Daily Blog

Massachusetts Recognizes the Most Significant Military Role Played by US Women! 496

11/25/2019

A month ago I noted in this space that a good friend had recently spent several weeks with family in the New Bedford area of Massachusetts.

During that period she convinced family to take her to numerous bookstores on the hunt for a recent book about Vancouver BC born military hero Douglas Munro. He lost his life in WWll at the Solomon Islands and his mother was later presented with the posthumous Medal of Honor. This was awarded on his behalf for incredible bravery whilst saving the lives of 500 marines and sailors at Guadalcanal. References to his deeds are often mentioned in this space.

My friend's efforts not only found the book, but got one that was actually signed by the author. A book that is now in the process of getting read, and will become one of my military favorites on the shelf.

As with all trips, one returns with many pictures. This one from my friend, was of particular interest....

Ironically it came to me during the month of October.

The very month in Canada, that had been celebrated since 1992 as Women's History Month. One resulting for the primary efforts of three BC women, my mother being one of these. For over a year they gathered the support from many women and organizations representing thousands more from across Canada. Efforts to support the three originals calling for the federal government's creation of a month in recognition of the important accomplishments of women going back to Canada's founding and long before.

The US also celebrates the same month of celebration, but in March, and has done so since 1988.

Back in 2006 a group of New Bedford citizens approached the city council with the fact that since the days of George Washington, women have come forth to serve. It was, in their opinion, high time that those women and all serving since, were properly recognized for their service to the nation.

Those efforts soon blossomed into the creation of the Women's Military Memorial Committee. It's 6 1/2 year journey saw a fund opened up, the seeking of public support and of course donations, the calling for and reviewing of 5 design prototypes, and the seeking of an appropriate space for a memorial to be built.

Here is the design that was eventually selected...

The inspiration for the design came from this 1997 US stamp honouring women in the US military. US Post printed 37 million of these stamps and the first to be released was on October 18 of that year.

The date is symbolic to Canadians as well!

It was on that very day back in 1929 that Lord Sankey, the senior Jurist of the British Commonwealth issued his decision regarding the famous Canadian Persons Case. This was the decades long battle of women seeking to be duly recognized as eligible to be appointed to our Senate. But the men of the day relied on old British case law declaring that women were not "persons," and thus were ineligible for appointment to the Senate of Canada.
The Sankey decision, ruled that indeed women were in fact PERSONS.

The case has been often noted in past blogs. In those it has been noted that Women's History Month... in October... was chosen to be then celebrated in that very month.

More on Sunday...

Bart

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November 18th, 2019

11/18/2019

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Other duties and delaying arrival of updates prevent the next blog's running till Tues. or Wed. 25 or 26 Nov.

Sorry folks...

Bart

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More on Remembrance.

11/17/2019

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Carrying on from last week's blog, I mentioned that in the early hours of November 11th I would again this year be attending a brief ceremony for WWI Victoria Cross recipient Rowland Bourke.

Reserve Naval Commander Bourke was awarded his VC and also the DSO for saving about 40 lives of sailors in the waters off Belgium in failed attempts to scuttle two vessels at different harbours. Facilities inside those harbours housed German Submarines that got repairs and supplies, and from which they operated during the Battle of the Atlantic. Much has been written about these events in earlier blogs in this space.

En-route to the Bourke grave ceremony I passed by these very large trees that are almost 100 years old. Noted in past blogs, some 900 were supposed to be planted in honour of fallen Victoria area soldiers from the Great War. But only a few hundred were planted and a recent move saw activity that will soon result in more being planted.

From the picture above you can see the majestic trees that actual canopy across the road in some places during the summer. Past blogs also brought you the story that the street was to become known as Memorial Avenue but over the years that got forgotten by the officials of the day.

Recent blogs have also told of the new life to the street with the addition of some 30 road signs and interpretive displays explaining the significance of the trees and signs.

The above plaque tells us that back in 1926 the Municipality of Saanich and the Victoria Horticultural Society's Heritage Tree Committee mounted the plaque. It tells that in 1922 French General Joseph Joffie, Lord Byng and General, Sir Arthur Currie each planted one of these London Plane trees in this very area.

As I drove by en-route to the Bourke ceremony, I saw two young girls about high school age, placing something on the plaque. Someone also placed a wonderful wreath on the tree itself. Here's a better picture of the plaque taken later in the day.

For I believe 11 of the last 12 years I have attended the Bourke grave at the Royal Oak Burial Park in Saanich on Remembrance Day to pay my respects. At my request, members of the local reserve naval unit... HMCS Malahat, have unofficially adopted the grave of this fellow sailor and local hero... Rowland Bourke. They have now attended I believe the last 10 years. With their incredible help, that of CFB Esquimalt, the family, the Cemetery and many others, joint efforts resulted in the unveiling of this marvelous grave marker beside the original, hard to see, flat marker.

I am looking up at a low flying airplane, no doubt sent to watch over us... hehe.

This year there were about two dozen members of the Malahat team at the service. Each year the numbers grow slightly. I teased those in attendance that some day maybe the whole unit could attend the brief service.

The Commanding Officer gave a brief talk about the Bourke deeds, then placed wreaths, asked the family to make a few comments and then gave me the same opportunity. Then all had to race off to Sydney were, within the hour they had to join up with the rest of their unit in Remembrance ceremonies there.

Several Bourke family members and I stand off to the left in the image above.

I then had to race downtown to the location of the Afghanistan Memorial. After this was formally unveiled the committee creating it turned it over to the PPCLI for its upkeep. They in turn have decided to visit it each Remembrance Day and hold a brief service there before attending the major service at 11 am just a few blocks away.

