meanwhile the legion will carry on with plans already in progress. Upcoming legion fundraisers include a May 30 Knights of Columbus dinner and a June 7 Ride for Dads motorcycle rally, both in Sussex.

In the rally, members of the Canadian Army Veterans Motorcycle Unit will ride in from Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John, with about 350 motorcyles converging on Sussex by early afternoon. The Ride for Dads rally raises funds for prostrate cancer research. While in Sussex, the CMVMU will host a lobster and steak dinner with live music, open to the public, and will split the proceeds with the Sussex legion.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008Charlene MacKenzie, Kings County Record

Section: RCL

Veteran to mark anniversary

Merchant Navy veteran Alex White will attend anniversary celebrations of the

Battle of the Atlantic.Credit: Roy Antal, Leader-Post

Unlike most Reginans, Alex White can describe the sound of a sinking submarine.

"That's the worst sound I've ever heard in my life ... It's like a screeching and a grinding, and you know that 80



people or so are going (to the bottom)," the 85-year-old Merchant Navy veteran said Tuesday.

White heads to Halifax this week as part of a delegation of Canadian veterans chosen to attend a celebration of the 65th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic on Saturday.

The Craik native signed up for the war after becoming a certified radio operator, and was 19 when he headed out to sea in 1943.

"I felt that my training was probably best as an operator on a ship so that's why I went," he explained.

White said that as a radio officer, there was always something to listen for, including signals from ships that had been hit as well as those warning of an incoming attack.

White served aboard the merchant vessel SS Green Gables Park for three years during the Second World War.

"It was called a 10,000-ton freighter. By most people it was called a dirty old coal burner," laughed White.

Life aboard a merchant vessel travelling the Atlantic was no cakewalk. German U-boats were constantly stalking the waters for a chance to torpedo the ships that were bringing much-needed food and war supplies to the Allies. White's ship made it through the war, although there were some close calls.

"We'd left Vancouver, through the Panama (Canal) and up. Then had the Boston-New York-Halifax run, and (were) heading over to the UK. And in that time we were on five different convoys and each time we had 'coffin corner,' " White said.

He explained that meant his ship was in a corner position of the 10-mile wide, rectangular formation in which the vessels travelled. Ships in this position were easy prey for the U-boats patrolling below the surface.

"They signalled us to move up because they were wanting us to protect some of the ships there. We were interested with who got our place, so we were watching him ... and he got torpedoed," White explained.

It was soon after this that White learned what a sinking submarine sounds like.

"I was in my cabin and I ran out on deck because I thought we'd hit something, or something had hit us. I didn't know what it was," he recalled.

The ship next to the SS Green Gables Park radioed that it had hit a submerged object and White immediately knew what it was.

"The only submerged objects in the Atlantic were (enemy) submarines," White stated.

"The next thing you heard was the submarine going down and the breaking up of the metal."

In early 1944 his ship took a cargo of war materials to an American submarine base in Brisbane, Australia. There it became part of the United States Navy.

"To be 100-per-cent honest I have no idea, and none of us did ... but that's wartime," noted White.

In 2006 White and his crewmates finally received certificates signed many years ago by U.S. President Harry Truman, along with two medals in recognition of their service.

After the war White answered an ad in the Leader-Post for a broadcast engineer, and worked with CKCK for 44 years, first in radio and then later as one of its first television employees.

White said he was very honoured and humbled to be chosen for Saturday's ceremony and is looking forward to his trip to Halifax.

"I am very proud just to be a Canadian, and of having served," he said.

"I don't think the rest of Canada realizes the war effort that Canada put forth ... It was unbelievable."

Wednesday, April 30, 2008Casey MacLeod, Leader-Post

Section: Veterans

Off-duty officer's heroics earn bravery award

RCMP bestow highest honours for courage

With cars exploding and a firestorm erupting all around him, Paul Phee ran inside a house to rescue a sleeping Airdrie couple as their home was catching fire in a burning subdivision.

Burning pieces of wood were raining down on him. Flames roared overhead. Undeterred, Phee raced through a thick veil of smoke to a home directly in the fire's path.

There is no doubt the off-duty Calgary police sergeant saved lives on Aug. 30, 2005.

Today, Phee is being honoured with a national award for bravery.

It all started after a long nightshift as Phee was driving north on Deerfoot Trail on his way home at 1 a.m.

He saw orange flames shooting into the sky from Airdrie.

Phee, a 25-year veteran, raced to the scene and discovered a burning townhouse subdivision in the grips of a full-on fire.

He was among the first to respond to the massive fire, arriving just ahead of Airdrie's RCMP and firefighters.

The former K9 officer started kicking in doors as a few residents of Bayside Pointe awoke and started fleeing their burning homes.

High winds had arched flames from units under construction over the road to homes where families were sleeping.

"It was unbelievable," he told the Herald in the days after the fire.

Fire transformed an Airdrie subdivision into a war zone. Parked cars were in



flames and began exploding.

"It was raining fire," said Airdrie Const. Tim Dunlap, who joined Phee to alert residents.

When the officers spied a townhouse in the fire's hellish path, they made a split-second decision to charge it.

The young couple inside was sound asleep until they heard Phee's shouts and breaking glass.

While Dunlap smashed the back door window open, Phee ran inside and ushered the pair to safety.

As many as 80 people were running in the streets in their pyjamas, while others moved cars and propane barbecues out of harm's way.

Phee broke down doors using a tire iron and the heel of his boot to lead people to safety.

Even when the scorching heat forced others to retreat to safety, Phee didn't give up.

In all, 32 townhouses were destroyed, causing $10 million worth of damage.

Everyone escaped safely.

Today, Phee will receive an award for bravery from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at a ceremony in Hobbema.

Const. Dunlap, 40, received a bravery award last summer.

The commissioner's commendation for bravery is the highest award bestowed by the RCMP.

Three Hobbema Mounties who were shot at by a gunman listening to them over a police scanner are also award recipients this year.

When called July 21, 2006, about shots being fired on the Samson reserve, police arrived only to be fired on themselves.

The three constables spread out and took cover. However, each time they reported their location to a supervisor on their portable radios, shots came their way.

The gunman had a police radio scanner and was listening to them.

He fired up to 40 rounds from a .22-calibre rifle at them.

The shooter was arrested at the

scene.

Hobbema is 75 kilometres north of Red Deer.

Staff Sgt. Sandy White is being recognized for outstanding service for leading the rescue of two Canadians and one foreign hostage from an insurgent group in Baghdad, Iraq, in March 2006.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald

Section: Veterans

Vet was a survivor

Credit: MATHEW McCARTHY, RECORD STAFF

Carl Rudyk of Cambridge

Born: May 3, 1916 in Edmonton

Died: Jan. 4, 2008 of age-related illness

Carl Rudyk was an example of what the human spirit can endure in order to survive.

It was March 1944, the height of the Second World War, when the 27-year-old Edmontonian was shot down while navigating a Lancaster bomber on its way back to England after a raid. His leg badly injured, Carl got out of the burning plane through an escape hatch. Immediately knocked unconscious by the powerful wind, his chute somehow safely opened, providing a safe descent. In a 2007 Record story, Carl told a reporter how he regained consciousness to find himself surrounded by farmers staring

at the injured Canadian who had plummeted into the heart of Nazi Germany.

Transported to hospital, Carl received superb care though he lost his right leg. He was eventually sent to Stalag Luft III, the camp made famous in the 1963 movie The Great Escape. As the story goes, more than 200 PoWs planned an escape through tunnels, though only 76 succeeded before they were discovered. All but three were recaptured and of those, 50 were executed.

Ironically, the escape was hindered because British bombers were conducting an air raid over Berlin at the same time. The Germans reacted with a widespread blackout and consequently, the escape tunnel went black. Carl happened to be participating in that air raid, unknowingly preventing more prisoners from escaping.

The youngest of six kids, Carl was raised by Ukrainian immigrant parents who had come to Western Canada for the promise of peace and prosperity. The prison camp was so far from this life in Canada, and his mind often wandered back to Edmonton, to his wife Louise and little son Evan. Unfortunately, Louise had received two telegrams from the air force. The first said her husband was missing, the second reported him dead. The Red Cross later discovered Carl in a prisoner of war camp.

With a leg amputated above the knee, the Germans didn't consider Carl an escape threat, a fact he learned to use to his advantage. During the daily roll call, Carl stayed in the barracks where he would place a pack of cigarettes (the bribe) along with burnt-out tubes from elicit radios on a window sill. Moments later, a guard would come along, scoop up the cigarettes and leave behind replacement tubes. The radios were the prisoners' only link to the outside. It was a dangerous game Carl played and it could have resulted in execution.

Freedom finally came on June 6, 1944, D-Day as Allied forces liberated Europe. Carl was among a group shipped out in a prisoner exchange. Oddly, a film crew in New York happened to be shooting a war



newsreel of the arrival of repatriated troops and it was in an Edmonton movie theatre an excited Louise recognized her husband aboard that ship.

After everything he'd experienced Carl told The Record, "I'm just the luckiest guy in the world. There's no doubt about it."

After the war, Carl took a job with Revenue Canada, a job he despised but which allowed him to raise a family which included two more children, Anita and Pat.

Anita recalls how happy her parents were living in the Edmonton enclave of other war veterans, where her father would cook a big breakfast for the entire neighbourhood Christmas mornings. It was a good life, with lots of parties, but in 1966 Carl was promoted and transferred to Hamilton. The family moved to Burlington. Carl still disliked his job, particularly dealing with office politics. Anita's husband Larry recalled his father-in-law was kind and never said a negative word about anybody. He had also cared for his ailing wife until she died in 1986.

Carl was a superb golfer, despite wearing a prosthetic leg. He also had a keen mind, reading copious books and newspapers. Anita said "he liked to know what was going on in the world." But as his health failed Carl finally agreed to give up his independence and move to Cambridge, staying with Anita for a short time. "He never wanted to be a burden to anybody," she said

Wednesday, April 30, 2008Valerie Hill, The Waterloo Regional Record

Section: Veterans

Bio-Fuels

Credit: The Waterloo Regional Record

The cartoon above was shown on

April 30th in The Waterloo Regional Record.

It hits the nail squarely on the head.

I am totally disturbed when I hear people, organizations and politicians hail bio-fuel as the answer to a perceived need to replace our dependency on fossil fuels. Despite the fact that the latter should be a high-priority mandate, the answer does not lie in turning over millions of hectares of land that is currently used to produce food.

History has shown, over and over again, that nations have starved, often to the toll of countless lives, while corporate greed forced farmers to turn their land over to producing cash crops such as cotton, tobacco, and even opiates. Now we have corporations and governments enticing farmers worldwide to grow crops solely for purchase to produce something that Mr and Mrs Average can burn in their fuel guzzling vehicle.

The governments of the world need to sit up and listen. The answer to our dependence on fossil fuels is not to replace them with bio-fuels, but to replace the need we have generated for all of us to drive tens of miles a day in a personal vehicle.

Further, in a world where half the population has little to nothing, who can blame them for resenting us as we sit in luxury and complain about the cost of gasoline, which is cheaper than water. Why are we so surprised that groups pick up arms to fight off the corporate giant and world trade organizations. A future where we rely on bio-fuels can only result in more terrorism and war.

I don’t know about you, but if I have to choose between not being able to drive my stereo on wheels, and having food on my plate and having some child in Africa or even Afghanistan not starve to death and the world be a more stable place, I choose the latter.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008Webmaster


Afghanistan, Picture of the week,

Credit: Cpl Simon Duchesne, KPRT Photographer, DND

Kandahar, AfghanistanCapt Fraser Clark (right) of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team (KPRT), with Afghan kids in Kandahar city. Capt Fraser patrolled with Canadian Soldiers, Canadian and Afghan Policemen to see the needs and living conditions of Kandahar residents.

The KPRT consists of Canadian Forces members, a civilian police contingent led by the RCMP, Correctional Services Canada, representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Canadian International Development Agency. The KPRT conducts coordinated interdepartmental operations to promote good governance, assists the Government of Afghanistan in extending its authority in the province of Kandahar, and facilitates the development of a stable, secure and self-sustaining environment for the people of Afghanistan.

Thursday, May 01, 2008DND




Race honours heroes

Cpl. Nathan Hornburg, seen here in the last photograph taken of him before he left

for Afghanistan, died tragically while serving his country last fall. To honour his

memory and raise money for military families, the Running Room and the Military Family Resource Centre are

hosting the Loops for Troops Run June 15 at the Currie Barracks in southwest

Calgary starting at 9 a.m.Credit: Linda Loree

CALGARY: Since his untimely death while serving his country in Afghanistan last fall, numerous charity events have sprung up in honour of Cpl. Nathan Hornburg.

The latest event is the Loops for Troops Run at the Currie Barracks in southwest Calgary on June 15 starting at 9 a.m.

The event features a one-and-a-half-kilometre (military mile) walk, a five-kilometre run/walk and a 10-kilometre race.

The event is sponsored by the Running Room and the Canadian Forces with proceeds going to the Military Family Resource Centre to help families who have lost loved ones in the military.

Part of the money raised will also go toward the Peace Keepers’ Wall of Honour in Calgary.

“They thought they’d have enough room there for 50 years, but they’re already running out,” said Linda Loree, Cpl. Hornburg’s mother.

The event was started by friends of Cpl. Hornburg who work at the Running Room, Loree said.

“They talked to the Running Room and they were really in favour of the idea,” Loree said, adding that the military were involved soon after.

There are also plans to take the event nation-wide next year, with each area organizing the event around local

fallen soldiers.

Loops for Troops is the latest in a growling list of charities started in memory of Cpl. Hornburg.

In Nanton, a group of people has gotten together to build the Cpl. Nathan Hornburg Memorial Skateboard Park.

And at Mount Royal College, where Cpl. Hornburg had previously studied, family and friends have come together to create the Cpl. Nathan Hornburg Memorial Scholarship Endowment to honour his memory.

The scholarship will be awarded to Faculty of Arts students in their second year or later and will be based on academic proficiency, financial need, and community leadership and involvement in sports and fitness.“I think that’s wonderful to make something positive out of this (and) to raise awareness for military families,” Loree said, commenting on the support she’s experienced since her son’s death. “I think that’s pretty wonderful.”

To participate in the Loops for Troops Run, register online at www.runningroom.com or at any Running Room location, or at the Military Family Resource Centre.

Registration is $40 from Thursday to June 1 and $45 from June 2–15.Children 16 years and under can register for $10; children 10 and under can enter for free.

There will be no race-day registration. Thursday, May 01, 2008

Aaron Carr, Editor, Nanton NewsSection: Veterans

A flight of honor

World War II veterans Anna (left) and Joseph Walker still have the dogtags they wore during their years in the service. The Grand Forks couple will leave next week

on an Honor Flight out of Fargo to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington.

Credit: John Stennes, Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS, USA: Grasping black and white wartime photos and newspaper clippings, World War II veteran Anna Walker fondly remembered times of dancing with Canadian soldiers into the wee hours of the morning.

“When we would say goodbye, it was ‘I don’t imagine I’ll see you again,’ and that was quite true,” she said.

But not all of Anna’s memories are happy ones. She also remembers the bloodied, broken, sometimes frozen, bodies of soldiers arriving in droves to the hospital where she worked as a nurse.

She also remembered days when planes flew overhead, blimps blotted the sky and “buzz bombs” fell from the sky.

The petite and sprightly 87-year-old and her husband, Joe, 87, a WWII veteran of the U.S. Army Transportation Corps, will get a chance to share those memories with other veterans when the two board a flight to Washington, D.C., Friday morning.

The Honor Flight program gives WWII veterans an all expenses paid tour of the capital’s national memorial



monuments. This year will be the last one sponsored by WDAY. Grand Forks volunteers started their sponsorship Wednesday.

Reliving memories

After the war, when Anna, a Wadena, Minn., native, was working at the veteran’s hospital in Fargo, she met Joe, a Fargo native.

The Walkers, who now live in Grand Forks, missed the first three flights because of illness.

This time, Anna says, “I will go if I have to crawl.” She will be looking for her name on the Women’s Memorial, she said.

Both she and Joe still have their dog tags and the “ruptured duck” pins that honorably discharged veterans received, sealed in Ziplocked baggies. Attached to Anna’s dog tags is a small silver cross she got at the start of her service. Joe still has faded, slightly worn paper German money.

Anna couldn’t contain her excitement for the upcoming trip. She gasped with delight when she learned there may be 1940s-era music played at the banquet Friday night.

“The Air Force had a song, ‘We are three little lambs that lost our way, baa-baa-baa,’ I can’t remember the rest, but oh, they could sing,” she said. Call for WWII vets.

The new Honor Flight sponsor, Northern Valley Honor Flight, says it has already has about 40 North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota veterans on a national list to participate.

There are more than 100 veterans in the area who qualify, according to Grand Forks County Veterans Services Officer Barb Zavala.

Veterans must apply, she said, but only because there will be a health evaluation to make sure they can manage the rigorous travel involved with the trip. “We encourage anyone to apply. It would be a wonderful thing to get everybody there.”

If you know a WWII veteran who may be interested in an Honor Flight, you can pick up applications at the veterans office in the Grand Forks County Office Building or online at

www.nvhonorflight.com.

“Veterans are so excited to go,” Zavala said. “It’s one thing to go with family. It’s another thing to go with someone who understands it. Somebody from the same time, who maybe understands the things they went through.”

Thursday, May 01, 2008Susanne Nadeau, Grand Forks Herald

Section: Veterans

Thousands participate in March of Living

March of Living sets off from Auschwitz Photo

Credit: AP

Over 11,000 youths from 52 countries take part in journey from Auschwitz to Birkenau on event's 20th anniversary. IDF chief of staff: Take seriously world leaders calling for destruction of Israel.

In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, thousands of youths from 52 different countries worldwide took part in the 20-year old March of the Living, a journey from the concentration camps of Auschwitz to Birkenau. The group stood under the famous sign reading 'Work will set you free', and then set off.

March of the Living Chairman Dr. Shmuel Rosenman told Ynet, "I have been March of the Living chairman for 20 years. The first march was in 1988, and since then I have felt that the desire to take part in the march is constantly rising.

"This year we even had to turn participants away, because 11 to 12 thousand people arrived, among them 3,500 who are not Jewish. There is an amazing feeling here. People have even come from Cuba and Peru."

He added that "The training of the next

generation's witnesses (of the Holocaust) is important for two reasons: To preserve the memory of the Holocaust, not only among the Jewish people, and to prevent it from being denied by our enemies.

"The Jewish and non-Jewish people in Poland today will become witnesses for the Holocaust victims and survivors, and they will not allow history to be covered over. The thousands of non-Jewish youths from Morocco, Turkey, Panama, Cuba, China, Japan, Canada, and the US are the answer to the president of Iran, who is the strongest Holocaust denier alive today."

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi spoke at a ceremony ending the march, and said: "We've learned our lesson, to take seriously the threats made by world leaders calling for the destruction of Israel. We will continue to fight, out of a sense of responsibility to exist as a people in this country. We will not be deterred by any danger."

On a mission

The largest march took place in 2005. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon participated in the march along with 20,000 other people. This year's march is the second-largest.

"It feels like a mission," Rosenman said. "Each of the participants is passing the torch along to the next generation." He added that 5,500 non-Israeli youths plan to arrive in Israel after the march in order to participate in the Remembrance Day for the Fallen of Israel's Wars.

Students from Buenos Aires, Argentina also took part in the march. Brenda Gozowski, a 17-year old from the city said, "Since my visit in the seventh grade, when I was doing a project about the Holocaust, I began to be interested in it. I don't have any close family members who perished in the Holocaust because they left Europe during the period between the wars, but I have always been interested in the subject.

"Coming here was important to me, as a Jew and as a person. I march proudly beside thousands of my fellow Jews."

Thursday, May 01, 2008Page 12 The Royal Canadian Legion, Fred Gies Branch 50 (Ontario)


Tal Rabinowski, ynet newsSection: Veterans

Battle of the Atlantic Parade and Ceremony

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 1, 2008) - Canadians will attend ceremonies across the country Sunday, May 4 to mark the sacrifices made by the many who fought on their behalf in the epic Second World War Battle of the Atlantic.

A ceremony at the National War Memorial will include Parliamentary Secretary of National Defence Laurie Hawn, Vice-Admiral Drew Robertson, Chief of the Maritime Staff, veterans, serving members of the Canadian Forces, and cadets, among other guests.

Minister of National Defence and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, will attend a service at Bethel Presbyterian Church in Pictou Landing, Nova Scotia, and lay a wreath commemorating the battle.

"During the darkest days of the Second World War, thousands of Canadian men and women in the Royal Canadian Navy, the Merchant Navy, and the Royal Canadian Air Force faced perilous conditions that many of us can't even imagine. We will not forget their courageous contributions" said Minister MacKay.

In Ottawa, there will be a parade march from the Government Conference Centre to the War Memorial for a remembrance at 10:25 a.m., followed by reception for parade participants at the Government Conference Centre beginning at 12:00 pm.The Battle of the Atlantic, the fight for supremacy of the North Atlantic, was waged from 1939 until 1945 and pitted Allied naval and air forces against German U-boats, whose primary targets were the convoys of merchant ships carrying vital life-sustaining cargo from North America to Europe.

Much of the burden of fighting the Battle of the Atlantic fell to the Royal

Canadian Navy (RCN). At the outbreak of war, the RCN was comprised of only six destroyers and a handful of smaller vessels. By the end of the war, the RCN was the third largest navy in the world.

The Battle of the Atlantic ended with V-E Day on May 8, 1945.

Thursday, May 01, 2008DND

Section: Veterans

Giving a voice to the battle of atlantic: one veteran’s story of survival

2003: Murray Knowles stands on deck of HMCS Sackville, the retired vessel where

he and other veterans meet weekly to socialize and remember. During one of his early convoy escort missions of the Battle

of the Atlantic, Knowles survived a surprise torpedo attack from a German submarine.

Credit: RICHARD VIEIRA

HALIFAX- Sitting amidst the historical certificates, plaques, maps and ship replicas in the museum library of HMCS Sackville, where veterans meet weekly to swap stories, 86-year-old Murray Knowles recounts the harrowing events of April 13, 1941.

“It was a beautiful Easter Sunday morning,” recalls Knowles, who joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1940, initially training on minesweepers. “It’s still very vivid in my memory.”

He and the remainder of the crew aboard the merchant cruiser HMS Rajputana were escorting a convoy to the south of Iceland in the North Atlantic Ocean.

During World War II, Canada’s navy escorted 25,343 merchant vessels across the Atlantic, safeguarding the flow of supplies and arms between North America and Europe necessary to defeat the Germans. These escort missions and the battles to protect

them have become known as the Battle of the Atlantic.

Meanwhile on Rajputana, Knowles and his fellow crew members were moving through the Denmark strait at 0500 when a German submarine suddenly fired two torpedoes, striking the engine room of the vessel, killing seven crew members instantly.

HMS Rajputana was stopped dead in the water.

“I supposed we were frightened and anxious because we knew seven officers were already killed,” says Knowles, a 22-year-old junior Sub-Lieutenant at the time. “But being young and agile, we just headed for the upper decks to our action stations.”

The governing officer ordered Knowles and the others to fire their six-inch, pre-World War I guns in any direction where the sub could be.

“(The cruisers) were ill-equipped to do the job,” he says, adding that the ship had no radar or depth charges with which to defend itself. “They were suicidal - that’s what they were - but that’s all that was available at the time.”

The ship’s admiral finally sent an SOS after an hour of the attack. But after another half hour, most of the ship was under water.

Knowles and the others were ordered to abandon ship as the stern was settling downward. Fifty sailors had already reached lifeboats, but Knowles had yet to leave the deck.

He jumped and grabbed hold of the rope attached to the lifeboat’s perimeter and pulled himself up onto the craft.

“It was so overcrowded, we were unable to row,” says Knowles, who was the only officer on the lifeboat. “We had no room to row.”

To prevent the craft from rolling over, Knowles released a sea anchor to steady it, while others continued to bail water.

