Canadian Veterans honoured in Oakville

Hundreds of Canada’s veterans were honoured Monday in Oakville. It was a chance for the community to thank them for their service to our country.

It was like taking a step back in time. Hundreds of Canada’s veterans, decked out in military uniforms, listening to the sounds of big band music. Telling stories of time in the trenches during World War Two or the Korean War. But it’s 2014, and they, along with other vets, are being honoured for their service to Canada.

Mike Vencel, Vietnam War veteran: “When I was in the service, even the day I got out of the navy, I was at the train station, there was nobody there. I had to walk two miles and make a phone call.”

But times have changed and some of these vets say it’s about time.

Ron Kirk, Korean War veteran: “When the veterans started to come back from Afghanistan they were all in one piece or came back in a casket and they came along the Highway of Heroes. I think that’s what changed Canada’s image of exactly what we are and what we do.”

Sometimes Ron Kirk questioned what we do. A Korean War veteran, Kirk comes from a long line of soldiers. His grandfather served in the Boar War, his dad in World War I and World War II and his nephew in Afghanistan. He says he used to wonder why he went to Korea but a return trip to that country opened his eyes: “Without what we did in Korea, and actually if you want to be as fair as possible we saved the country. If you had the Canadian flag, they came up to say thank you.”

Hundreds of veterans were honoured Monday, but they also go a chance to take a trip down memory lane, taking in some of the displays depicting the gear they used in WWI and WWII.

Displays like one from the Hamilton Signals Association.

Ken Lloyd, Hamilton Signals Association: “What occurred in the First World War, why was communication so bad. Why didn’t they know about the horrors at the front. And the answer is communication was so poor. Communication was by mirror, by telephone wire, by pigeon, or by flag. There was no radio.”

Today there is no miscommunication. From Mounties to school kids, the message is ‘thank you.’

More than 700 thousand Canadians enlisted in World Wars I and II, and over 50 thousand were killed.

The veterans were treated like royalty with current soldiers escorting them to their seats and local dignitaries and celebrities alike on hand to honour them.

There was also a fly over courtesy of the Great War Flying Museum out of Caledon.

Additional video: CHCH’s Pamela VanMeer interviews Legion of Honour recipient George St Cyr: