Friday, August 19, 2011

THE DIEPPE RAID - the 69th Anniversary



History



The Raid on Dieppe, France, on August 19, 1942, was a pivotal moment in the Second World War. With virtually all of continental Europe under German occupation, the Allied forces faced a well-entrenched enemy. Some method had to be found to create a foothold on the continent, and the Raid on Dieppe offered invaluable lessons for the successful D-Day invasion in 1944, saving countless lives in that momentous offensive.



Publications


Publications





Historical Information



Gallery Thumbnail





Photo Gallery


Gallery Thumbnail


Remembrance


By remembering Veterans' service and sacrifice, we recognize the tradition of freedom they fought to preserve. Those who fought in the Dieppe Raid were everyday citizens who became heroes by standing up for what we as a nation believe in: peace, freedom and justice. The resources found on this page can help ensure that the torch of Remembrance continues to burn brightly in the hearts of all Canadians.


Memorials


Memorials



Cemeteries


Content courtesy of Commonwealth War Graves Commision

Cemeteries



Victoria Cross Winners


Victoria Cross Winners






Medals


Medals



Diaries, Letters and Stories


Diaries, Letters and Stories



Additional Resources


Additional Resources



Thursday, August 18, 2011

"THE MILITARY WIFE"

~The Military Wife~



Author - Unknown



The good Lord was creating a model for military wives and was into His sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared. She said, "Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one. What's wrong with the standard model?"

The Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order. She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both a father and mother, be a perfect hostess to four or forty with an hour's notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheerfully, even if she is pregnant and has the flu, and she must be willing to move to a new location ten times in seventeen years. And, oh yes, she must have six pairs of hands!"


The angel shook her head, "Six pairs of hands? No way.


“The Lord continued,” Don’t worry; I will make other military wives to help her. And I will give her an unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride in her husband's achievements, sustain the pain of separations, beat soundly when it is overworked and tired, and be large enough to say, 'I understand' when she doesn't and say 'I love you', regardless."


"Lord," said the angel, touching his arm gently. "Go to bed and get some rest. You can finish this tomorrow."


"I can't stop now," said the Lord. "I am so close to creating something unique. Already this model heals herself when she is sick, can put up six unexpected guests for the weekend, wave good-bye to her husband from a pier, a runway or a depot, and understand why it's important that he leave."


The angel circled the model of the military wife, looked at it closely and sighed, "It looks fine, but it's too soft."


"She might look soft," replied the Lord. "But she has the strength of a lion. You would not believe what she can endure."


Finally the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Lord's creation. "There's a leak," she announced. "Something is wrong with the construction. I am not surprised that it has cracked. You are trying to put too much into this model."


The Lord appeared offended at the angel's lack of onfidence."What you see is not a leak," He said. "It's a tear." "A tear?" What is it there for?" asked the angel.


The Lord replied, "It's for joy, sadness, pain, disappointment, loneliness, pride and a dedication to all the values that she and her husband hold dear."


"You are a genius!" exclaimed the angel.


The Lord looked puzzled and replied, "I didn't put it there."

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

KILLER SQUIRLES


EVERYBODY DIES.....






"Everybody dies...someone is carrying araound a bullet with your name on it and don't even know it. The trick is to die of old age before they find you."





~Sgt Malcolm Reynolds, captain of the space vessel Serenity~




(from the TV series Firefly actor Nathan Fillion)

Monday, August 15, 2011

GOD WORKS IN MISTERIOUS WAYS

If you don't know GOD, don't make stupid remarks!!!!!!



A young Canadian soldier was taking some college courses between assignments. He had completed 3 tours of duty in Afghanistan one of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist and a member of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA).


One day the professor shocked the class when he came in. He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, "GOD, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform... I'll give you exactly 15 min."

The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, "Here I am GOD, I'm still waiting."

It got down to the last couple of minutes when the soldier got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him; knocking him clean off the platform. The professor was out cold.

The young soldier went back to his seat and sat there, silently.

The other students were shocked and stunned, and sat there looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the soldier and asked, "What in the world is the matter with you? Why did you do that?"