Knowles and the crowded sailors waited some 12 hours before responding British Destroyers sailing from Iceland reached the lifeboats and rescued the survivors.



“It was so cold and damp,” says Knowles. “We were so very grateful to finally see that destroyer.”

The destroyer tossed over a scramble net, allowing Knowles and the others to climb aboard.

After the attack, Knowles returned to Sydney, Halifax for a mandatory 30-day survivors’ leave before returning to duty. He continued to serve on merchant cruisers until 1942, commanding the vessels for one year. He later joined HMCS Louisburg as 1st Lieutenant from 1943 to 1945, taking part in the invasion of Normandy. He retired from the navy in 1946 with several service medals to his credit.

But Knowles doesn’t like to be called a hero.

“We sensed our responsibility to do our job and fight for our country,” he says. “I think we had courage, but we just did our jobs, I guess.”

Forty-three members of Rajputana drowned or died that “beautiful” Easter Sunday morning - one of them only 17 years old. Those men join the 3,600 navy and merchant sailors who gave their lives in during the Battle of the Atlantic campaigns. In total, 24 Canadian warships were sunk and 71 Canadian and Newfoundland merchant ships were lost.

Knowles says even before and after his near-death experience, he never really thought about dying during his service.

“It was absolutely exciting and adventurous,” he says. “Although it was very demanding at times, I just always thought about living.”

Thursday, May 01, 2008Richard Vieira

Section: Veterans

Battle of Atlantic Sunday

Corvette.

On May 4th, veterans, serving sailors and observers will gather at naval memorials, cenotaphs and naval bases to commemorate the 65th anniversary of service, sacrifice and ultimate victory in the longest running battle of World War II – The Battle of the Atlantic.

The Battle of the Atlantic started 3 September 1939 and ended 8 May 1945. Although many navies participated in the fight on the Allied side, the British Royal Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy carried a solid majority of the battle throughout it’s duration.

At the start of World War II the RCN had 13 ships, six of them destroyers. By the end of the Battle of the Atlantic, Canada had the third largest navy in the world with 373 ships and over 110,000 personnel.

It was during this battle that Canada, for the first time since the War of 1812, was attacked. On 10 June, 1942, U-553 torpedoed the British freighter Nicoya just off Anticosti Island. The Battle of the St. Lawrence would continue for two years at a cost of 23 ships lost, four of them warships. Included was the SS Caribou, the Port-aux-Basque ferry which sank with a loss of 136 lives in the Cabot Strait. The last ship lost was the corvette, HMCS Shawinigan which was torpedoed and sunk with no survivors from its crew of 91.

The Battle of the Atlantic was the war of the little ships. Canada, with little to put into the effort at the start, embarked on a ship building program of corvettes. These ships sailed the North Atlantic in all weather testing their 205 foot length and producing unbelievable misery for the crews.

Ships’ companies fought not just German U-boats but unrelenting bad weather, wet messdecks, terrible food and a persistent lack of sleep.Corvettes, cheap and easy to build, held the line until a much more capable ocean escort could be put into service – the frigate.

The RCN crews, all volunteers, came from every part of Canada. And over 2000 gave their lives with the loss of 24 warships. To even that score, they sank 50 German u-boats, alone or in consort with other ships and aircraft.The Canadian-flagged merchant marine, the primary target of the U-boats, lost approximately 1600 people from torpedoes, mines and collisions.

By late 1942 there was a real fear that the U-boats were winning the battle. By mid-1943 however, the tide had turned and the Allies went on the offensive by sending out hunter-killer groups to roam the Atlantic and kill the submarines before they could attack a convoy.

On April 16th, 1945 HMCS Esquimalt, patrolling off Halifax Harbour, was torpedoed by U-190. From her crew of 70 only 26 survived. She was the last ship lost by the RCN to enemy action. The U-boats surrendered three weeks later and the Battle of the Atlantic was over.

Very few of those who died during the Battle of the Atlantic lie in marked graves. Almost all of those killed were lost with their ship, died awaiting rescue in the freezing North Atlantic, or succumbed to wounds. Those whose bodies were recovered were buried at sea.

The veterans of the Battle of the Atlantic, whose ages ranged from 17 to 26 years during the fight, are now in their eighties. Many have passed on.

They were the likes of Chief Petty Officer Max Bernays who won a Conspicuous Gallantry Medal and who many believe should have been awarded a Victoria Cross.

They were Able Seaman Joe Bell who, when HMCS Athabaskan was sunk in the Bay of Biscay, badly burned and suffering from ingested fuel oil, spent the rest of the war in a German prison camp. He would



struggle with what we now call post-traumatic stress disorder to his dying day, but he was proud of his generation and what they had done.

They were Able Seaman Jack Hannam who defied orders and rescued six of HMCS Athabaskan’s survivors off the coast of France and then took his 27 foot motor-cutter back to England, with a faulty motor and after a long, deadly night in a torpedo boat infested English Channel. Jack retired as a Lieutenant Commander, shortly after he promoted me to Leading Seaman.

So, if you hear a bell ringing 24 times in the distance, it is the roll being called for the ships that never came home and the crews they took with them.

Thursday, May 01, 2008The Torch

Section: Veterans

Vandals spray paint Quebec legion with 'FLQ'

MONTREAL -- Veterans at a Royal Canadian Legion branch in a Montreal suburb were in tears Thursday after vandals spray painted their building with slogans like "Free Quebec'' and the letters FLQ.

It's the second time in less than a week that a well-known symbol of Canadian unity in Quebec has been targeted.

Local branch president Irene Tait says she is appalled and sad, adding her phone has not stopped ringing since word got out.

She said one 87-year-old veteran was particularly upset.

"The man had tears in his eyes and he kept saying `I don't understand, I don't understand,''' Tait said.

Last week, the acronym for the Front de liberation du Quebec, the terrorist group from the 1960s, and the French words for "traitor'' and "bastard'' were spray-painted on the family crypt of former minister prime minister Pierre

Trudeau.

The words "Papineau cell of the FLQ'' was also painted on the Trudeau tomb in St-Remi, south of Montreal.

The graffiti on the side of the legion appeared to praise the vandalism in St-Remi.

In French, someone had painted the words "Bravo to the Papineua Cell.'' The word Papineau had been misspelled.

Montreal police spokesman Laurent Gingras says it's possible the two incidents are linked.

"No arrests have been made yet,'' Gingras said Thursday.

"We don't know if we dealing with someone who's doing some copycat work or not. We're gonna see what the investigation tells us.''

Tait said the incident has had an impact on many veterans at the branch.

"They're not even so much angry, they're sad,'' she said.

"It's like a knife in their heart, they just walk away and shake their heads (and say) 'We don't believe this, we don't believe this.'''

It was also the second time in less than six months that the legion in the suburb of Lachine was targeted.

In December 2007, FLQ and Quebec Libre showed up in blue paint on the cenotaph in a neighbouring park.

Joe Elias, a Montreal comedian, held a benefit comedy night last Friday which raised $1,000 to pay for repairs.

"I think everybody felt good about Friday, you know, money was raised and then you wake up a few days later and here it is again,'' he said.

"It's an act of cowardice, that's all it is.''

Elias had harsh words for the vandals, who he described as children.

"Even if they're 50, they're children, because their mind hasn't developed fully.''

He also called the spray painting of Trudeau's tomb "disgraceful.''

It's disrespectful to his memory, but also to his family,'' he said.

Elias said he was amazed there was no real security around the tomb.

Late Thursday, Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson and Public Works Minister Michael Fortier issued a joint statement condemning the vandalism.

"It is deeply disappointing that anyone would deface a gathering place of our honoured Veterans," said Thompson. "We join all Canadians in denouncing this act of disrespect for our nation's truest heroes."

Thursday, May 01, 2008The Canadian Press

Section: RCL

Government of Canada Denounces Vandalism at Quebec Branch of Royal Canadian Legion

Ottawa, Ontario – Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson and Public Works and Government Services Canada Minister Michael M. Fortier issued the following statement today on behalf of the Government of Canada in response to the graffiti recently spray-painted on the Royal Canadian Legion branch in Lachine, Quebec:

"It is deeply disappointing that anyone would deface a gathering place of our honoured Veterans," said Minister Thompson. "We join all Canadians in denouncing this act of disrespect for our nation's truest heroes."

