Remembrance Day

Roger Miller is a veteran of the Vietnam War and has made his home in the Alberni Valley.

THEN AND NOW: Veteran remembers service, comrades in Vietnam

Roger Miller is a veteran of the Vietnam War and has made his home in the Alberni Valley

  • Nov 11, 2020

 

Tim Murphy

THEN AND NOW: From supply tech to peacekeeper

Tim Murphy was raised in a military family

  • Nov 11, 2020

 

Roy Buchanan

THEN AND NOW: A PPCLI leader among legions

Roy Buchanan enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1973

  • Nov 11, 2020

 

Ron Simpson joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1963.

THEN AND NOW: A life spent aboard Canadian naval ships

Ron Simpson joined the Royal Canadian Navy in March 1963

  • Nov 11, 2020
Ron Simpson joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1963.
Piper George Batt of the West Coast Highlanders Pipe and Drum Band leads the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293 colour party to the Field of Honour at Greenwood Cemetery in Port Alberni. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)

Port Alberni honours veterans in smaller Remembrance Day ceremony

The event was limited to 50 people, by invitation only, due to COVID-19

Piper George Batt of the West Coast Highlanders Pipe and Drum Band leads the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293 colour party to the Field of Honour at Greenwood Cemetery in Port Alberni. (ELENA RARDON / ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS)
Port Alberni veteran Bruce Proudfoot was born in Porthcawl, Wales and joined the British Army as a Royal Engineer apprentice at age 15.

THEN AND NOW: From Wales to Alberni, an army tale

Port Alberni veteran Bruce Proudfoot joined the British Army at age 15

  • Nov 11, 2020
Port Alberni veteran Bruce Proudfoot was born in Porthcawl, Wales and joined the British Army as a Royal Engineer apprentice at age 15.
Don Bryant, who passed away in October 2020, presents a Certificate of Merit to fellow Legion member and daughter Linda Biamonte in 2014. (PHOTO COURTESY SONJA DRINKWATER)

Port Alberni’s Legion loses beloved leader, staunch volunteer

Don Bryant was known for his involvement in numerous Legion activities

  • Nov 11, 2020
Don Bryant, who passed away in October 2020, presents a Certificate of Merit to fellow Legion member and daughter Linda Biamonte in 2014. (PHOTO COURTESY SONJA DRINKWATER)
Bob Kangiesser, then and now.

THEN AND NOW: A career spent flying around the world

Bob Kanngiesser joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in September 1958

  • Nov 11, 2020
Bob Kangiesser, then and now.
Bill Groeneveld of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293 places a poppy on the grave of Armand Fournier to mark Remembrance Day. Each year, Groeneveld and Roy Buchanan place poppies on all of the crosses in the Field in of Honour. (SONJA DRINKWATER / SPECIAL TO THE NEWS)

EDITORIAL: A reminder of what veterans fought for

As Remembrance Day approaches, a reminder of what they fought for

  • Nov 11, 2020
Bill Groeneveld of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293 places a poppy on the grave of Armand Fournier to mark Remembrance Day. Each year, Groeneveld and Roy Buchanan place poppies on all of the crosses in the Field in of Honour. (SONJA DRINKWATER / SPECIAL TO THE NEWS)
Jan Jansma was 10 years old when Canadian troops marched through his hometown of Een in the Netherlands, days before Canada helped liberate the Netherlands during the Second World War. He looks at scrapbooks of photos from his life around that time. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)

Port Alberni man remembers Dutch Liberation

‘Here come the Canadians’

Jan Jansma was 10 years old when Canadian troops marched through his hometown of Een in the Netherlands, days before Canada helped liberate the Netherlands during the Second World War. He looks at scrapbooks of photos from his life around that time. (SUSAN QUINN/ Alberni Valley News)
(FILE PHOTO)

LETTER: Veterans need our help now more than ever

Thank a veteran for our freedoms this week

  • Nov 11, 2020
(FILE PHOTO)
Heather Maling and crash researcher Radovan Zivanovic searching for small pieces from the crash site where Officer Henry Carruthers, of Trail, was killed in the Second World War. Photo: Submitted

Remembering a young man from Trail who went to war and never came home

Henry Carruthers is buried in the Belgrade War Cemetery in Serbia.