The young soldier stood up and calmly replied,"GOD was too busy today protecting Canada 's
soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid shit and act like an idiot. So He sent me."

The classroom erupted in cheers!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Revelations 6 – 1

Then I when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come. I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow: and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.”And another, a red horse, went out: and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given him. When He the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse: and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.” When the Lamb broke, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Friday, August 12, 2011

NEW ARTICLES, "WHAT PISSES ME OFF..."

I am beginning a new line of articles that I will be posting that focus on topics that cause some irritation or get under my skin. These articles will be titled as "What pisses me off...". Since, I have been told, that that is what I begin my sentences with when I begin to vent, complain or voice a certain grievance.


These may you may agree with or not. Either way, contemplant on the perspective and arguments I have put foreword before posting your rebuttal or agreement. As well, don’t bother with brazen attacks short posts that contain little substance like you’re “right out of ‘er” because a response will not be wasted on these posts, just deletion. Since, I really don’t care which way you go because that this is my way of distressing about issues that are not quite right – and will probably never change – it is my prerogative. Otherwise, if your rebuttal or agreement merits of worth in respects of content it will remain posted.



Finally, I hope that you get a laugh out of them or that they may spark some new and interesting thoughts on how we carry out business.



Johnny


Wednesday, August 10, 2011

PRINCES PATRICIA'S CANADIAN LIGHT INFANTRY BIRTHDAY

"10th of August Regimental Birthday


The Regiment was born in Ottawa in August 1914 as a result of the offer of Captain Hamilton Gault to provide $100,000 to finance and equip a battalion for overseas service.


On 6 August 1914, Captain Gault's offer was provisionally accepted by the Canadian Government. Authority was granted on 10 August 1914 to raise and equip an infantry battalion with the remainder of the cost being defrayed by the Department of Militia and Defense.


On 10 August 1914 the Charter of the Regiment was signed"Taken from the Regimental Manual of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry

QW - THE INFANTRYMAN FROM A GUNNER

~ The Infantryman ~



He was born of the earth, on the day he enlists



He is sentenced to life on the soil,



To march on it, crawl on it, dig in it, sprawl on it,



Sleep in it after his toil.



Bee it sand, rock or ice, gravel, mud or red loam



He will fight on it, and die,



And the crude little cross, telling men of his loss



Will cry mutely to some foreign sky.



He’s the tired looking man in untidy garb



Weather-beaten, footsore with fatigue,



But his spirit is strong, as he marches along



With burdens for league upon league.



He attacks in the face of murderous fire



Crawling forward, attacking through mud.



When he breaks through the line, over wire and mines



On the point of his bayonet is blood.



Should you meet him, untidy, begrimed and fatigued



Don’t indulge in unwarranted mirth.



or the brave infantryman deserves more than your sneer,



He is truly the salt of the earth.



~ A Gunner ~

FIREFIGHT


Tuesday, August 09, 2011

"MONSTERS IN THE DARK" by MCpl Jeff Walsh

Deceased

9 Aug 2006


~ Monsters in the Dark ~




by MCpl Jeff Walsh

I know that they are out there:
I will not be ignorant anymore:
Pulling the blanket over my head will not keep them
from coming ashore;
Instead I choose to confront them
as afraid as I might be;
Because if I don't stop the monsters
our children can never be free.

Monday, August 08, 2011

LEAFs, TALIBAN & the STANLEY CUP

~ From the Toronto Star ~




Point 1: Forty years ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup.


Point 2: Canadian Gen. Rick Hillier took the Stanley Cup to Afghanistan to cheer up the troops.


Conclusion: The Taliban are closer than the Leafs to capturing the Stanley Cup.




Sunday, August 07, 2011

DESERT LIONS: Video





Desert Lions delivers a gritty, candid view of Canadian army mentors working to professionalize the Afghan National Army during the summer of 2010.

