There were members from all the Rotary Clubs of Calgary at the Carriage House Inn on November 11th to commemorate Remembrance Day. It was a wonderful service which incorporated the traditional Last Post and Reveille on the bugle, two minutes of silence and the reciting of “In Flanders Fields” and “They Shall Not Grow Old”. Each Club President presented a personal story of Remembrance and read the Honour Roll of those from their Club, both deceased and still living, who had served in our Military.
The guest speaker, Tom Leppard, gave an outstanding presentation which brought the reality of the various wars to our community, in the form of the stories of young Calgarians who had lost their lives in the conflicts. He painted a picture, with words and photos, of young men and their families in Calgary during the time of each of the past conflicts. We heard about Thomas Riley, who grew up in the Hillhurst community (part of his family’s farm is now Riley Park). He lost his life during World War I at the Battle of Passchendaele and his body was never identified. His name is one of over 50,000 engraved on the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, of Commonwealth soldiers who are in unmarked graves in Europe.
We heard, too, of Willie McKnight (you know McKnight Blvd.), a Calgarian in World War II who was an ace pilot with the RAF’s all-Canadian squadron. He was killed in action over the English Channel. There were others from the Korean War and Peacekeeping missions, but Mr. Leppard’s address ended with the story of Nicola Goddard, with whom we’re all familiar. We heard from her parents, via video, and there wasn’t a dry eye at the end.
It was a fitting tribute to all those who served, made very personal to all of us in Calgary, where these young people had their roots.
To read President Manon’s Remembrance story and the list of veterans from our club, click the Read More … link.
President Manon’s shares her personal story of Remembrance:
This is a story of the legacy of Marcel Perreault who was born in a small town in the Eastern Townships of Quebec in 1924. During WWII he would have loved to serve alongside others from his village but Marcel was born with a club foot which prevented him enlisting. Having a club foot probably saved his life!
Marcel found another way to serve his country, you see he loved music and he joined the local militia band and eventually joined a branch of the Canadian Armed Forces called the Cadet Instructor Cadre.
Marcel, like many other Cadet Officers, loved mentoring kids. Marcel spent summers away from his family at HMCS Cornwallis developing not only bandsman but helping to build character, leaders, confident young men and women.
Marcel got one of his daughters involved in Cadets and when she was old enough, she joined the ranks of the Cadet Instructor Cadre and dawned the Canadian Forces uniform.
LCdr Marcel Perreault became Director of Music at the cadet summer camp on the East Coast of Canada and his daughter Lt(n) Perreault became the Director of Music on the West Coast at HMCS Quadra in Comox, BC. Between the 2 of them, they were responsible for all Sea Cadets musicians across Canada. Music in cadets was the vehicle for kids to develop leadership, confidence, commitment, self-esteem, discipline, being part of a community and caring for each other, in a sense, service above self.
At this very moment there are thousands of teens across Canada who have spent countless hours polishing their boots, pressing their uniform, and practicing marching in step. Right now they are standing at attention on frozen ground, just like Marcel and his daughter did, paying their respects.
It is because of Marcel that kids joined the Canadian Armed Forces. As his daughter, I did not pursue a career in the Armed Forces however I am standing here in front of you today living the legacy of “Service Above Self” through the Cadet organization.
In my mind I replay Abide with Me, Eternal Father, Heart of Oak, The RAF March Past and many other hymns and marches on Remembrance day and am filled with gratitude for the life we are able to enjoy.
And it is an honour for me now to recognized those member of the Rotary Club of Calgary who served and are no longer with us:
Deceased
Les Allan
Dave Anderson
Gordon Anderson
Tony Anselmo
Doug Austin
Joe Braeger
Murray Bowman
Harvey Bliss
Don Cushing
Earl Coutts
Jim Fowler
Ron Graham
Urban Guichon
Tom Hogben
George Hogg
Harry Hunter
Bob Ingles
John Ink
Lynn Johnson
Bill Jack
Gerry Law
Gordon Lennard
Jake Longmore
Ernie Love
Jim McKibbon
Don McMillan
Ralph Nickerson
Howard Paillefer
Cec Palmer
Craig Reid
George Reidy
Bob Robinson
John Russell
Fred Scott
Hugh Seton
Paddy Shields
John Shipley
Bob Smith
Bill Stemp
John Stevenson
Bill Tait
Don Telfer
Tommy Thomason
Bill Tynan
Tom Walsh
Giles Wilderman
Still with us
Dennis Anderson
Cliff Black
Don Campbell
Vlad Dhillon
Laurie Duff
John Hogan
Bob Junker
Don Milliken
Bud Parslow
Fred Peacock
Manon (Perreault) Mitchell
Carl St. Laurent
Gerry Young
Gord Walker