I am shaking hands with Dougal Salmon, a former Captain in the PPCLI and a man with some 30 plus years in the Canadian Forces.

Dougal and I served together for many years in the 1960's with the Toronto Scottish Regiment. Both advancing from recruit to Sergeant before he headed off to join the CF and about then I was promoted to Warrant Officer but soon work had me moving to Halifax. There I joined a second reserve unit for several years and then relocating to BC, and joined a 3rd unit where I was promoted to Master Warrant Officer. Five years later I retired from the military.

Dougal is now retired but serves as the President of the local Branch of the PPCLI Association, and thus his appearance at the Afghanistan Memorial on the 11th.

Dougal gave a brief talk about his unit's involvement in the War Against Drugs and the terrible cost paid not only by those who gave their all, and their families and friends, but also those who came home with other wounds, some noticeable and some not.

There were about 50 people attending, some serving, others were veterans, families and friends and members of the public. The Last Post was played, wreaths laid and some even placed their poppies on the monument.

As I have mentioned several times in this space, this is a very important tribute to those who lost their lives, those who came home with visible and other wounds, and their extended families. Each one of us owes them the duty of stopping by this monument and paying our own respects, any time day or night. Yes it is lit at night and does not have any barriers that would prevent you visiting it after normal hours.

And as a special thanks to Captain Dougal Salmon, here is the cap badge that we both honour to this day with the work we both continue to do.

In closing, I would like to share with you a letter that appeared on the net just a few days ago. It has been sent to me by one of my best friends and supporter of this blog and all it stands for. Here it is...

What more need I say!

See you next Sunday,
cheers...
Bart

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All Gave Some, Some gave All!

11/10/2019

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For the past 7 years in this space I have brought you news about Remembrance Day activities in the greater Victoria BC area.

Sadly far too many in the earlier days, like today, will see yet another long weekend to enjoy. Little thought will go into the very meaning of the sacrifices that ought to be in their minds on this, and a handful of other days in the year.

Today's title says it all!

US Army Staff Sergeant Christiana Ball a soldier and an entertainer, was part of an entertainment special at the White House a few years back and sang this song for President Obama and others.

It indeed does tell it all and while I have provided a link to the song in the past, I feel it appropriate to again bring it to you.

Please turn on your speakers and go to this link, and return after you hear it. You might want to listen to it several times and pay close attention to her message.

Here is the link... www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dBPAmP1Sa4

Closer to home, back again at Victoria, several blogs have brought you news of the Afghanistan memorial. Christiana's words are crystal clear when you look at the local memorial and over 160 names of Canadians who gave their all during our 12 year mission.

Well over 1000 in the serving military, Afghanistan and other war veterans, cadets, many dignitaries including very high ranking military officers, politicians, the Lt Governor of BC and even the Afghanistan Ambassador to Canada were joined by family members of some of the lost warriors in attendance.

At the September 2017 unveiling the public were invited to place their own poppies on both sides of the memorial, one being in English the other in French. The names of the fallen, including 5 women, are listen alphabetically and travel around both sides of the base.

In the lower image in the first line, though unreadable in this image, is the name of 21 yr. old Karine Blais from Quebec. She was only in Kandahar 2 weeks when killed by a roadside bomb. A few lines down contains the name of 23 year old medic Andrew Eykelenboom from the Comox area of Vancouver Island. The medic was serving with a convoy on the move when attacked by a suicide bomber who's truck crashed into the convoy. His was the first Can adian death of a Medic in action since the war in Korea.

Today there will be 2 separate groups visiting the memorial in the downtown area of Victoria, just a few blocks away from the Legislative Buildings and main Remembrance ceremonies at 11 a.m.

And speaking of Remembrance, regular readers of these blogs will recall the several stories in this space a year ago about the Municipality of Saanich (which borders of the City of Victoria.) Last year it unveiled about 30 memorial signs along Shelbourne Street. This major North South corridor was designated after WW1 as the first ever Street of Remembrance in Canada and plans called for the planting of one London Plane tree for every soldier killed in that war.

But after several hundred trees were planted things came to an end. Over the years many of them died and still more were later removed for street widening. The Memorial Avenue anticipated came to one far short of what was called for.

Plans of late are attempting to deal with replacing trees. But in the mean time the 30 Memorial Avenue signs have been mounted along the street with still more to come.

Over the last few weeks there has been an addition with the inclusion of about 16 more signs now on the south end of Shelbourne Street, which is in the city of Victoria.

Above we see the former mayor of Saanich, the then and current area MLA and a representative of the native community unveiling one of the new memorial signs along the north end of Shelbourne.

A few days ago, on November 8th a brief ceremony for the unveiling of 16 more memorial signs was held by the city of Victoria. Here we see Patty Stockten, 1st Vice President of the Trafalgar Pro Pat Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, Victoria acting Mayor Marianne Alto and BC/Yukon Chair of the Victoria Remembrance Day Poppy Fund standing below the first memorial sign mounted in Victoria, at the south end of Shelbourne Street near Pembroke.

While the event marked the 100th anniversary of the first Armistice, I was disappointed to see that only about 4 dozen officials and members of the public attended. Not sure why, by the occasion should have been much better attended.

The small park where this took place had a number of white birch trees. I am fond of these as I grew up on family property that had several of these. And those gathered got quite a hoot when discovering a guest hiding in one one of these.

Perhaps he/she was also unimpressed with the size of the audience!

This morning, as per the last dozen or more years, I will be attending a brief ceremony at the grave site of WW1 Victoria Cross recipient Rowland Bourke here in Victoria. Here is the marker I helped others to have erected several years ago in honor of this Canadian hero.

I shall end with a poem, which I believe I brought to you also last year. It tells the plight of the veterans so well and deserves to yet again be brought forth.