ST. PAUL – Rows of banners bearing the faces of veterans from the St. Paul area hang proudly along main street in St. Paul. The banners are a tribute to the men and women with ties to the St. Paul community who answered the call to serve.
The banner initiative, spearheaded by the St. Paul Royal Canadian Legion, began seven years ago in St. Paul.
“I caught wind that a couple Legions in New Brunswick started to honour their fellow soldiers [with banners],” said Ken Brodziak, a member with the St. Paul Royal Canadian Legion. “I thought, ‘That’s a great idea’.”
So, the St. Paul Legion branch adapted the idea.
Families who reside in the St. Paul region can contact the St. Paul Legion if they wish to honour veterans in their family, such as grandparents or other relatives. The St. Paul Legion charges $200 a banner, and the rest of the costs are covered by the veterans’ organization.
The Town of St. Paul also contributes to the cause by waving the usual fee charged to groups to hang the banners.
Seven years after the imitative began in St. Paul, 65 banners have been created - including four new faces this year.
Ned Memnook
Among this year’s additions is a banner to honour Ned Memnook, a peacekeeper who served aboard the HMCS Terra Nova – a destroyer-class ship – back in the early 1970s.
Brodziak said he heard that Memnook and several other sailors contracted a type of pneumonia while serving. “Before they could get him back to port, [then] to a hospital, [Memnook] passed away.”
Memnook was from Saddle Lake, according to Brodziak. But “I’m not sure if his relatives are still in Saddle Lake,” he acknowledged. “We’re trying to find some of his relatives.”
Maurice Dubois
Another of the four new veterans honoured with a banner this year was Maurice Dubois, who was born in the St. Paul area in 1918.
Dubois was with the Royal Canadian Engineers, and fought during World War II, according to Brodziak.
Dubois passed away in Calgary in 1986 but still has family who reside in the St. Paul area, including grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Bud Canan
The third veteran to be added to this year's banners is Bud Canan.
Brodziak remembers Canan personally, noting that Canan lived in St. Paul until his passing. “He actually worked at the Co-op for years and years. I remember him there,” said Brodziak.
Canan was with the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, the Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces, during the Korean War that began in June 1950, until the signing of an armistice in 1953 which is still active today.
Bill Malcolmson
The St. Paul Royal Canadian Legion also honours people who served outside of Canada but have ties to community members in the St. Paul area.
Among them is the last of this year’s additions, Bill Malcolmson, who served in a special forces unit within the British Army – the Special Air Service (SAS).
