Re: Veterans Honoured

by Covert Mon 15 Nov 2021, 8:14 am

Canadian veteran knighted in B.C. for helping Afghan interpreter and his family escape Taliban rule

Published Nov. 14, 2021

CTV News

by Rekert Fri 26 Nov 2021, 5:16 pm

'If we don't remember them, all of their stories will be forgotten': Teen honours veterans

Veterans Honoured - Page 2 Tom-stout-1-5662502-1636667444758

Published Nov. 26, 2021

https://barrie.ctvnews.ca/if-we-don-t-remember-them-all-of-their-stories-will-be-forgotten-teen-honours-veterans-1.5683135

by Dragonforce Fri 26 Nov 2021, 9:20 pm

Local teen honours veterans

A young teen from Shanty Bay shows his appreciation for war veterans through thousands of letters.

Friday, Nov. 26, 2021

by Lux4795 Tue 30 Nov 2021, 4:22 pm

Veterans Voices of Canada honoured two Indigenous Elders with National Indigenous flag

REETI MEENAKSHI ROHILLA / Nov. 30, 2021

https://www.sylvanlakenews.com/news/veterans-voices-of-canada-honoured-two-indigenous-elders-with-national-indigenous-flag/

by **Spider** Fri 03 Dec 2021, 9:49 am

Second World War vet who fought in an elite squadron honoured in Toronto on 100th birthday

Published Thursday, December 2, 2021

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/second-world-war-vet-who-fought-in-an-elite-squadron-honoured-in-toronto-on-100th-birthday-1.5691985

by **Falcon** Sun 06 Feb 2022, 4:29 pm

Vancouver neighbourhood honours Second World War veteran on her 102nd birthday

Published Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Veterans Honoured - Page 2 Covid-19-102nd-birthday

CTV News

Review finds lack of evidence for decision to deny hospice care to 102-year-old veteran

Bethany Lindsay · CBC News · Posted: Feb 06, 2022

CBC News

by Whiskey Tue 10 May 2022, 4:26 pm

'It was spectacular': Second World War veteran gets sky-high surprise for 97th birthday

Published May 10, 2022

CTV News

by **Falcon** Fri 20 May 2022, 3:51 pm

Orillia native, veteran 'honoured' to lead Queen’s York Rangers

May 20. 2022

Matt Lennox became the new commanding officer of the Queen’s York Rangers in a changing-of-the-guard ceremony held at Fort York on Saturday.

The ceremony was presided over by Ontario Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Dowdeswell and Canadian Governor General Mary Simon.

Lennox, who is now a lieutenant-colonel, joined the regiment in 2002 and served in Afghanistan for parts of 2008 and 2009.

Like many teens, he wasn’t sure where life was going to take him while he was attending high school at Twin Lakes Secondary School in Orillia.

Lennox ended up becoming a novelist after earning his master’s degree at the University of Guelph.

“I don’t know if I had any distinct goals at that time,” said Lennox, 41. “It was kind of a hobby and I was fortunate to have a couple of things published.”

Despite finding some success as an author, Lennox discovered the prospect of being a full-time novelist in Canada to be unrealistic in terms of income. To make some cash, he bounced around from being a bartender, working in construction and having various odd jobs.

In 2002 he discovered that joining the military as a part-time job would provide a partial tuition reimbursement for his post-secondary studies.

“I thought that would be a good way to offset the price of my schooling,” he said. “I also found that I quite liked the job.”

When he signed up, he didn’t believe he would ever serve overseas. However, in 2007, there were many opportunities for reserve service members to deploy to Afghanistan, and Lennox decided to throw his name in the mix.

“It was certainly a very eye-opening experience,” he said. “Those were the thick of the years for Canadian combat operations and casualties.”

Many service personnel were injured or killed in combat during his time overseas. He attended dispiriting ramp ceremonies where deceased soldiers were loaded onto aircraft to be sent back home.

“I had a couple of friends who were badly wounded in some engagements,” he said. “I knew a couple of people who were killed in engagements.”

Lennox had a fairly safe job in Afghanistan as a staff officer at headquarters. After returning home from the 10-month deployment unscathed, he joined the military in a full-time capacity.

While working with the Queen’s York Rangers for 20 years, he has risen through the officer ranks and has landed in the commanding officer role.

“It’s an honour, certainly,” he said, “but it’s also a lot of responsibility because we are at a stage where the Canadian Armed Forces (is), in some ways, reinventing itself.”

At the same time, it's an uncertain world right now. Army reserve personnel are being deployed on international operations all the time, he said.

“There is a very real responsibility for ensuring that we are well trained and well cared for before, during and after any kind of deployment,” Lennox said.

Domestic operations such as responding to natural disasters and situations like the COVID-19 pandemic could also call for the deployment of military reserves, he explained.

“We have to have our people who are mainly part-timers, and foster a culture where they are well trained, well equipped, and ready to go in a relatively short order,” Lennox explained. “There are a lot of unknown situations that could arise.”

His goal is to make sure he is passing on a unit that is in the best shape possible when his successor takes over in about three years.

