Medal / Medals

by **Powergunner** Sat 08 Sep 2018, 7:08 pm

Pte. McDonald’s Victory Medal going home

Darrell Cole (darrell.cole@amherstnews.ca)
Published: Sep 08, 2018

AMHERST, N.S. - In the 1970s a young woman found a First World War Victory Medal while snorkeling in Hawaii. Now, more than 40 years later, that medal has been repatriated with the family of Pte. Ronald C. McDonald.

“My heart wants to explode, this is just the most fantastic thing,” McDonald’s granddaughter Carol Pereira said while holding the medal. “The only thing we have that physically belonged to my grandfather was his army cap, so to have something like this that he wore, and was awarded for his service, is pretty amazing for us.”

The granddaughters of McDonald flew in from Vancouver Island and visited the North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regimental Museum on Saturday to collect the medal, ending the search for a family member to take possession of the medal.

Pereira said following the war her grandfather left Cape Breton and settled first in Manitoba and then in Alberta, where he met and married his wife, Mary Alice Clough, and raised his children before finally ending up in Port Alberni, B.C., where he died in 1953.

Pereira said she didn’t know her grandfather since she was only three months old when he died, but she would often her family stories about his service in the First World War and his upbringing in Glace Bay.

Pereira had no clue the medal even existed until her sister, Sandra Corbeil, called her a week ago saying she’d been contacted by the regimental museum in Amherst asking if her Pte. McDonald was her grandfather.

“It’s quite the story, the mystery we want to solve now is how the medal actually got to Hawaii in the first place, but it was so long ago and so many things could have happened. I suspect we’ll never figure it out,” she said.

Corbeil admitted to being flabbergasted when John Wales called her from the museum.

“We didn’t even know there was a mystery,” she said. “When John called I couldn't believe it and upon talking to Carol we decided we had to go get it, we just couldn’t let it be mailed. That’s how we got here.”

Wales said when he went to work as a volunteer with the museum the first task given to him by the museum’s curator Ray Coulson was to try to research McDonald and try to find relatives.

“It was the first file I was given,” Wales said. “I used my skills as a former researcher and university librarian and started online and found his death certificate, his wife’s death certificate and a daugther’s death certificate. From there I found a name and literally just cold-called. The first one I called I ended up getting Sandra Corbeil and asked her if her grandfather was Robert McDonald.”

Wales said it’s the best feeling in the world to be able repatriate the medal. Coming from a small museum, he said, it’s nice to be able to get an artifact, learn about its history and then find out a family connection.

“It belongs in the family. We have lots of artifacts here, but one like that is very personal and belongs in the family,” Wales said. “The story is so compelling that this medal was found by a Canadian girl in the waters off Hawaii and has crisscrossed the country several times and is now going back to where it belongs.

The search for McDonald’s descendants started in earnest back in the spring when retired Navy commander Philippe Mendard and his wife, the woman who found the medal, were cleaning up their Ottawa house in preparation for a move. They rediscovered the medal and decided to try and repatriate it with a member of McDonald’s family.

Menard said in an email to Coulson that he’d done some research on the medal. Along its edge, the name of Pte. R.C. McDonald of the 25th Battalion of the Canadian Infrantry is inscribed. After a quick search on Google, it was found that McDonald, who was born in 1894 in Glace Bay, enlisted in November 1914 with his brother and survived the war – having participated in many of Canada’s most significant battles of the war.

The Victory Medal is a United Kingdom, British Empire First World War medal. To qualify for the medal, recipients had to be mobilized for war service in the United Kingdom or the British Empire, in any service, and entered a theatre of war between Aug. 4, 1914 and Nov. 11, 1918.

According to Veterans Affairs Canada there were 351,289 medals awarded to members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and a total of 5.725 million medals awarded across the British Empire.

The recipient’s name, number and rank were engraved on the first issue of the medals.

The 25th Battalion was the first of three regiments to be formed in Nova Scotia during the First World War. Regimental headquarters were in Halifax with recruitment offices in Amherst, Sydney, New Glasgow, Truro and Yarmouth.

Of the 1,000 Nova Scotians who started with the battalion when it left for Europe in 1915, only 100 were left after the first year of fighting with 900 killed, taken prisoner, missing of injured.

It fought in France and Belgium at major battles including the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Arras, Ypres and Cambrai.

By the end of the war, 53 per cent of its men had been wounded while 14 per cent died in battle.

darrell.cole@amherstnews.ca

Twitter: @ADNdarrell

https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/local/pte-mcdonalds-victory-medal-going-home-239770/

by **Powergunner** Sat 08 Sep 2018, 7:20 pm

Canadian family reunited with WWI medal found by snorkeler in Hawaii

Published Saturday, September 8, 2018

Forty years after a Canadian soldier’s First World War medal was discovered by a woman snorkeling in Hawaii, his family has been reunited with the long-lost decoration.

The Victory Medal was mysteriously discovered submerged in the ocean off Hawaii in the 1970s. The name “Private R.C. MacDonald” was inscribed along its edge.

The award was bestowed upon British and British Empire Soldiers following the war in 1919.

The medal was eventually given to the Nova Scotia Highlanders Regimental Museum in Amherst, N.S. After plenty of research, the museum finally located several of MacDonald’s family members on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island.

On Saturday, two of the soldier’s granddaughters, Sandra Corbeil and Carol Pereira, were presented with the medal in Nova Scotia at the museum after travelling across the country.

“My heart wants to explode,” Pereira told CTV Atlantic after being handed the medal.

“This is just the most fantastic thing… The only thing we have that physically belonged to my grandfather was his hat, his army cap. So to have something like this that he wore and he was awarded for his service is pretty amazing for us.”

Born in the town of Glace Bay on Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island, Private Ronald Campbell MacDonald enlisted in 1914 at the dawn of the war. A member of the 25th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry, MacDonald was one of few members of his unit to survive through the duration of the conflict.

He died in B.C. in 1953.

Prior to getting a call from the museum, MacDonald’s family had no idea that the medal existed -- and they still have no idea how it ended up in Hawaii.

“He would never vacation,” Pereira explained. “I mean, they had eight children at the beginning of the Depression, so he wasn’t vacationing for sure.”

Museum volunteer John Wales, who helped locate the family, says he’s happy to see the medal returned to MacDonald’s relatives.

“It belongs in the family,” Wales told CTV Atlantic. “We have many things on display in the museum, but an artifact like that, it’s a very personal thing and it belongs in the family.”

MacDonald’s family now plans to bring the medal back to B.C. where they will show it to the soldier’s last remaining child.

With a report from CTV Atlantic’s Dan MacIntosh

CTV News

by **Hammercore** Mon 10 Sep 2018, 6:38 pm

Granddaughters of Cape Breton veteran collect First World War medal

Darrell Cole | Posted: Sept. 10, 2018

AMHERST - In the 1970s a young woman found a First World War Victory Medal while snorkeling in Hawaii. Now, more than 40 years later, that medal has been repatriated with the family of Pte. Robert McDonald.

“My heart wants to explode, this is just the most fantastic thing,” McDonald’s granddaughter Carol Pereira said while holding the medal. “The only thing we have that physically belonged to my grandfather was his army cap, so to have something like this that he wore, and was awarded for his service, is pretty amazing for us.”

The granddaughters of McDonald flew in from Vancouver Island and visited the North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regimental Museum on Saturday to collect the medal, ending the search for a family member to take possession of the medal.

Pereira said following the war her grandfather left Cape Breton and settled first in Manitoba and then in Alberta, where he met and married his wife, Mary Alice Clough, and raised his children before finally ending up in Port Alberni, B.C., where he died in 1953.

Pereira said she didn’t know her grandfather since she was only three months old when he died, but she would often hear her family stories about his service in the First World War and his upbringing in Glace Bay.

Pereira had no clue the medal even existed until her sister, Sandra Corbeil, called her a week ago saying she’d been contacted by the regimental museum in Amherst asking if her Pte. McDonald was her grandfather.

“It’s quite the story, the mystery we want to solve now is how the medal actually got to Hawaii in the first place, but it was so long ago and so many things could have happened. I suspect we’ll never figure it out,” she said.

Corbeil admitted to being flabbergasted when John Wales called her from the museum.

“We didn’t even know there was a mystery,” she said. “When John called I couldn't believe it and upon talking to Carol we decided we had to go get it, we just couldn’t let it be mailed. That’s how we got here.”

Wales said when he went to work as a volunteer with the museum the first task given to him by the museum’s curator Ray Coulson was to try to research McDonald and try to find relatives.

“It was the first file I was given,” Wales said. “I used my skills as a former researcher and university librarian and started online and found his death certificate, his wife’s death certificate and a daughter’s death certificate. From there I found a name and literally just cold-called. The first one I called I ended up getting Sandra Corbeil and asked her if her grandfather was Robert McDonald.”

Wales said it’s the best feeling in the world to be able repatriate the medal. Coming from a small museum, he said, it’s nice to be able to get an artifact, learn about its history and then find out a family connection.

“It belongs in the family. We have lots of artifacts here, but one like that is very personal and belongs in the family,” Wales said. “The story is so compelling that this medal was found by a Canadian girl in the waters off Hawaii and has crisscrossed the country several times and is now going back to where it belongs.

The search for McDonald’s descendants started in earnest back in the spring when retired Navy commander Philippe Mendard and his wife, the woman who found the medal, were cleaning up their Ottawa house in preparation for a move. They rediscovered the medal and decided to try and repatriate it with a member of McDonald’s family.

Menard said in an email to Coulson that he’d done some research on the medal. Along its edge, the name of Pte. R.C. McDonald of the 25th Battalion of the Canadian Infantry is inscribed. After a quick search on Google, it was found that McDonald, who was born in 1894 in Glace Bay, enlisted in November 1914 with his brother and survived the war – having participated in many of Canada’s most significant battles of the war.

The Victory Medal is a United Kingdom, British Empire First World War medal. To qualify for the medal, recipients had to be mobilized for war service in the United Kingdom or the British Empire, in any service, and entered a theatre of war between Aug. 4, 1914 and Nov. 11, 1918.

According to Veterans Affairs Canada there were 351,289 medals awarded to members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and a total of 5.725 million medals awarded across the British Empire.

The recipient’s name, number and rank were engraved on the first issue of the medals.

The 25th Battalion was the first of three regiments to be formed in Nova Scotia during the First World War. Regimental headquarters were in Halifax with recruitment offices in Amherst, Sydney, New Glasgow, Truro and Yarmouth.

Of the 1,000 Nova Scotians who started with the battalion when it left for Europe in 1915, only 100 were left after the first year of fighting with 900 killed, taken prisoner, missing or injured.

It fought in France and Belgium at major battles including the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, Arras, Ypres and Cambrai.

By the end of the war, 53 per cent of its men had been wounded while 14 per cent died in battle.

darrell.cole@amherstnews.ca

Twitter: @ADNdarrell

Cape Breton > News > Local

by **Proctor** Mon 22 Oct 2018, 9:47 am

Liberal MP revives idea of war medals for disaster responders

By Charlie Pinkerton. Published on Oct 22, 2018

Liberal MP Darren Fisher is sponsoring a petition to give war medals to soldiers who contribute exceptionally during natural disasters on home soil.

The petition recalls a Paul Martin government-era bill introduced by former NDP MP Alexa McDonough, which sought to establish a special-service medal for members of the military and RCMP who performed in an outstanding fashion when responding to domestic natural disasters.

iPolitics

by **Vexmax** Wed 07 Nov 2018, 10:35 am

Saskatchewan families helped keep Currie Victoria Cross in Canada

ALEX MACPHERSON, November 7, 2018

SASKATOON STARPHOENIX

by Garrison Wed 07 Nov 2018, 1:41 pm

The Sacrifice Medal

Capt. Jon Snyder was a true Canadian hero

Times Colonist
NOVEMBER 7, 2018

https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/columnists/comment-capt-jon-snyder-was-a-true-canadian-hero-1.23489723

by **OutlawSoldier** Wed 16 Jan 2019, 8:39 am

‘Very rare’ Second World War medal stolen from Toronto home

By CLAIRE FLOODY - Staff Reporter
ILYA BAÑARESStaff Reporter
Tues., Jan. 15, 2019

Toronto police are investigating after several Second World War medals were stolen from a private residence Saturday — one of which is extremely rare, according to an assistant professor at the Royal Military College of Canada.

Michael Boire, who teaches Canadian military history and is a retired soldier, reviewed the stolen medals for the Star after police issued a news release Monday.

The Military Medal was one of six Second World War medals stolen from a Toronto home Saturday. The Military Medal is extremely rare, says Michael Boire, an assistant professor at the Royal Military College of Canada. (TORONTO POLICE SERVICE PHOTO)

Police said a suspect or a group of suspects entered a building in the area of Jarvis St. and Mt. Pleasant Rd., and stole numerous items from a home in the early morning hours of Jan. 12.

The most notable was a box containing six medals:

-the War Medal 1939-1945
-the 1939-1945 Star
-the France and Germany Star
-the Defence Medal
-the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal
-the Military Medal

Boire said the most valuable “by far” is the Military Medal.

“The Military Medal, like all of the other medals for bravery, are the kinds of things thieves are really looking for,” Boire told the Star.

The Military Medal was awarded to warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and non-commissioned members for specific acts of bravery. The award must be recommended by a Commander-in-Chief in the field.

The Military Medal is a collector’s item and it’s worth a significant amount of money on the black market, Boire added.

“It’s very, very rare,” he said — adding that only a number of them were given out during the Second World War.

