This is the first of four articles by Lieutenant-Colonel Don Kennedy, CD (Ret'd) in which he related his personal and professional connections with the former home of the Engineers.
A Prodigal Sapper Returns to Vedder Crossing
I was invited by a legendary historian of all things relating to the Canadian Military Engineers, LCol (Ret’d) Ken Holmes, to give a personal account of my feelings regarding my selection of Vedder Crossing as my final - really final - posting. For…
In 2014, to mark the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, the French government began the process of honouring Canadians who participated in assisted with the liberation of France. To date, nearly 1,200 Canadian veterans have received the French National Order of the Legion of Honour. As France prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day next year, the country is working with the Canadian government to identify more veterans who qualify for the honour. If you…
Effective 1 January 2024, Parks Canada will be providing free daily admission to active CAF members, Veterans of the CAF, and their immediate families. See here for details.
À compter du 1er janvier 2024, Parcs Canada annonce la gratuité de l’entrée quotidienne dans les lieux administrés par Parcs Canada pour les membres et les vétérans et vétéranes des Forces armées canadiennes et leurs familles Voir ici pour plus de détails.
The Korean War Veterans at the KVA Canada Unit 7 in Ottawa have a tradition they have followed for decades. Every year they join with the Korean Embassy to host and entertain their comrades who are in long-term care at Ottawa’s Perley and Rideau Veterans Health Centre. This year His Excellency Woonsoon Lim, South Korea’s Ambassador to Canada, led his embassy team to the Centre where a happy evening unfolded for the veterans.
The CMEA is actively searching for…
On Friday 8 December, our Executive Director, Colonel David Burke (Ret’d), represented the CMEA at a Conference of Defence Associations Zoom Council Meeting. The meeting was chaired by LGen (Ret’d) Guy Thibault. There were in total 19 attendees from the CDA and member associations.
One of the key points made in the Chair’s opening remarks was that the CDA is strong and has increased its programming and hence the size of its staff. There are now 13…
In this Issue:
President’s Report
Honours And Awards
Remembrance Day
Exercises
Retirements
Canadian Military Engineers Association (CMEA) National Conference 2023
44 ES 75th Anniversary
Veteran Affairs
Membership
39 CER Association Contacts
On a beautiful Sunday in September, several members of the Georgian Bay Volunteer Search and Rescue came out to the Canadian Forces Fire and CBRN Academy (CFFCA) training area to hone their skills and to prepare two of their canine members for their upcoming certifications. They took advantage of our expansive area of 159 acres and maneuvered through challenging scenarios, making use of some of the training props in our “Disaster Village”.
Georgian Bay Search and…
22 November 2023
On 22 and 23 November 2023, the CMEA held its National Conference at the Novotel in Ottawa. The first day of the Conference was devoted to Professional Development with over 100 people in attendance. It was also streamed live to a wide audience.
The PD Day included five sessions covering aspects of the Russian-Ukraine War of interest to Military Engineers. The war in its latest guise is now 21 months long - it has been one year and 272 days since…
This year's Sapper Claus marks the tenth anniversary of this programme. In those ten years, the CMEA has shipped Christmas greetings and gifts to over 1,400 Engineers serving on deployment or in the far north over the holiday season away from family and friends.
Cpl Elizabeth Wenting of MCE and her elves Cpl Moores, Cpl Baptista, Cpl Grantham, Cpl Milne, Cpl Albarracin, Cpl Bridgeman, Cpl Stephens-Merpaw, CWO Allan and other members of MCE,…
This is a story about the compassion and sensitivity shown by Canadian soldiers in the horror of war in Italy. It starts just after the battles of Monte Cassino and the Liri Valley when a small orphan named Gino was found hiding in the rubble of his village overlooking the battlefields. Gino stayed with those men until the end of their time in Italy before moving on to continue the fight in Holland and Germany. Bear in mind, by June 1944, many of these these…
