It took 74 years, but John Andrew 乌鸦传媒淒utch乌鸦传媒� McLellan finally received his World War II medals.
McLellan was awarded his hardware at a ceremony Oct. 23 at the Royal Canadian Legion in Cloverdale.
乌鸦传媒淒ad was feeling really great that night,乌鸦传媒� said Don McLellan, John乌鸦传媒檚 son.
Don said his dad appreciated that so many family members and others showed up to witness a ceremony 74 years in the making.
乌鸦传媒淗e was pretty proud to receive the medals and he has them on his coffee table,乌鸦传媒� said Don. 乌鸦传媒淪omeone asked him after the ceremony what he thought about all this and he said, 乌鸦传媒業 wonder why it all happened.乌鸦传媒� They asked, 乌鸦传媒榙o you mean the ceremony?乌鸦传媒� He answered 乌鸦传媒榥o, why the war had to happen?乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
Don was also glad to see so many people there, both family and others. 乌鸦传媒淎 lot of times the veterans get forgotten.乌鸦传媒�
But it was no clerical error that prevented John from receiving his medals, he just never applied for them.
乌鸦传媒淗e乌鸦传媒檚 just that type of person,乌鸦传媒� Don said. 乌鸦传媒淗e said to me when I asked him, 乌鸦传媒業 never applied for them because I was just doing my job.乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
John may not have received his medals at all had the family not inquired to see if John was eligible for a veteran乌鸦传媒檚 pension.
Don said his dad was in the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. 乌鸦传媒淗e suffered some hearing loss because of his (service), so we thought he would definitely qualify for a veteran乌鸦传媒檚 pension.乌鸦传媒�
As they inquired about the pension, they contacted the Cloverdale Legion. That乌鸦传媒檚 when Earl Fraser, the Legion乌鸦传媒檚 service officer, paid John a visit.
乌鸦传媒淚 went to his house to visit him and see if we could get him a disability pension from Veterans Affairs Canada.乌鸦传媒�
Fraser asked John where his war medals were.
乌鸦传媒淎we, I never got them,乌鸦传媒� John said. 乌鸦传媒淏ut it doesn乌鸦传媒檛 matter.乌鸦传媒�
Fraser then told John he should apply for them, even if it was just something John乌鸦传媒檚 children would appreciate.
乌鸦传媒淚 don乌鸦传媒檛 want you to leave today,乌鸦传媒� Fraser told John, 乌鸦传媒渂ut when you do go, your boys can have them.乌鸦传媒�
John agreed. 乌鸦传媒淗e said, 乌鸦传媒極kay, that sounds pretty good.乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
So Fraser and Don looked through John乌鸦传媒檚 old WWII Soldier乌鸦传媒檚 Service and Pay Book.
乌鸦传媒淚t said in the book that he qualified for some medals,乌鸦传媒� said Don.
That乌鸦传媒檚 when things got interesting for Fraser. He called Veterans Affairs Canada in Ottawa and spoke to someone in the Honour & Awards Section.
乌鸦传媒淚 gave him all John乌鸦传媒檚 info and he got back to us later saying John was eligible for two medals,乌鸦传媒� said Fraser.
Don said his dad was surprised he would be receiving medals 74 years after the war.
Fraser said the ceremony at the Cloverdale Legion was well-attended.
乌鸦传媒淚t was awesome,乌鸦传媒� said Fraser. 乌鸦传媒淛ohn was very proud of those medals. He earned them.乌鸦传媒�
Fraser also said John looks great for being a centenarian.
乌鸦传媒淣obody could believe his age. At 101, he looks like he could be 80.乌鸦传媒�
When Scott MacMillan, Legion president, pinned the medals on John乌鸦传媒檚 chest everyone in the Legion gave John a standing ovation.
乌鸦传媒淚 got goosebumps,乌鸦传媒� said Fraser. 乌鸦传媒淭here were tears. It was amazing. Not only was there a lot of his family members, but there was also a lot of members in the Legion that night.乌鸦传媒�
Thirty-one family members attended the ceremony, which included John乌鸦传媒檚 children and their spouses, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
In total, John has nine children, 24 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren.
John was born in Antigonish, Nova Scotia in 1918, less than six weeks before the guns in Europe fell silent for the world乌鸦传媒檚 first Armistice Day.
John was the youngest of five children and his mother passed away of pulmonary tuberculosis when John was two years old.
乌鸦传媒淒ad was sent to live in Vancouver when he was six,乌鸦传媒� said Don. 乌鸦传媒淗e went to St. Patrick乌鸦传媒檚 until he finished Grade 9, then he was off to work.乌鸦传媒�
John was a sports enthusiast, according to Don, participating in lacrosse, football, and boxing. 乌鸦传媒淗e lost his spleen to the butt end of a lacrosse stick.乌鸦传媒�
Don said his dad then signed up with the army and was sent to Vernon for basic training.
乌鸦传媒淭hat乌鸦传媒檚 where he met my mother. She waited for three years for him to come back [from the war]. They had six boys and then adopted a girl who was a foster child. They then had two more girls. Mom passed away five years ago this November 12.乌鸦传媒�
John served in Operation Cottage, part of the Aleutian Islands campaign, in 1943. Both Canadian and American forces landed on Kiska Island only to find the Japanese had already left. But due to mines, vehicle accidents, and friendly fire乌鸦传媒攂oth Canadian and American forces mistook each other for Japanese troops乌鸦传媒攖he landing accrued 313 casualties, 92 dead and 221 wounded.
John then went to Europe and was part of the force that invaded the German-held Netherlands.
The two medals John received are the France and Germany Star and the 1939-1945 War Service Medal.
乌鸦传媒淗e is like a lot of soldiers,乌鸦传媒� said Don. 乌鸦传媒淭hey don乌鸦传媒檛 want to talk about (the war) much. In the past he talked a bit about the people of (The Netherlands). He said they were very good to the Canadian soldiers. He would have liked to have gone back and visited them, but it never happened.乌鸦传媒�
The Cloverdale Legion invited John to lay a wreath at the cenotaph in Veterans乌鸦传媒� Square on Remembrance Day, but John declined. He lives in Langley and has been attending the Remembrance Day ceremony in Fort Langley for the last six years. John plans to continue on with that tradition again this year with his family.
乌鸦传媒淗e said, 乌鸦传媒楾hank you for the honour, but I just want to be with my family again this year.乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
Don乌鸦传媒檚 brother Terry lives in Fort Langley and John likes the town and the Remembrance Day service there.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 a smaller community,乌鸦传媒� Don said. 乌鸦传媒淭he service is very well attended and feels more like a family atmosphere.乌鸦传媒�
Don said the McLellans always head out for lunch afterwards.
乌鸦传媒淢y brother Terry has been phoning ahead this year to try to confirm numbers. Last year, he made a reservation for lunch for 24 people, but 28 showed up.乌鸦传媒�
Don said it乌鸦传媒檚 going to be another big year for a big family. He said John can乌鸦传媒檛 wait.
乌鸦传媒淗e loves being with his family, going to the ceremony, and then going out with everyone after.乌鸦传媒�
