WO II Walter Rolland Leja Memorial Bridge spans Cournoyer Creek,near the entrance to the Birds of Prey Rehabilitation Centre located on Rang Salvail Sud in Saint-Jude, Quebec. Saint-Jude is a Canadian municipality in Quebec located in the regional county municipality of Maskoutains and in the administrative region of Montérégie, located approximately 77 km from Montreal.
The Walter "Rocky" Leja Bridge is built over the Cournoyer Creek, a tributary of the Salvail River in the Birds of Prey Rehabilitation Centre near St. Jude, QC, some 60 miles from Montreal.
The bridge is located near the entrance to the birds of prey rehabilitation centre located on Salvail South Road in Saint-Jude, Quebec. The centre opened in 1995 and is taking care of wounded birds of prey from Quebec and Maritimes provinces.
The bridge was built by 3rd Field Engineer Regiment, Royal Canadian Engineers and was dedicated to WO II Walter "Rocky" Leja, GM, CD, a former Regimental Sergeant Major of 3rd Field Engineer Regiment in Montreal QC.
Walter Leja was born in Koniówka, Poland and later emmigrated to Canada. He joined the Canadian Army (The Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers) and became a bomb disposal expert. During the FLQ (Front de libération du Québec) Crisis, on 17 May 1963, he had successfully dismantled two bombs that had been planted in mailboxes in Westmount, QC. A third bomb, found in a mailbox, exploded while Leja was attempting to disarm it. His injuries were life-threatening but he managed to survive with severe disabilities. WO II Walter "Rocky" Leja was awarded the George Medal in January 1964 for ‘conspicuous courage and outstanding devotion to duty.’