“Now remember, hundreds of thousands of guys earned (medals), right? But less than 100 would have earned the Military Medal,” he said. “So, it gives you an idea. I mean, it’s just a drop in a huge ocean.”

Medal / Medals Canadian_volunteer_service_medal

The Canadian Volunteer Service Medal was one of six Second World War medals stolen from a Toronto home Saturday. (TORONTO POLICE SERVICE)

The stolen box itself was located a short distance away from the residence, but the medals were nowhere to be found.

According to Toronto police Const. David Hopkinson, police can’t say if the medals were stolen from a collector or from the person who earned them.

Boire said that if the collection was from one person, he would have been a foot soldier with a significant military history.

“It’s an army collection because the North Atlantic medals and the aircrew medals aren’t part of it,” Boire said. “So, this is a guy who fought on land and he fought all through the French Germany campaign. He also joined early enough in the war to receive the Defence Medal, the defence of Great Britain. And he fought most of the war — that’s a long service as well. So this guy’s been around.”

The 1939-1945 Star was one of six Second World War medals stolen from a Toronto home Saturday. (TORONTO POLICE SERVICE)

Const. Allyson Douglas-Cook said the medals in the photos that police provided are the same ones that were stolen. Judging from the photos, some of them look like they were brand new — particularly the 1939-1945 Star.

Therefore, Boire believes it’s less likely they all came from the same person as not all of them are in the same condition.

The War Medal 1939-1945 was awarded to all full-time personnel of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines for serving at least 28 days during the war, according to Veterans Affairs Canada.

The 1939-1945 Star was awarded to people who served at least six months for the Army and the Navy, and two months for active aircrew.

The Defence Medal (top) and the France and Germany Star were among six Second World War medals stolen from a Toronto home Saturday. (TORONTO POLICE SERVICE)

The France and Germany Star was bestowed to servicemen who served at least a day in France, Belgium, Holland or Germany after D-Day.

The Defence Medal, according to the federal agency, is usually conferred to Canadians who served six months in Britain at some point during the war. In addition, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal is granted to anyone in the Naval, Military or Air Forces who voluntarily served 18 months during the war.

Boire said that some of the stolen medals may still have the original owner’s names engraved on the side.

https://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2019/01/14/very-rare-second-world-war-medal-stolen-from-toronto-home.html

by Ringo Tue 22 Jan 2019, 8:19 am

Decorated soldier takes helm of Royal Newfoundland Regiment and reconnects with his roots

Kyle Strong earned a Medal of Bravery for service in Afghanistan

CBC News · Posted: Jan 21, 2019

Kyle Strong will be the lieutenant colonel of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment for the next three years. (Paula Gale/CBC)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/royal-newfoundland-regiment-commanding-officer-kyle-strong-1.4986381

by **Kizzer** Tue 22 Jan 2019, 5:55 pm

War veteran, 97, awarded more medals at Richmond legion

Alan Campbell / Richmond News
JANUARY 22, 2019

Ninety-seven-year-old Second World War veteran George Chow might need some kind of back support these days. Nothing to do with his advancing years, however. It has more to do with the row of medals that continues to burgeon along his chest.

Nothing to do with his advancing years, however. It has more to do with the row of medals that continues to burgeon along his chest.

Already resplendent with numerous war medals, the Canadian Forces Decoration, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Medal of Legion of Honour (from the French government), Chow was presented with yet another honour recently in Richmond.

At the Richmond branch of the Royal Canadian Legion – at Bridgeport and Shell roads – Chow, a 59-year veteran of the legion, was belatedly awarded his 50-year legion medal.

And it was made extra special by the Richmond branch, which also presented Chow with his 55-year bar, for the medal.

Born in Victoria in 1921, Chow went to the recruiting centre at the Bay Street Armoury in his home town to sign up, two months before his 19th birthday and without his parent’s knowledge.

After training in Vancouver and Ontario, he was shipped to Halifax to board a ship to England.

During the Normandy Invasion, Chow was a member of the 2nd Army Group Royal Artillery and he was lucky when they came off the landing craft, as the water was only nine inches deep.

They made their way inland to Caen and other regions of France, before heading to Belgium, Germany and Holland.

After the victory in Europe, Chow volunteered for the conflict in the Pacific Ocean, before his new assignment was cut short due to the atomic bomb being dropped in Japan.

After the war, Chow became a gunnery instructor at the Bessborough Armoury in Vancouver and reached the rank of Battery Sergeant Major before being honourably discharged in 1963.