“For any member of my regiment that is deployed on an operation over the next couple of years, I want them to come home and say that no matter what hardships they faced while deployed, they knew they were well cared for by their home unit,” he said.

Lennox hopes to continue as a novelist one day. However, between his military career, being the deputy director of the Romeo Dallaire Centre for Peace Studies, and being the father of three young daughters and husband to wife Natalie, who is a human rights lawyer, the Etobicoke resident says there isn’t much spare time at the end of every day.

He and his family like to spend the spare time they have visiting loved ones, enjoying the family cottage in Parry Sound, and hope to do some travelling.

“My family is very supportive of me, which is critical to the work that I do,” Lennox said. “It’s not something you could do without an extended family network behind you.”

Orillia News

by Covert Sat 09 Jul 2022, 8:42 am

Indigenous Veteran Honoured by Medal Presentation

By Lookout Production on Jul 08, 2022

Veterans Honoured - Page 2 USS-Arizona-MF-096_web

Lookout

by **Hammercore** Thu 14 Jul 2022, 4:24 pm

91-year-old veteran from Abbotsford honoured by South Korean president

JESSICA PETERS / Jul. 14, 2022

An Abbotsford man who served in the Korean War has been given the title Ambassador for Peace.

John Molnar, 91, has just returned from a trip to South Korea with his good friend Kelly Watson, vice president of the Abbotsford Legion. They were among a delegation of 200 veterans and family members from nine countries, invited by the South Korean government. They were all VIPs for a national ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict, June 25, 1950.

The visit included meeting South Korean President Yoon Seok-youl, who personally placed the Ambassador for Peace ribbon around Molnar’s neck. Only four other veterans were given the medal this year.

The event was covered heavily by the national Korean media. The photo chosen for the front page of the country’s largest daily newspaper was of Yoon bowing deeply to Molnar as he walks across a stage. A copy of that newspaper is one of many souvenirs Molnar brought back to Abbotsford.

Molnar served in the navy aboard the HMCS Cayuga, part of an initial flotilla of three destroyers that set out from Esquamalt Naval Base, along with the HMCS Athabascan and HMCS Sioux. The crews were sent to help push back North Korean military, who had invaded without warning.

Molnar was deployed twice between 1950 and 1953. Eight Royal Canadian Navy ships served in Korean waters, manned by some 5,000 sailors. Molnar said they didn’t go ashore, instead they provided support from the waters. They slept in hammocks, and worked in cramped quarters. They loaded junk boats with ammunition, and provided intelligence and other support to allies.

He was able to meet face to face with shipmates on this trip, and although seven decades have passed, he said talking about those days stirred up many memories.

After his first deployment, Molnar came home for two months. It was then that his future wife, Kathy, caught his eye.

“We used to do the jitterbug back then,” he said.

By the end of the war, there were an estimated 1.5 million civilian casualities. He returned on the Cayuga as part of a peacekeeping deployment.

The support that came from United Nations member countries during and after the war has always been appreciated by the South Koreans, and honouring ceremonies have been taking place for some time.

This time, the honourees were treated to an event in the Dynasty Hall of Seoul’s lavish Shilla Hotel, after being selected by Korea’s Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs.

“The freedom, peace and prosperity that the Republic of Korea enjoys today were built on the foundation of the blood, sweat, sacrifice and dedication of our veterans and veterans under the UN flag,” Yoon told the crowd. “The Republic of Korea will uphold your courage and noble spirit and do its part to defend freedom as a responsible member of the international community.”

He also said that his government will work tirelessly to locate and return the remains of soldiers of all nations who were listed as missing in action.

“Our government will not stop our efforts to recover the remains of those who lost their lives in the Korean War,” Yoon said. “We will do our best until the day that every last missing soldier is returned to the arms of their families.”

He spoke of how the success of their efforts then led to the advances of the nation today.

“You are the heroes that made possible the Republic of Korea of today,” he said.

He later met with every veteran and presented Ambassador for Peace medals to five veterans from the Philippines, the United States, Canada and Ethiopia. Also at the ceremony were Canadians Victor Flett, a 32-year naval veteran who served in Korea on the destroyer HMCS Crusader, and Ronald Foyle, who served on HMCS Cayuga in Korea as a stoker in the engine room.

Mission City Record

by Covert Sun 21 Aug 2022, 9:03 am

Canadian veteran honoured on 80th anniversary of Dieppe Raid

Aug 20. 2022

CBC News

by **OutlawSoldier** Wed 21 Sep 2022, 4:30 pm

Banners in Riverside honour veterans with Windsor ties

Published Sept. 21, 2022

Veterans Honoured - Page 2 Banners-1-6078058-1663788265143

Twenty-five Windsor veterans will be memorialized with new banners showcased throughout the Riverside neighbourhood.

The Veteran Banner Project in partnership with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 255, The Olde Riverside BIA and ENWIN Utilities Ltd. have placed 25 banners commemorating veterans with ties to the Windsor community.

A ceremony in celebration of the new banners was held Wednesday. Installation of the banners began last Sunday.

The new banners will be showcased along both sides of Wyandotte Street, between Prado Place and Glidden Street.

CTV News Windsor