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Kenton Veteran receives special war medal

June 5 in Kenton, Manitoba saw a special military honour given to Canadian WWII veteran Jack Houston. Houston was a former trooper with the XII Manitoba Dragoons who served in Europe during WWII.

June 5 in Kenton, Manitoba saw a special military honour given to Canadian WWII veteran Jack Houston. Houston was a former trooper with the XII Manitoba Dragoons who served in Europe during WWII.

The honour was to those Canadian troops who fought for the liberation of France, an event that started June 6, 1944, seventy-one years ago less one day, on the French beaches of Normandy.

At a ceremony, held in the Kenton Legion hall, Houston was awarded the title of a Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, described in the letter of announcement as, “The highest of our National Orders”.

This decoration is awarded as part of a special campaign organized in 2014 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the allied landings in Normandy. This medal is a symbol of the veteran’s participation in the operation that helped bring an end to the Second World War in 1945.

The Kenton legion hall was standing room only for the presentation with family, friends and legion/lady auxiliary members. Unfortunately, no representation from any levelof government was on hand for the event.

The award was presented to Jack by Royal Canadian Legion Zone Commander, Mike Ramsden, a former Canadian veteran peace keeper. Comrade Ramsden was the personal choice of Mr. Houston to present the medal, when Federal Government officials could not attend.

After the presentation Houston, who even at 92 is never lost for words, made a brief speech, followed by members of the audience, who came forward to give testimonials about Jack’s life and character, in the best possible way. The crowd then rose to give the veteran a standing ovation, singing “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” followed by three cheers.

With that, the rest of the evening was turned over to fellowship and lunch prepared and served by the local legion ladies auxiliary. In the crowd that evening there were three media reps, and in a
talk with Mr. Houston later on, he made the following remarks. “I enlisted in 1941 at Winnipeg and I received my basic military training at Fort Garry Barracks in Winnipeg and advance training in Dundurn, Saskatchewan.”

His regiment, the XII Manitoba Dragoons, shipped over to England in 1942, where they continued their training in armored reconnaissance vehicles, called Staghounds.

Houston was a trooper in rank and the vehicle had a crew of four. At times he was co-driver, radio man, operator of the 37mm main gun or 30calibre machine gun. The vehicle had a top speed of 50 mph and half-inch thick armor.

In July 1944 his regiment landed in Normandy as part of 2nd Canadian Corps troops.

When they arrived, their Staghounds were taken away and they were all made into infantry soldiers who spent a fair amount of time fighting and collecting German soldiers in the battle of
the Falaise Gap in France.

After the action in France they were given back their vehicles and continued their role as a reconnaissance unit, moving on to the liberation of Holland and Belgium.

When the war ended for Houston, his unit was just 50 miles east of Oldenburg, Germany. After the war, Houston returned to the Kenton area, married Gwen and raised five children, working as a carpenter and farmer.

When asked about the medal he received, he said, “It will remind me of the hardships we faced in battle. It was not a bed of roses and when you woke up each day, you would hope you would
make it to the next day.

They were uncertain times and we survived by relying on each other very much.

“This award is appreciated, for it will remind me of my time in France, but the guys who deserved it more are those soldiers who went in on June 16, 1944, who gave up all their tomorrows. We
should always remember their sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy today.

“As for this evening, I am also grateful for all the people who came out to share this evening with me, I am very lucky.”

Mike Ramsden, who presented the award to Houston said, “This was an honour that was long overdue for Jack and men who served with him in France, since the Dutch government had made a
similar award presentation a few years ago when many more Canadian WWII veterans were still with us.

“Jack deserves this honour. He was there and saw it firsthand. I was very proud to pin the medal on Jack’s coat, being a special moment for me.”

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