Allan White, a 101-year-old member of the Royal Canadian Legion, was recognized with France’s highest honour during a ceremony at Mont St. Joseph Home on Monday.
White received the insignia of “Knight of the Legion of Honour”. The distinction is the highest order of France, illustrating the profound gratitude of France and their recognition of his personal involvement in the liberation of France during the Second World War.
Saskatchewan Legion President Carol Pederson presented the award. White said that there were others who were more deserving of the honour.
“There’s lots of people who deserve it, and there were far more than me,” White said. “I don’t say I wasn’t in there. I was there, but I never got wounded and I saw lots of guys die that were more of a hero than I was.
“Not that they didn’t do my job, but I was in the Navy, which is different. I didn’t shoot anybody,” he added.
Tracy Lubyk, the District 3, Zone 4 Zone Commander for the Royal Canadian Legion Saskattchewan Command and Secretary/Treasurer of White’s home Legion the Smeaton Legion acted as emcee and introduced White’s story.
White, who served on the HMCS Guysborugh, which was part of the British 14th Minesweeping Flotilla during D Day. This flotilla swept Channel 2 of the American Sector of the invasion route during the night of June 5 and 6, 1944. The flotilla resumed minesweeping activities an hour after the assault on June 6.
After attaining the rank of able seaman, white served on the HMCS Guysborough. After 13 months of service he returned to Saskatchewan in Aug., 1945.
White is a founding member of the Smeaton Legion and a lifetime member of the Royal Canadian Legion and his 77 years of Legion service is an enduring legacy as he has instilled his belief in the Legion in his family who have been and continue to be involved with the organization.
White still attends fundraising events when he can and encourages the current executive. White said that he is often asked why he chose to join the Navy.
“I went down to join the Air Force in Saskatoon and then I changed my mind,” he remembered. “I thought, ‘I don’t want to be a prisoner of war, you know. That happens to a lot of air people. They get shot down, and then I went over to the army and one thing I never wanted to do was live in them wet trenches. But then I got thinking about it…. If you join the Navy, as long your ship is afloat, you’ve got a dry bed, not a bed, but a hammock.”
Lieutenant Commander Michael Su, the Commander of the HMCS Unicorn, where White trained, was also on hand to present White with a cap and collection of medals from the Unicorn.
Before the service, the Legion Colour Party marched on the colours, and O Canada and La Marseillaise were played. There was then a Moment of Silence and Reveille and the Act of Remembrance before the service began followed by an Invocation by Pastor Darcy Cust.
Craig Bird the curator and president of the South East Military Museum gave a background on the award. Bird was the person who has nominated seven veterans from Saskatchewan to receive the honour.
Normally a high official from the French Government would present the medal but a representative was not available so Pederson took their place. The French Government expressed their regrets and extended their gratitude for White’s service.
Lieutenant Commander Michael Su, the Commander of the HMCS Unicorn presented White with a cap and collection of medals from the Unicorn.
“You know, you just get like brothers aboard ship there. I was two years with them,” White said of his fellow seaman.
Lubyk asked White’s family in attendance to stand and be acknowledged. White was pleased that so many members of his family could be in attendance, after the ceremony there was a meal for the family at Mont St. Joseph.
“It was wonderful the support, to have your family. I’m going to tell you something that I think there’s many things in in this world, but you can’t beat a good family,” White said.
“You know the same blood runs through them, so you got to be close, but yes that is a big family, a good family,” he added.
White said that he was pleased by how many people came out to the service.
France’s Legion of Honour was created by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. It rewards citizens for their merits, irrespective of social or hereditary considerations. It is France’s highest order. The Knight medal is a five-armed cross with a V-shaped cut-out at the end of each arm, generally surmounted by a wreath of laurel leaves.
In 2014, on the occasion of the Normandy and Provence landings’ 70th anniversary commemorations, the then-President of the French Republic, François Hollande, undertook to honour the Canadian veterans who participated in the operations to liberate France during the Second World War.
Since 2014, nearly 1,300 veterans were identified and decorated during ceremonies held from coast to coast in Canada.
Anyone who knows a living Canadian Veteran who took part in operations on French soil during WWII, is invited to contact the Embassy of France in Ottawa or the Consulate General of France in Vancouver, these veterans could be eligible for the Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour). In accordance with France’s Code of the Legion of Honour, this distinction can only be bestowed upon recipients who are still living when the nominating decree is issued. Veterans cannot receive the medal posthumously.
White gave a speech following the conclusion of the service.
“I wish to thank everybody for this honour to present this honour to me,” he said. “Everybody did their duty and some were lucky and some weren’t to come home and I was one of the lucky ones.
“I would like to thank all of the people for appreciating what we did,” he added.
White’s wife Irene White was appreciative of the location for the service.
“We would really, really like to thank Mont St. Josephs for all that they do for him all the time and especially today,” she said.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