The Honourable Michael M. Fortier, Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada and Minister responsible for the greater Montreal area, said he is saddened by the incident. "Montrealers, like all Canadians, are proud of the freedoms our Veterans have forged and protected throughout our history. We deplore any actions that denigrate their sacrifices and achievements."

Friday, May 02, 2008Veterans Affairs Canada

Section: RCL



Lost soldier's father finds understanding in Kandahar

Cpl. Brent Poland, 37, Member of 2nd Battalion, RCR, was killed April 8th 2007 along with five other soldiers, when an apparent improvised explosive device

detonated, striking their LAV-III armoured vehicle as they guarded a convoy about 75

kilometres west of Kandahar. The event was described as the single largest one-

day death toll suffered by Canadian troops since the Afghanistan campaign began in

2002.

Credit: DND

Don Poland endured the gruelling globe-crossing trip, felt the searing heat, tasted the dusty air and found some peace.

Anyone visiting a far-off land returns with some new insight, of course, but this was no ordinary trip for the Lambton County retiree, who says it was more like "a pilgrimage" he had to make.

Almost exactly one year after his soldier-son Brent was killed in Afghanistan, Poland decided to take an emotional journey to Kandahar with the relatives of five other slain Canadians, courtesy of the military.

"When your son is killed over there . . . you don't know where that person has been. There's still missing pieces of the puzzle," he said.

"(The trip) helped me put some of the missing pieces of the puzzle back together."

Cpl. Brent Poland, 37, was one of six soldiers killed last April 8 when their light-armoured vehicle triggered a roadside bomb.

News of the tragedy thrust an uncomfortable spotlight on the Polands, who were reluctant to speak publicly. A year later, though, the soldier's father is coming to terms with the public nature of his private loss.

After a 30-hour flight to Kandahar, he and the other families spent a day at Canada's base in Kandahar before returning home.

They flew on the same kind of Hercules aircraft the soldiers took, following the same path from Canada.

When the military sent out a letter a few months ago, asking parents of slain soldiers if they would be interested in such a visit, Poland didn't hesitate.

It was tough, he admits, but he needed to fully understand his son's death.

"I even met a number of (soldiers) who knew my son," he said. "They told me how much they thought of my son."

Their visit included a wreath-laying at a monument honouring Canada's war dead. The commander of the Canadian troops in Afghanistan thanked the families for their bravery in making the journey.

"We stand together with you to remember your loved ones' courage, sense of purpose and sacrifice," said Brig.-Gen. Guy Laroche.

That underscores part of Poland's ongoing recovery.

Though irked by negative news reports from Afghanistan and what he considers a lack of recognition for soldiers by the Conservative government, Poland sounds like a man closer to accepting his loss.

"He was 37 years old, he knew exactly what he wanted to do," Poland said of his son. "He was very passionate about his career, he wanted to help people."

Friday, May 02, 2008PATRICK MALONEY, Canoe News


UK: Britain's oldest WW1 soldier and a brave young Marine join ranks to back Salute Our Heros Campaign

Britain's oldest WW1 soldier, Harry Patch with Britich Afghanistan Veteran Mark

Ormrod Credit: News of the World

IT WAS just a smile, a handshake, a modest acknowledgement of a special shared bond.

But when Harry Patch met Mark Ormrod it was clear that while their war wounds may be separated by nearly a century, their courage is timeless.

The News of the World brought together our oldest living war veteran and one of our bravest serving battle casualties for this historic picture to launch our Veterans Day campaign to salute Britain's heroes.

Harry, 109, said: "We have a hell of a job to make youngsters understand what we went through. That's why this campaign is SO important—for both the military and the rest of the country."

World War I veteran Harry—the last surviving Tommy from the trenches—had his stomach ripped open by a German shell in 1917. Royal Marine Mark, 24, had both legs and an arm blown off by a Taliban landmine in Afghanistan last Christmas Eve.

For their emotional meeting at the comfy Fletcher House nursing home in Wells, Somerset, which Harry has called home for the last ten years, Mark wore a blue Superman T-shirt.

Frail Harry donned a blazer and tie Page 16 The Royal Canadian Legion, Fred Gies Branch 50 (Ontario)


with his medals—including France's highest military award, the Legion d'Honneur—glittering on his chest.

Just how much commitment like theirs can cost was shown by the shock on Harry's lined face as he realised that, despite his great age, he could still walk—while Mark's appalling injuries currently confine him to a wheelchair. Choosing his words carefully, with a crack in his voice, Harry said: "War has changed much since the trenches but some things stay the same. Young men and women are still being sent to fight for their country—and sometimes die for it.

"The politicians who make the decisions to go to war should leave their comfortable offices and sample the action for themselves. It'd do them good."

His own brush with death came at the bloody battle of Passchendaele, where HALF A MILLION young men were killed or wounded in the Belgian mud.

Harry was part of a five-man machine-gun crew when suddenly a shell landed among them. He was wounded and three others were blown to pieces. Now he firmly believes the contribution of those who put their lives on the line should never be forgotten.

He says: "Before the First World War there was no respect for the armed forces. That changed, thank goodness. There's better understanding now of the sacrifices, but the youngsters still need to be taught about their military and what they do."

Showing Mark grainy pictures from the time, Harry recounted the horror of life in the trenches. "I was petrified. cold and wet. It was hell on earth," he said. "We had no choice. We either went over the top or we were shot.

"The youngsters of today ought to understand what we went through. That's why Veterans Day is important."

Mark hung on every word. "It's incredible to hear first-hand his stories and experiences and compare them with my own," the young Marine said.

"They seem similar in some ways.

Obviously I can't speak about the trenches. It sounds terrifying.

"But when I was out in Afghanistan we felt similar apprehension that at any moment we might come under attack. Harry went into the army because he had to, I went into the Marines because I wanted to.

"But we share a common ground—to raise awareness for the veterans and hopefully help instil a new sense of pride in all our armed forces. It couldn't be more important."

Harry then listened as Mark recalled the fateful day he stepped on the buried Taliban mine a few hundred yards from his 40 Commando base in Afghanistan's Helmand Province

Mark said: "There was nothing I could have done about it. All I knew was that there was a massive bang and some black smoke. Then I looked down and saw I had no legs."

Yet as he lay in the dust, blood gushing from the stumps of his limbs, he astonishingly directed the younger Marines with him to mark out a safe route so he could be rescued.

"There were a lot of lads in my section just out of training and they were in shock," he said. "Some think it is all a movie then—bang—reality hits them."

Mark has made an amazing recovery in little over three months, and is learning to WALK again with a pair of £40,000 computerised artificial legs. He is also waiting for a new BIONIC ARM and hopes to return to duty with the Marines in some capacity.

Like Harry, he was horrified that service personnel in Peterborough have been ordered NOT to wear their uniforms in public after being harassed.

Both said it highlighted the need for a better Veterans Day celebration. Harry added: "Anyone who has served their country should be able to wear their uniform without being attacked or belittled."

Mark said: "Even if people are against military action there should always be a difference between the people who make the decision and those who go out there to carry it out."

But both heroes are living proof that

wherever they are sent our servicemen and women will always do their utmost to do their nation proud.

So let every one of them, young and old, have your support.

They've given their all for us. Now let's give them ours.

View interview With Mark and HarryFriday, May 02, 2008

Douglas Wight & Robert Kellaway , News Of The World

Section: Veterans

Hitler plot survivor dies aged 90

Von Boeselager obtained explosives used in the assassination attempt.

Credit: BBC News

The last known survivor of a group of German army officers who tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944 has died aged 90, his family says.

Philipp von Boeselager provided the explosives used to pack a briefcase planted under a table in the Nazi leader's East Prussia headquarters.

But the briefcase was moved behind one of the oak table's wooden legs, and Hitler escaped with only slight wounds.

Most of the plotters were executed, but Mr Von Boeselager escaped detection.

Among those executed - just hours after the assassination attempt - was Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, who planted the briefcase and after whom the plot was named.

Mr Von Boeselager died overnight on Thursday, his family said. On 20 July 2004, Germany's leaders paid tribute to the plotters who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler 60 years ago.