For more information on the Canadian Army and other videos visit: http://www.army.forces.gc.ca

Four soldiers leave for once-in-a-lifetime trek:


Corporal Lucas Mullens, Corporal Dallas White, Warrant Officer Quinn Beggs and Corporal Mark Fuchko share a laugh before leaving Edmonton on Saturday, August 6.


As the start of an expedition to climb Africa's tallest mountain draws near, a group of Edmonton-based soldiers left on the several thousand kilometre flight to the continent.

The four soldiers have already climbed their own mountains to recovery from debilitating injuries sustained outside the wire.

"It's [going] to be painful for sure," Corporal Lucas Mullens said. "But I think I can do it, no problem."

You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but he's come a long way since an improvised explosive device went off beneath the tank Mullens and his team was in while on patrol in Afghanistan in 2009.

"It detonated and buckled the floor; [it] crushed both my legs and my spine," Mullens said.

Nearly a dozen procedures and months of rigorous therapy later, he took his first steps after the explosion.

"It took eleven operations to put me back together," Mullens said. "I didn't walk for three months."

The other three soldiers joining in the climb have their own stories of beating the odds – Corporal Mark Fuchko encountered an I.E.D. while on duty in Afghanistan in March of 2008, sustaining injuries so serious he lost both of his legs.

Corporal Dallas White was nearby when one of his friends accidentally triggered a hidden explosive while the team was on patrol southwest of Kandahar in May of 2010.

The blast injured many of the soldiers in Corporal White's team, and killed his friend.

Corporal White lost muscle in his left leg, and his left arm was damaged.

It wasn't clear if Warrant Officer Quinn Beggs would walk on his own again after a roof he was standing on in Afghanistan in 2009 gave way, severely breaking his pelvis.

"They weren't sure if I was [going to] walk, [or] how I was [going to] walk again," Warrant Officer Beggs said.

It took several hours of surgery just to repair the break.

"I really smashed mine up, so I had two twelve hour operations [to fix it]."

The group credits the Canadian Forces for helping them prepare for the journey.

"The army has a great mentality of helping those that need help, and also pushing yourself to achieve goals," Corporal Mullens said.

They will be joined by more than thirty other climbers, with the common goal of raising more than $500,000 for the Royal Alexandra Hospital's Orthopedic Surgery Centre.

The group has been training for several months, including climbing and hiking in Jasper.

The four soldiers departed from the Edmonton Area Saturday night, and the team will complete the climb from August 10th to 18th, before returning to the capital region.

More information can be found on the Kilimanjaro Climb 2001 website.

(the Canadian Veterans Advocacy)

Revelations 3 – 11



He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.


Thursday, August 04, 2011

"A MILLION MILES AWAY"

~A Million Miles Away~


Author Unknown

*

A Soldier by title ~ A Soldier all day and night.
When will you have time to be a husband to your wife?
You will be there for her in spirit and always in her thoughts.
You try to make her happy, though the Army twists your plans in knots!

*

An Army Wife by title ~ Called a privilege by the few.
She'll Stick by her husband, that's what she will do.
He may be at home or a million miles away, But in her heart he will always stay.


**

Friday, July 01, 2011

Thursday, May 26, 2011

GUNNERS WILL...



"Gunners will always fight together, drink together, laugh together, and morn together."




~ Unknown ~






Friday, May 06, 2011

WAR & PEACE











In love there are two evils: war and peace.



- Horace, 65-8 BC

Friday, April 29, 2011

WAR & WHISKEY





"War and whiskey don't mix."



- General Steele

Monday, April 18, 2011

ARMY - "GOOD GAME"

If accompanied by a "GOOD GAME" its not gay...it can't be professional sports players do it all the time.



Friday, April 15, 2011

VITAL IMPORTANCE









"War is a matter of vital importance to the state."






- Sun Tzu

Monday, April 11, 2011

BOOBS





Well...what do you expect...he IS a Canadian Soldier,


and there isn't any beer around....dah!

Friday, April 08, 2011

the SCI-FI POINT OF VIEW

"Peace is an extension of war by political means."



- Robert A. Heinlein

Friday, April 01, 2011

IMBECILITY


"Moderation in war is imbecility."




- Admiral John Fisher