MOOSE JAW — Joyful chatter filled the Legion lounge on Oct. 10 as veterans and their spouses or caregivers gathered to socialize and celebrate each other’s military careers, during the organization’s first post-pandemic luncheon.
About 80 people packed into Moose Jaw’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 59, with roughly 50 of those attendees a veteran. Carol’s Catering and Café provided the meal, guest speaker Maryse Carmichael — formerly the Snowbirds’ commander and currently the city manager — spoke about the Royal Canadian Air Force’s (RCAF) 100th anniversary, and several attendees received door prizes.
John Sterton was lucky enough to win a door prize — a pillow with a Snowbirds plane on it. He thought this was wonderful since he had flown in such an aircraft once.
The veteran said he was grateful that the Legion and its Poppy Fund committee hosted the luncheon since he could celebrate his colleagues, while he wished that other branches held similar events.
“I think it’s excellent. I really do. That was what the Legion was initially for … was to honour all the vets from the wars,” he continued. “And they do a fantastic job of looking after veterans that need assistance. Too many veterans are out on the street. We just don’t want to have that happen.”
Sterton served 40 years in the air force as an air traffic controller. He joked that he would have told people like Carmichael “where to go” during those four decades; he worked at 15 Wing Air Base for 28 years and knew her as a student. Meanwhile, he thought her speech was “very well put” and that she was a good speaker.
Sterton, 77, added that it was great to see Henry Selinger, a Second World War veteran, in attendance since there are few such men still living.
Frank Montpetit attended because he served in the air force for 23 years. He worked on many aircraft, but his favourite was the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet. He is also a Legion member and wanted to support the organization and his fellow veterans.
“It (the luncheon) was awesome. It was kind of nice because there’s a lot of guys I haven’t seen in years, and some guys I’ve known from the early ’80s that I’ve worked with,” he said. “It was a great thing to have (because) it was kind of a big reunion.”
The retired aircraft technician thought it was great that the Legion honoured guys like him. Even though he retired from the RCAF in 2001, he remained connected for another 20 years because he worked on planes at 15 Wing for Bombardier and CAE.
Montpetit added that he had known Carmichael for years and thought she gave a good speech.
J. Ola Godin also attended and, near the end of the luncheon, stood up and showed everyone a small shadow box/picture frame that his wife Diana created containing his medals and a picture of him from around the late 1950s. He encouraged everyone to do something similar to celebrate their careers; he served from 1953 to 1988 in the army and air force.
“Anybody who was on the base (at 15 Wing) at one time knew me as a disciplinarian — the base chief assistant (from 1978 to 1988) … ,” Godin said afterward.
He recalled that his predecessor did nothing to address base discipline, such as inspecting members’ living quarters. So, he accompanied the housing officer to one complex, and in the first room they visited, they found a member with six bags of empty bottles and cans.
“Not quite healthy,” chuckled Godin, 86.
Meanwhile, he thought the luncheon was “well done,” while he was emotional that the Legion honoured him and other veterans.