At the spot where they were executed, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder commended their bravery, while



President Horst Koehler laid a wreath.

On 20 July 1944, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg planted a bomb during a meeting at Hitler's headquarters in East Prussia, which is now Poland.

The bomb, in a briefcase, exploded but Hitler survived virtually unscathed.

He was protected from the force of the blast by a conference table.

Sixty years on, Chancellor Schroeder led the tributes to the conspirators at a ceremony in Berlin.

At the army headquarters where Stauffenberg was executed by firing squad, Mr Schroeder said Germans should remember all those who stood up to the Nazis.

"Resistance against the dictatorship began in 1933, when the Nazis had seized power," he said.

"Tens of thousands of them were deported to prisons and concentration camps, driven into exile or killed."

He said the anniversary was a reminder to Germans to "defend again and again the values of freedom and tolerance that we consider so self-evident today".

Also at the ceremony was Freya von Moltke, who launched a secret resistance group with her husband in 1940, just when the Nazi march was at its peak, after the fall of Poland and France.

"At the high point of Hitler's success, that's when the circle began," said the 93-year-old widow. "I'm proud." Trusted

The Stauffenberg plot was the one which came closest to bringing down Hitler and the Nazi regime.

The German count was trusted by Hitler and used to attend regular briefings.

But he planted the bomb in Hitler's headquarters in East Prussia, left the room and flew immediately back to Berlin, where he and co-conspirators hoped to stage a coup.

Hours after the failed assassination attempt, Stauffenberg and other army officers implicated in the plot were rounded up and executed on Hitler's

orders.

The anniversary was marked in Germany by a series of television documentaries, films and books.

The BBC's Tristana Moore in Berlin said the Stauffenberg plotters are today regarded by many Germans as heroes who tried to free Germany from the Nazi regime.

But some historians claim a great opportunity was wasted because of a series of errors and lack of planning on the part of the conspirators.

Friday, May 02, 2008BBC News


Battle Of Atlantic Statistics

Wreath tossed on the waters. Remembrance Day 2007.

Credit: DND, The Maple Leaf

The Battle of the Atlantic began the day that Britain declared war, 3 September, 1939. On that day a U-boat torpedoed and sunk the liner ATHENIA north of Ireland. Canada joined in the war a week later and the first eastbound convoy, escorted by HMCS ST. LAURENT and SAGUENAY, left Halifax on 16 September. Over the next six years German submarines attacked allied merchant ships almost worldwide, but especially in the North Atlantic, to cut off the flow of supplies and personnel reaching Britain.

Allied forces faced a low point in the Battle of the Atlantic in June 1942 when they lost an average of one normal-sized 5,000 ton merchant ship every five hours in the North Atlantic. It was not until late 1942 that adequate numbers of trained escorts became available. More escorts, better training, radar, long-range and carrier-based aircraft and better anti-submarine weapons eventually

ensured victory. Victory in the Battle of the Atlantic made possible the survival of Britain and the eventual victory in Europe.

The elements were often more violent than the enemy. Raging storms, ice, cold, fog and dense blackness confronted navy and merchant sailors alike. Ships collided, ran aground or had their cargoes explode. A total of 1,797 RCN and 1,578 Canadian merchant marine men and women were lost worldwide and 752 RCAF personnel were lost during maritime operations. The Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force lost another 380 men at sea when the ships carrying them were sunk during the war.

In 1939 the Royal Canadian Navy had just six destroyers and four minesweepers. There were only 2,000 men serving in the regular force. A phenomenal growth increased the navy to 378 ships and 96,000 men and women by VJ Day. RCN escorted merchant ships made 26,000 safe crossings of the Atlantic during the war, carrying over 180 million tons of supplies. RCN ships also served on the Russian supply runs, in the Caribbean, the Pacific, the Mediterranean, the English Channel and the North Sea. Thirty-nine RCN warships were lost or constructive total losses during the war. The first was the destroyer FRASER, rammed in the Gironde estuary, France, while evacuating troops 25 June, 1940. Sixty-six sailors died while 150 were saved. The last RCN war loss was the minesweeper ESQUIMALT, torpedoed in the Halifax approaches 16 April, 1945 with 39 dead and 26 survivors.

HMC ships and Canadian manned warships that were lost or constructive total losses due to all causes 1939-45.: ALBERNI MTB 459 REGINA ATHABASCAN MTB 460 SAGUENAY BRAS D'OR MTB 461 ST. CROIX CHARLOTTETOWN MTB 462 SHAWINIGAN CHEBOGUE MTB 463 SKEENA CHEDABUCTO MTB 465 SPIKENARD



CLAYOQUOT MTB 466 TEME ESQUIMALT MAGOG TRENTONIAN FRASER MULGRAVE VALLEYFIELD GUYSBOROUGH NABOB WEYBURN LEVIS OTTAWA WINDFLOWER LOUISBURG OTTER MARGAREE RACCOON

There were only 37 ocean-going vessels in the Canadian merchant marine in 1939. Four hundred two merchant ships were built in Canada during the war, 185 of them for Britain and the United States, and 217 for Canadian registry. Canada also took over some Axis prizes and ships from occupied countries. Canadian registered merchant ships served all over the globe, crewed by about 15,000 men.

A total of 75 Canadian and Newfoundland registered merchant ships were lost or constructive total losses during World War 2. The first Canadian merchant ship lost was the Danish owned but Canadian manned freighter ERIK BOYE that was torpedoed with no survivors in the North Atlantic 15 June, 1940. The last was the tanker SILVER STAR PARK that was run down by another ship while she was at anchor off New Bedford Massachusetts 12 April, 1945. Sixteen of her crew died while about 24 survived. Merchant ships registered in Canada and Newfoundland that were lost or constructive total losses due to all causes during WW2 A.D. HUFF JAMES E. NEWSOM PRESCODOC ALBERT C. FIELD JOHN A. HOLLOWAY PORTADOC ANGELUS KENORDOC PRINCESS MARGUERITE BIC ISLAND KEYHOLT PROTEUS CALGAROLITE KITTY'S BROOK

R. J. CULLEN CANADOLITE LADY DRAKE ROBERT W. POMEROY CANATCO LADY HAWKINS ROSE CASTLE CARIBOU LENNOX ROTHERMERE CAROLUS LILLIAN L. KERR ST. MALO CHRISTIAN J. KAMPMAN LISIEUX SARNIADOC COLLINGDOC LIVERPOOL PACKET SHINAI CORNWALLIS LIVINGSTON SILVER STAR PARK DONALD STEWART LORD STRATHCONA SORELDOC EMPRESS OF ASIA LUCILLE M. THORELDOC ERIK BOYE MAGOG THOROLD EUROPA MAPLECOURT TORONDOC ESMOND MILDRED PAULINE TREVISA FRANK B. BAIRD MONA MARIE TROISDOC GEORGE L. TORAIN MONDOC VANCOUVER ISLAND GERALDINE MARY MONT LOUIS VICTOLITE GREENHILL PARK MONTREALITE VINLAND HAMILDOC NEREUS WATERLOO HUMBER ARM NORFOLK WATERTON J.B. WHITE OAKTON WATKINS F. NISBET JASPER PARK POINT PLEASANT PARK WATUKA

Human Cost Of battle Of Atlantic (Approx: Source BBC, Other Sources Vary) ALLIES Merchant Seamen 30,000

Servicemen 8,000

Costal Command 6,000

Total 44,000

Axis Sumariners 29,000 TOTAL LOSSES 73,000

Canadian Merchant Seamen Casualty List

Friday, May 02, 2008Varous Web Sources

Section: Veterans

Red Fridays set to roll along Highway of Heroes

More than 1,000 vehicles will retrace the steps of the fallen along the Highway of Heroes May 31.

The Red Fridays Foundation of Canada, have spent the last few years, organizing what they hope to be one of the biggest rallies in support of Canadian soldiers.

Red vehicles numbering, 82 will make up a memorial procession, followed by the notorious ‘Poppy Truck’ and led by the Red Friday Memorial Car. The memorial car displays the names of the 82 fallen soldiers on the vehicles side panels.

Traveling from Trenton, down the Highway of Heroes the procession will finish its’ memorial drive, arriving at Downsview Park in Toronto.

Numerous families of fallen soldiers are expected to attend the drive

“We’re extending an invitation to all Canadians to participate in this rally,” said Brian Muntz. “We want to celebrate the lives of those who have fallen and thank those that are serving and who have served.”

The event will commence on Saturday, May 31 at 9 a.m. in Trenton, at Centennial Park, where drivers are to begin booking in for the drive.

At 10:30 a.m. the rally will commence, Page 19The Royal Canadian Legion, Fred Gies Branch 50 (Ontario)


with dignitaries and guests speaking. A military tattoo performance from several pipes and drum bands will be performed to highlight the rally

Vehicles will commence down the Highway beginning at noon in small groups, to avoid congestion on the on-ramps.

The procession will depart at 3 p.m., arriving in Downsview at approximately 5 p.m.

Quinte West OPP, Durham and Toronto Police and the Golden Helmet motorcycles will help to escort the procession along the highway.

“We hope this will be able to become a yearly event, for the last Saturday in May every year,” said Muntz.

Muntz added that the public is being encouraged to support the rally by lining bridges and Sheppard Avenue West to help bring the procession to its destination.

“You take something as negative as what we’ve been dealing with - 82 repatriations - and you turn it into a celebration of life,” said Quinte West OPP Inspector Earl Johns.

As the procession arrives in Toronto, the rally will commence with performances by Canadian Artist Dale Goodie and CCR tribute band Green Water Revival, later in the evening.

Event sponsor Grand Prix Kartways (GPK) will host a race between the Canadian Forces and the Canadian Army Veterans Motorcycle Units, followed by a race between the OPP and Toronto Police. A fully licensed restaurant at GPK will offer full service meals and refreshments.

“This is too big not to get involved in,” said Brian Wilkins, who spent six months as a civilian in Afghanistan driving the base jet fuel truck. “I have contacted guys back there and for the May 31 can’t come quick enough. There excited to see what this will look like.”

Those wishing to register their vehicle in the memorial drive can do so by visiting www.redfridays.ca/rdr. Registration will not be available on the day of the event.

Those registered must bring their registration number to Trenton to

participate in the drive.

Partcipiants will receive pledge forms upon registering, with proceeds going to cover the cost of the event, and to help raise money for the Canadian Hearing Society to cover a funds shortfall to assist veterans with special hearing equipment.

For those looking to stay overnight in Trenton or surrounding areas, the following hotels have offered discount rates for the event: Comfort Inn and Days Inn in Trenton and Travel Lodge and Holiday Inn Express, Belleville.

Friday, May 02, 2008Trenton Trentonian


Vimy Ridge: Students Remember Canada's finest hour

“We went up to Vimy Ridge as Albertans and Nova Scotians. We came down Canadians.” A war veteran remembering Vimy Ridge.

She is made of smooth white stone but the story of Vimy Ridge is written on her face.

Her eyes look off into the distance and the Douia Plain.

They look pensive, full of sorrow, full of memories.

She rests her left fist on her cheek, supporting her tired head.Her lips are drawn down into a gentle frown.

This stone woman stands alone on the edge of the great monument in northern France, keeping watch over the fields of Vimy like a wife waiting for her husband to come home from war.

Students from Fleming College are trying to take it all in as they slowly wander around the great monument –

designed by Walter S. Allward, the same man responsible for Peterborough's own Cenotaph.

They gaze up at the two white pillars that jut out of the earth, soaring towards the sky. The twin stone pillars list the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who died in France and whose remains were never found.

Scattered throughout the monument are sculptures depicting sorrow, like that of the stone woman, who represents Canada.

“It's emotional,” describes Fleming student Esther Pai.

“I'm proud. It makes me so proud. I'm a little irritated that in elementary and high school they don't teach you more. I've learned more in the last four or five days than I ever did in school,” she says.

The Fleming students, in the International Trade Program, are touring across Europe for three weeks exploring significant sites such as Vimy Ridge, with the guidance of professors Peter Malkovsky and Les Smith.

Prof. Malkovsky has taken Fleming students on many trips to Europe, but he has not seen the Vimy Ride monument unveiled. The last time he was at the site it was under reconstruction.

“Blown away. Just totally blown away,” says Mr. Malkovsky of the monument.

“Some students wanted to talk to me, I said 'It's Peter time, to take it all in.'”

Vimy Ridge is a defining moment in Canadian history. It is when Canada became a nation.

Vimy was a key high ground in Northern France that was dominated by the Germans during the First World War. The Germans had dug themselves in deep and the area was lined by trenches and tunnels, and protected by artillery. Both the British and the French had tried to take Vimy again and again, but every attempt failed and more than 200,000 men were lost.

The Canadians made meticulous and careful preparations, even building a complex mock-up of the hill that they trained on until they knew every inch



of the land.

The Canadian attack began on Easter Monday, April 9, 1917. This marked the first time in the war that all four divisions of the Canadians corps advanced together. During the battle, the Canadians took the hill, sweeping the Germans from the ridge. At Vimy Canadians took more ground, captured more guns and more prisoners than in any previous British offensive. It was called “the most perfectly organized and most successful battle of the whole war” and was Canada's greatest victory. Nearly 3,600 Canadians died and another 5,000 were wounded taking Vimy Ridge. That was in just four days.

After walking the grounds, the students visited the trenches right next to the monument where the battle took place. Dug into the trenches, the Allies and the Germans were only 147 metres away from each other.The student walked through the above-ground trenches, taking it all in. The ground around the area heaves and swells, revealing where the trenches once were.

“It's crazy to see it's still like this after all this time,” says Fleming student Kelly O'Donnell.

“It's so nice to see so many people are coming here to see it. It's hard to imagine so many days in the trenches.”

The landscape in this part of France still bears the scars of a battle that took place 91 years ago. The area is still considered a red zone, with remnants of the war, such as grenades, still scattered in the area.

Each year 20 to 30 farmers in the area die from the scattering of those awful remnants.

After seeing how soldiers fought above ground, the students headed into the underground tunnels, otherwise known as the subway system. These tunnels, dug into the chalk walls, are where the soldiers prepared for battle. They slept in these tunnels, ate, wrote letters home by the dim light. Some eight metres underground, the air smells of earth and chalk.

The walls are smooth and cool to the

touch. One by one the students follow the Canadian tour guide as she explains what life was like underground.

While walking through the subway system she points to a shape etched on the chalk walls. The students lean in to the wall to get a closer look.

And there it is. A crude outline of a maple leaf.

The guide explains that while Canada was not yet a nation, and fighting for the British, they had the a maple leaf emblem on their uniforms for identification. During the many hours underground, one soldier cut this image into the wall and it is now forever a part of Vimy's story.

Fleming student Stephen Perry says seeing Vimy Ridge makes him feel “pretty proud.”

“It's surreal really. It doesn't sink in at all until you get back home and look at what you've got.”

“Unreal” is how Melissa Lawrence describes the experience.

“It's even hard to grasp this all happened before our time so we could live like this. It's scary.”

Before heading out on the trip, each student prepared a report on one topic they would visit in their travels. Jake Hardonk's report was on Vimy Ridge.

“It's amazing being here and seeing it all. It's a different feeling seeing it firsthand. It's something even pictures can't describe,” he says.

“It's make you really proud. It gives you a sense of truly being a Canadian. It's nice to see other tourists from all over the world appreciating what we did.”

Saturday, May 03, 2008Lauren Gilchrist, myKawartha.com

Section: Veterans

Hope on the horizon for seniors

Paul Williams calls himself "a professional cynic" who is savouring a rare burst of hope.

Williams, a health policy professor at the University of Toronto, has spent the past 20 years trying to convince politicians, bureaucrats and medical authorities that most seniors don't belong in nursing homes. Few listened. Even when he did get a sympathetic hearing, nothing changed.

Then eight months ago, to his surprise – and nearly everyone else's – Health Minister George Smitherman announced a $700-million Aging at Home Strategy.

This spring, funds started flowing to Ontario's 14 regional health units. They'll soon be able to ramp up home care and offer seniors an array of services, from housekeeping to snow removal, to allow them to live independently for as long as possible.

