At the Virden Royal Canadian Legion Hall, a banquet on May 28 honoured military veterans and first responders. Who are these people? They are the men and women who, in time of danger, either far from home or in our communities are there to protect and help us. The members of the various branches of our armed forces, firefighters, ambulance drivers and paramedics, and our police.
Master of Ceremonies, Captain (Ret'd) Kelvon Smith said, “Those who couldn't make the Veterans and First Responders Appreciation Banquet did miss out on a fine evening of excellent food, fine fellowship, and outstanding entertainment in this small Prairie town of Virden.”
Following a meet and greet in the legion club room, members of the head table were piped in by father and son bagpipe players David and Declan Kyle, son and grandson of Henry and Caron Kyle of Virden, who also entertained after supper. Smith said, “The father/son team of pipers were well received, especially their entertainment set of three tunes.”
Six seniors, members of the Ladies Auxiliary cooked up an especially fine roast beef dinner.
On a small table near the head table was a single setting in remembrance of those gone but not forgotten in the last three years, and a copy of Tennyson’s poem Crossing the Bar.
One of the two keynote speakers Cpl. Al Porter (Ret'd) RCMP not only served in Canada but also as a UN Police training officer for the police force in Kosovo following its civil war of 1998-99. He told of his daily experiences with a mixture of light humor and more serious emotional reflections.
Porter said he received respect from other UN police instructors, colleagues and the citizens of Kosovo when they found he was from Canada. His 10 months of service in Pristina, Kosovos capital, was one of joy and pain. When he finished, the crowd stood and applauded.
John Fefchak, a former member of the RCAF gave a brief history of his service, with two major disappointments that stood out in his memory.
The first was the Canadian government’s decision in 1968 to unify the three branches of the service into a single organization. Many service personnel felt the move destroyed the esprit de corps of their groups.
The second disappointment involved the Canadian-built Avro Arrow, which once made a surprise landing at his air base. This aircraft was years ahead of the military jet planes of the day and had potential to put a Canadian designed all-weather fighter bomber on the world market. In 1959, John Diefenbaker’s federal government ordered the development stopped and all the plans and existing planes destroyed. This resulted the direct and indirect loss of 25,000 Canadian jobs in the aerospace industry. The Arrow's mounting costs, technical delays and government budget reductions contributed to its demise. Many of Canada’s brightest aerospace engineers would move to the U. S. to take part in the American space program. Fefchak said it was a very sad day for the Canadian aviation industry and the RCAF. He closed his presentation with “Lest We Forget” directed to all who have served Canada. Once again, the crowd stood and applauded.
Margaret James’ hand-made quilts were presented to several military veterans, police and first responders. James is Secretary-Treasure of the Royal Canadian Legion, Zone 26.
Smith summarized the success of this evening saying, “We had a large representation of the Virden RCMP detachment.” He noted the standing ovation for the local speakers was a first and added, “Having the Manitoba Fire Commissioner here in uniform … his words were enlightening… our Member of Parliament, Larry Maguire, gave us a lot of insight as to what's happening.”
