I accomplished something this week I’ve wanted to for probably 50 years. I recently received an email from Lew Gregor, friend and membership chair of the Royal Canadian Legion. He was inviting me to the Branch 170 general meeting Tuesday night.
“I want to welcome you,” his note said, “as a new member of the Legion.” (more…)
They all stood in a circle. All the men wore dark-blue Legion blazers or military dress uniforms. Most were greying or bald. I knew I was in trouble if I was going to find my specific contact – one of the featured guests at last Saturday’s CNE Warriors’ Day Parade – because I didn’t know what he looked like. I just knew he was a veteran. As I greeted the group of men, they all turned to face me. And I immediately knew I was saved. They all wore name tags.
“Mr. Stafford,” I said, glancing down at his name plate. “Ed Stafford, Veteran,” the tag said. (more…)
I had hardly oriented myself to the place. Wood smoke from the recent B.C. fires had left Nanton, Alberta – a small prairie town south of Calgary – in a palpable haze. Nevertheless, aviation enthusiast Karl Kjarsgaard, who lives and volunteers there, had something he wanted to show me. Inside the newly renamed Bomber Command Museum of Canada, he led me to a storage area above the workshop. He opened a cardboard box and pulled out a metal bar about 18 inches long.
“This aluminum ingot has Canadian blood in it,” he said. “There’s 1,400 pounds of melted down aluminum in this box… and some of it is about to become famous.”