Veterans Honored At Sharbot Lake Legion

Nov 07, 2013

Veterans and their families were honored at the annual Veterans' Dinner at the Sharbot Lake Legion on November 2. The many veterans honored included Don Antoine and Norman Garneys, who both served in the Second World War; Al Hardyman and Lloyd Arnold, who served in the Korean War; Dave Whalen and Jeff Donelly, who served in Bosnia; and other veterans who served either in peace time and/or were available to be called for duty during war time service.

Legion Vice President Jeff Donelly had the honor of emceeing the event and was joined at the head table by Legion President Dave Whalen and his wife Kathleen White, past president Patty Middleton, guest speaker Warrant Officer (WO) Joe Kiah and Legion Padre James Barnett. Sorely missed were Art Goodfellow and Ken Hollywood, both Second World War veterans who passed away this past year.

WO Joe Kiah has had a long, varied and successful career in the Canadian Forces. He rose at a very young age to become a Master Corporal and in 1988/89 was awarded the Special Service Force Soldier of the Year award. He spoke following the roast beef dinner. Kiah, who was later promoted to the rank of Sergeant and to WO, completed a UN Tour of Cyprus and a tour in Bosnia and also participated in Operation Persistence, the recovery of Swiss Air Flight 111. In 2002 he was posted to the RCR Battle School as an instructor and held positions both as a section commander and platoon WO. Currently Kiah serves as the WO at 8 Wing Trenton.

He spoke of his long career and his dedication to the forces and to the soldiers he has both taught and lost. Most moving were his words about repatriating four Canadian solders and one reporter killed in Afghanistan. “One of the saddest points for me was attending the funeral of one of the soldiers I taught,” Kiah said, “and getting a big hug from his mother and a big hand shake from his father at the funeral because they knew we did what we could. That's the way the forces work. We do what we can with what we have to the best of our ability.”

Following the dinner Legion President Dave Whalen spoke to me about Art Goodfellow and Ken Hollywood, who were both “good friends and role models” to Whalen. “When I looked out tonight and realized again that they were not here it always leaves a hole in my heart. Both those men were true heroes and my role models and they are both sorely missed.” Whalen also brought the point home when he said, “This night is not about glorifying war. Trust me, as a ex-soldier I hate war. This night is about honoring the men who went when their country called.”