Ottawa at the Wall with Bill Agerbak and Carol Hadley’s family wreath. Click for larger view.
I hope everyone is keeping well and preparing to celebrate
the holidays. We in Winnipeg have been fortunate with the
weather this fall but it seems that it will be changing soon. My
apologies for not submitting a report in the Autumn edition of
the newsletter but I felt it would just be another echo of the
marvelous experience we all had who attended in Ottawa. It was
such an honour to visit the wall and place wreaths and poppies
by our families’ names. (see photo)
As the “kids” and other family members gathered in Ottawa, it
was apparent that the scope of our mission statement has been
changing. The Board has discussed this, and a revised
mission statement has been developed.
We continue to hold our meetings in Smitty’s restaurant’s
group room where Stan Lopata sets up the AV equipment for a Zoom
meeting, and several members join us from Alberta and Manitoba.
This will be even more handy for inclement weather. Anyone who
wishes to attend virtually can contact me and I will send you
the link.
Kathie with the King Charles III medal. Click for larger view.
Kathie Carlson received the King Charles III medal on August
30, 2025. The medal was presented by Glenn Miller,
retired Veteran and Historian, at the Lethbridge Legion General
Stewart Branch #4 with family and friends in attendance. Congratulations Kathie. It is a well-deserved honour
and we are proud of your work.
In the Prairie Region our focus will be to continue to
promote education in the schools using the new Teachers Guide
for Indigenous Studies, which can be used in grade 5 and 11
courses. October 24 saw Prairie Region at the MSSTA SAGE
conference for teachers where several hundred teachers saw our
display and picked up a bookmark or copy of the Teachers Guide
for Indigenous Studies. Thank you to Stan Lopata and Alex Taylor
for looking after this.
We had a small VJ Day service on August 24th at Brookside
cemetery in the Field of Honour with a reception at the Neil
Bardal Centre. This was held especially for our approximately 40
members who were unable to go to Ottawa. There were
representatives from other veteran associations, a piper and
bugler, and several people laying wreaths. We are grateful to
Eirik Bardal, grandson of Lt. Njall Bardal, who assists in
making this happen.
August 24 VJ. Day service at the Field of Honour in Brookside cemetery in Winnipeg. Click for larger view
Carol and President Brittany Johnson of Yorkton Legion No. 77
in SK. This legion was a sponsor for the Ottawa reunion. Click for larger view.
Yorkton Legion sponsored banners of their veterans. These are the last 2 WG banners to be placed on the street poles in Yorkton. Click for larger view.
Presenting plaque and honour roll to Manitoba museum. Click for larger view.
In October, Allan Hadley and I went to Yorkton, SK to present
a plaque and dedicate it to the several HK members from that
community. President Brittany Johnson (see photo below) welcomed us
and several members were in attendance for the dedications. The
Legion in Yorkton (as do many towns in Manitoba) put banners of
their veterans on the light poles around town - including WG
Alvin Zaharychuk and Mike Bilyk (see photo below).
In early November we presented a soft, canvas plaque and a WG
Honour Roll to the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg for future
displays (see photo). I thanked them for the
November 2024 display of Lt. Corrigan that was put together for
the remembrance month of November with the hope that they will
do another display featuring the HK vets.
We have had a request from the Red River Heritage Fair, May
2026 - the student symposium, asking us to sponsor a category
for prizes and participation in the scavenger hunt. We will join
the Fort Garry Horse for this event. Stan and Alex will set up
the display and assist in the scavenger hunt. I will coordinate
the certificates, gift cards, journals, and whatever items that
the Fort Garry Horse will supply.
Stan will ensure that the HK flag is at the Legislature to be
posted at the Cenotaph for the month of December.
Thank you to Barbara Andres who has been scanning documents
for the website. A question was asked regarding their placement
for the future. After discussion of a possible HKVCA
museum to hold the many memorabilia items currently scattered
around the province, we came up with some ideas which will be
investigated.
Remembrance Day - November 7 - NETES’ 29th annual Indigenous
Veterans ceremony. Allan and I attended and I laid our wreath.
On November 8 the National Indigenous Veterans Day was held
in Lac du Bonnet, MB. Several of our members attended and Pam
Heinrichs did a marvelous job as she told the story of the HK
Vets. See her report below:
Pam Heinrichs received a thank you for the
presentation she did on the HK vets at the National Indigenous
Veterans Day service in Lac du Bonnet.Click for larger view.
Marleen Bell, Marilyn Gelinas, Stan Lopata, Alex Taylor, and
I were honoured to represent the HKVCA at the Manitoba Métis
Federation Indigenous Veterans’ Day ceremony on November 8,
2025, at the Royal Canadian Legion in Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba.
It was a moving ceremony attended by approximately 80 people,
with addresses by Shawn Nault, Minister of Red River Métis
Veterans (MMF), other government dignitaries, community members,
and me. I was honoured to be invited to participate in the
ceremony, paying tribute to all veterans but on this day,
particularly the 131 Indigenous veterans of ‘C’ Force. Minister
Nault made note in his speech of attending the 80th anniversary
of Ottawa, as well as commending the HKVCA for the outstanding
work in honouring our veterans and connecting with their family
members. Stan and Alex joined the Colour Party with our flags,
and Marleen and I laid a wreath on behalf of HKVCA. Marilyn was
to take part in the wreath laying but was unable to due to
mobility issues – hats off to her though, for still attending
the event and representing the HKVCA.
Alex and Stan. Click for larger view.
For those interested, the text of my speech is set out below,
and/or the recording of the ceremony can be viewed here
https://www.youtube.com/live/uGBxn3chAqI?si=plGn3EFRPwGh2YvD
or by searching “Manitoba Métis Federation Indigenous Veterans
Day 2025” on YouTube. Photos of the event can be seen
here:
Indigenous Veterans Day Lac Du Bonnet | Manitoba Métis
Federation.
On November 11 at the RBC convention centre, Stephanie
Mitchell and I laid the wreath. AJ Mitchell, Barry’s grandson,
attended with us (see photo). Stan and Alex did the display and
carried the Colours.
Our Remembrance Day notice was submitted to the Free Press
and it was published on November 10. This is something we have
been doing since our association was created to continue a
practice that the veterans had started.
As a member of the ANAVETS I am permitted to submit articles
for their newsletter. I have started to mention the events
that the HKVCA are in as a bit of education for those who are
unaware of us. For the December issue I have submitted Pam’s
wonderful speech (with her permission and credit) to continue to
inform people about the HK vets.
After our monthly meeting on November 13, I had the honour to
present a plaque of appreciation to Barry Mitchell for his many
years of service to the HKV in Manitoba and the HKVCA nationally
and regionally. We were able to surprise him because this was
organised by Kathie Carlson and the members before we began the
zoom meeting (see photo).
Lillian is busy researching potential plaque sites and has
given me several pages of KIA names to investigate and the
possible communities/legions, etc. to approach for plaques.
Stan and Alex are going to contact the Officers of the
Winnipeg Grenadiers cadets to see if there will be a Battle of
Hong Kong parade.
We will not be having a meeting in December, but our dates
have been reserved at the restaurant for 2026.
Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy Peaceful new year.
Blessings to all.