Richmond News

by Lucifer Fri 16 Aug 2019, 5:19 pm

Two special medals available for WWII and Korean War vets

LADYSMITH NEWS STAFF / Aug. 16, 2019

LADYSMITH NEWS

by Lucifer Fri 16 Aug 2019, 5:21 pm

WW2, Korean War veterans eligible for special medals

AUGUST 16, 2019

Alaska Highway News

by **Stayner** Sat 17 Aug 2019, 6:06 pm

Medal / Medals 18152153_web1_Veterans-Assembly-PRINT-3-1200x819

Letter: medals available for veterans

LIAM HARRAP / Aug. 17, 2019

Dear Editor,

I would like to inform your readers about two very special medals that are available for our veterans. These are the National Order of the Legion of Honour from France and the Ambassador for Peace Medal from the Republic of Korea.

Our veterans of the Second World War and the Korean War have both fought hard and made tremendous sacrifices and they have both won the greatest level of respect and thanks we can give them. The Government of France is awarding their highest medal to all living Canadian veterans who directly helped to liberate their country between June 6 and Aug. 30, 1944.

The Republic of Korea is presenting its Ambassador for Peace Medal to all Canadian Veterans who participated in the Korean War and its peace keeping operations between 1950 to 1955. Living veterans or the families of veterans who have passed away may be eligible to receive this special medal from Korea. If you are a veteran or know someone that is and who might be eligible for one of these important medals, please contact me. I am an unofficial volunteer who is willing to help you with your application. There is no fee involved.

For more information please contact Mr. Guy Black C/O 515 – 95 Moody Street, Port Moody, BC V3H0H2 or email Korea19501953@yahoo.com and include the subject Veterans Medals.

Thank you,

Guy Black, Recipient of Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation and the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/about-vac/who-we-are/department-officials/minister/commendation/bio/483

https://www.revelstokereview.com/opinion/letter-medals-available-for-veterans/

by Charlie Mon 19 Aug 2019, 4:50 pm

Alberta veteran tries to track down Guelph family to return found war medal (6 Photos)

Aug 19, 2019

https://www.guelphtoday.com/local-news/alberta-veteran-tries-to-track-down-guelph-family-to-return-found-war-medal-6-photos-1646428

by Ranger Mon 19 Aug 2019, 8:01 pm

Did you fight in the Korean war?

Aug. 19, 2019

Editor:

I would like to inform your readers about two very special medals that are available for our veterans. These are the National Order of the Legion of Honour from France and the Ambassador for Peace Medal from the Republic of Korea.

Our veterans of the Second World War and the Korean War have both fought hard and made tremendous sacrifices and they have both won the greatest level of respect and thanks we can give them. The Government of France is awarding their highest medal to all living Canadian veterans who directly helped to liberate their country between June 6 and August 30, 1944.

The Republic of Korea is presenting its Ambassador for Peace Medal to all Canadian Veterans who participated in the Korean War and its peace keeping operations between 1950 and 1955. Living veterans or the families of veterans who have passed away may be eligible to receive this special medal from Korea.

If you are a veteran or know someone that is and who might be eligible for one of these important medals, please contact me. I am an unofficial volunteer who is willing to help you with your application. There is no fee involved.

For more information please contact Mr. Guy Black C/O 515 – 95 Moody Street, Port Moody, BC V3H0H2 or email Korea19501953@yahoo.com and include the subject Veterans Medals.

Guy Black

Recipient, Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation and the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers

https://www.houston-today.com/news/did-you-fight-in-the-korean-war/

by **Powergunner** Wed 21 Aug 2019, 4:12 pm

Veterans eligible for medals

By Oliver Chronicle - August 21, 2019

I would like to inform your readers about two very special medals that are available for our veterans. These are the National Order of the Legion of Honour from France and the Ambassador for Peace Medal from the Republic of Korea.

Our veterans of the Second World War and the Korean War have both fought hard and made tremendous sacrifices and they have won both the greatest level of respect and thanks we can give them.

The government of France is awarding their highest medal to all living Canadian veterans who directly helped to liberate their country between June 6 and Aug. 30, 1944.

The Republic of Korea is presenting its Ambassador for Peace Medal to all Canadian Veterans who participated in the Korean War and its peacekeeping operations between 1950 and 1955. Living veterans or the families of veterans who have passed away may be eligible to receive this special medal from Korea.

If you are a veteran or know someone that is and who might be eligible for one of these important medals, please contact me. I am an unofficial volunteer who is willing to help you with your application. There is no fee involved.

For more information please contact Guy Black C/O 515 – 95 Moody St., Port Moody, B.C. V3H0H2 or email Korea19501953@yahoo.com and include the subject “veterans medals.”

Guy Black, Port Moody

https://www.oliverchronicle.com/veterans-eligible-for-medals/

by Sponsored content

Medal / Medals

Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals

Re: Medal / Medals