Heather Maling and crash researcher Radovan Zivanovic searching for small pieces from the crash site where Officer Henry Carruthers, of Trail, was killed in the Second World War. Photo: Submitted
Susan McCarthy, the youngest daughter of the late Robert McVie, holds a newspaper clipping of her father helping plant the Vimy oak tree in Port Alberni’s Field of Honour at Greenwood Cemetery. (PHOTO COURTESY TRICIA ABBOTT)

From an acorn, an oak of Vimy Ridge memories grows

Historic tree growing in Port Alberni cemetery began as a seed on famed battleground

Susan McCarthy, the youngest daughter of the late Robert McVie, holds a newspaper clipping of her father helping plant the Vimy oak tree in Port Alberni’s Field of Honour at Greenwood Cemetery. (PHOTO COURTESY TRICIA ABBOTT)
A woman lays flowers following Remembrance Day ceremonies at God’s Acre Veteran’s Cemetery in Victoria, B.C., on Sunday, November 11, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

There are plenty of ways to honour Remembrance Day without visiting cenotaphs

Many Legion branches looking to livestreaming and virtual ceremonies amid COVID-19

A woman lays flowers following Remembrance Day ceremonies at God’s Acre Veteran’s Cemetery in Victoria, B.C., on Sunday, November 11, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Korean War veterans Andy Barber, left, and Ron Kirk, raise the Canadian flag at the Halton Naval Veterans Association Burlington, Ont. on Friday November 6, 2020. Barber and Kirk served as in the navy as part of a peacekeeping force immediately following the armistice in July 1953. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch

70 years on, Canadian veterans keep memories of ‘forgotten’ Korean War alive

It took till May 1982 before the National War Memorial was rededicated to include the dates of the Korean War

Korean War veterans Andy Barber, left, and Ron Kirk, raise the Canadian flag at the Halton Naval Veterans Association Burlington, Ont. on Friday November 6, 2020. Barber and Kirk served as in the navy as part of a peacekeeping force immediately following the armistice in July 1953. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch
Julie Mungall places her painted stones at the Brookside veterans cemetery in Winnipeg, Saturday, October 24, 2020. Mungall is commemorating Remembrance Day by painting poppies and other designs on rocks and hiding them around the city, sometimes in plain sight, for people to pick up and take home with them. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Most British Columbians are unaware of WWII battles fought on our own shores

Remembrance Day research shows Canadians know more about European WWII battles than attacks closer to home

Julie Mungall places her painted stones at the Brookside veterans cemetery in Winnipeg, Saturday, October 24, 2020. Mungall is commemorating Remembrance Day by painting poppies and other designs on rocks and hiding them around the city, sometimes in plain sight, for people to pick up and take home with them. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
Peter Dawe salutes his son Capt. Matthew Dawe’s grave in Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. Capt.Matthew Dawe died in Afghanistan on July 4, 2007. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg

Fewer people plan to attend virtual or in-person Remembrance Day ceremonies: poll

The poll found that roughly 71 per cent of respondents will wear a poppy

Peter Dawe salutes his son Capt. Matthew Dawe’s grave in Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. Capt.Matthew Dawe died in Afghanistan on July 4, 2007. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg
Planes fly in formation above a large crowd who gathered to honour the fallen during a Remembrance Day ceremony at the War Memorial in Oak Bay, B.C., on Monday, November 11, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Honouring veterans in a pandemic: COVID-19 put Legions at risk of closure

In many ways, COVID-19 exacerbated issues man Legion branches were already facing

Planes fly in formation above a large crowd who gathered to honour the fallen during a Remembrance Day ceremony at the War Memorial in Oak Bay, B.C., on Monday, November 11, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
Flying Officer Howard McNamara (Retired) and Cpl. Anne McNamara (Retired) are shown in Veterans Affairs Canada handout photos. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Courtesy McNamara Family

COVID-19 latest bump in Canada’s long road to Second World War remembrance

Royal Canadian Legion will place a special emphasis on marking the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII

Flying Officer Howard McNamara (Retired) and Cpl. Anne McNamara (Retired) are shown in Veterans Affairs Canada handout photos. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Courtesy McNamara Family
Sid Morton, 97, of Port Alberni has received an award from the President of the Republic of France for his efforts during the Second World War. (SUBMITTED PHOTOS)

France bestows rare honour on Port Alberni veteran

Sid Morton, 97, helped liberate France in the Second World War

  • Nov 8, 2020
Sid Morton, 97, of Port Alberni has received an award from the President of the Republic of France for his efforts during the Second World War. (SUBMITTED PHOTOS)