What Williams finds particularly encouraging is that 20 per cent of the provincial money has been earmarked for innovative projects. Local providers are brainstorming, experimenting, listening to their clients.

"You really do have some choices," he told a roomful of active pensioners this week. "For the first time in my career, I see the possibility of real change in Ontario."

He is still cautious. He wonders if results-obsessed provincial officials will take into account intangibles such as dignity and quality of life. And he warns that without public support, Smitherman may have to back off or slow down.

"But we can try things we could never do before."



He gave a poignant example. He once watched an elderly gentleman's life spiral out of control because he could no longer buy cat food. No public program deals with that. The cat slowly died and the senior fell into a deep depression. He ended up in a nursing home.

"Should we provide pet care?" Williams asked. "No, not across-the-board. But it would have been a cheap solution in this case."

Under the old rules, there was no room for cheap solutions, no matter how sensible or humane. Under the new system, there will be flexibility to offer seniors the help they need, rather than slotting them into one-size-fits-all programs.

The federal government has tested this approach on a limited basis. Twenty-seven years ago, aging veterans were pressing for more nursing home beds. Instead, Ottawa offered them a choice: more beds or more support in their homes.

The vast majority opted to stay in their homes, drawing on the services they needed. There were nurses to treat medical conditions, personal care workers to help with bathing and dressing, housekeepers to assist with cleaning and laundry and yard workers to cut the lawn and clear the snow. Each client was assessed individually. As his or her needs changed, the arrangements were modified.

"Which of the services do you think was used most?" Williams asked. To most listeners' surprise, it was groundskeeping.

"Why not fix the eavestrough or shovel the sidewalk?" he asked. "It costs far less than long-term care."

A nursing home bed in Ontario costs $130 a day. The government pays $80 and the resident pays $50 (or whatever they can afford).

For that same $80 public expenditure, community agencies could provide most seniors with all the services they need. They'd be healthier. And hospitals would be able to release them back into their homes, rather than waiting for a nursing home bed to become available (at a cost of $1,500 to $3,000 a day).

Funding has begun to shift and mindsets have started to change, Williams says, but there is still a long way to go. Doctors will have to make house calls. Teamwork will have to replace patchwork. And taxpayers will have to understand that unconventional solutions – from buying cat food to building wheelchair ramps – are often the best solutions.

Most seniors don't want to end up in a nursing home, Williams said, to emphatic nods throughout the room.

But many expect they will. This time, the nods were grudging.

Williams used to offer such audiences moral support. Now he can offer them hope.

Saturday, May 03, 2008Carol Goar, The Star

Section: Seniors

Sunday parades salutes vets of North Atlantic

A familiar sight in the battle for the North Atlantic.

On May 8, 1945 I was at sea in that area of the North Atlantic which is known as "Iceberg Alley" at that time of the year. More specifically I was a junior officer aboard Canada's No. 1 Hospital Ship "Lady Nelson" en route from Avonmouth, England, to Halifax, N.S., with a human cargo of 516 patients in various stages of convalescence.

They were, for the most part, members of the military who were injured in the service of our country on the battlefields of North Africa and Italy or during their stint of combat duty as members of the Navy and Airforce.

What is the significance of the date May 8, 2008? For the benefit of those among your readers who may not

know the answer to that question, I offer this reminder that the date, as mentioned, will mark the 63rd anniversary of the end of the war in Europe and also the anniversary of the winning of the Battle of the Atlantic.

On May 8, 1945, the German U-boats surfaced and flew black flags of surrender. It was not known for sure whether some would continue to fight, so conveys held their structured ranks, until finally, on May 28 all ships at sea switched on their running lights to signal the end of the longest battle of the war. The Battle of the Atlantic was over; it had lasted 2,075 days.

Sir Winston Churchill, who is arguably identified as the greatest statesman of the 20th century, was First Lord of the Admiralty when war was declared in 1939. During the heat of the battle at sea he recognized, in full measure, the intestinal fortitude of merchant seamen who kept ships moving. In late 1942, he saw the gravest threat of war - that they would crack under the strain and that the merchant service would collapse.

The Battle of the Atlantic carried a huge price tag. Two thousand ships were lost to surface raiders, aircraft, and above all, U-boats; 22,000 British merchant seamen and 10,000 naval personnel lost their lives.

The Royal Commonwealth Navies lost 76 ships in the North Atlantic ranging in size from fleet minesweepers to the battle cruiser HMS Hood. Ten Royal Navy and three Royal Canadian ships participated during every year of the war.

When war began there were 37 ships and 1,400 personnel in Canada's Merchant Navy. By the end of the war, these numbers had grown to over 180 ships and 12,500 personnel.

Indeed it is a matter of record that Canada's merchant fleet was engaged from day one of the war and soon suffered staggering losses in men and ships. By war's end, as many as 72 Canadian merchant ships would be lost to enemy action - torpedoed, bombed, mined, or shelled.

The records show that approximately 50 per cent of merchant crews went down with their ships and, sadly, all



too often drowning sailors had to be abandoned as a grim alternative to the creation of a situation where a rescue attempt would have placed greater number of sailors at the mercy of the U-boat kapitans. The number of ships lost included 23 that were torpedoed and sunk in the St. Lawrence River.

The records also show that the Merchant Navy suffered the highest death rate of Canada's four fighting services - fully 13 per cent of those who served or, to put it another way, a ratio of approximately one in eight.

On Nov. 11, 1994, a Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance was unveiled in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill. It contains the names of known Merchant Navy war dead as an addition to the roll of those who gave their lives in the cause of Canada and it completes a symmetry in the chamber, the fifth point on a pentagon formed with four other books that surround the original First World War altar.

In summary, Battle of Atlantic Sunday, which is scheduled to take place on May 4, 2008, commemorates the sacrifice of sailors, merchant seamen, RCAF and Canadian Army personnel who gave their lives in the North Atlantic. The elements were often as vicious as the foe, with raging storms, pack ice, bitter cold, fog and the dense blackness of North Atlantic nights. The RCN and the Merchant Navy made nearly 26,000 safe crossings, carrying over 181 million tons of supplies to Great Britain and Russia.

To mark the anniversary, Veterans Affairs Canada will be conducting an in-Canada pilgrimage over the period of May 2-5, 2008, with remembrance ceremonies and events to be held in Halifax, N.S. In addition to the above a National "Battle of the Atlantic" Commemoration Ceremony will be held in Ottawa on Sunday, May 4, 2008.

The following tribute to the wartime veterans of Canada's Navy and Merchant Navy is inscribed on the memorial that graces the park at the lakefront at Burlington, Ont., where the ship's bell of HMCS Burlington is on display, quote:

In Memoriam

ON ALL THE OCEANS WHITE CAPS FLOW WE DO NOT SEE CROSSES ROW ON ROW.

BUT THEY WHO SLEEP BENEATH THE SEA REST IN PEACE BECAUSE OUR COUNTRY IS FREE.

THEY SHALL GROW NOT OLD AS WE ARE THAT ARE LEFT TO GROW OLD AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN.

AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN

AND IN THE MORNING WE WILL REMEMBER THEM WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

- Author anonymous

Saturday, May 03, 2008Phil Etter, The intelligencer

Section: Veterans

WHEN A SOLDIER COMES HOME .....

When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard....

To listen to his son whine about being bored.

To keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.

To be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.

To be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night's sleep.

To be silent when people pray to God for a new car.

To control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.

To be compassionate when a

businessman expresses a fear of flying.

To keep from laughing when anxious parents say they're afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.

To keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.

To control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.

To remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.

To be civil to people who complain about their jobs.

To just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.

To be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.

The only thing harder than being a Soldier.. Is loving one. A gentle reminder to keep your life in perspective,And when you meet one of our returning soldiers,Please remember what they have been throughAnd show themCOMPASSION and TOLERANCE

Saturday, May 03, 2008Anon

Section: Veterans



Documents

IN THIS ISSUE Schedule Announced - rclbr50.ca 20080503.pdf · Congrats to all. Sunday, April 27, 2008 Alf Ash, PRO Section: Sports Veterans Affairs Minister Honours Veterans in Manitoba