Canada's last WWI vet dies

[maple_leaf_eh]

Canada's last known WWI veteran dies at 109

18/02/2010 8:26:07 PM
CTV.ca News Staff
John Babcock, Canada's last known First World War veteran, has died at 109, the Prime Minister's Office said Thursday night.

"As a nation, we honour his service and mourn his passing," Prime Minister Harper said in a statement.

Harper added that Babcock was the nation's final remaining link to the 650,000 Canadians who served their country in the war.

"The passing of Mr. Babcock marks the end of an era," Harper said.

"His family mourns the passing of a great man. Canada mourns the passing of the generation that asserted our independence on the world stage and established our international reputation as an unwavering champion of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law."

Babcock signed up for the military when he was only 16. However, his young age prevented him from immediately heading to the frontlines.

In the years before his death, Babcock lived in Spokane, Washington.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Mar 11, 2010 15:42 ET
Canadians Are Invited to Make Poppies Bloom from Sea to Sea as Nation Pays Tribute to All Who Served in First World War

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 11, 2010) -



These will be the only tools needed by Canadians who want to take part in a national project to honour the approximately 640,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who served in the First World War. On "Vimy Ridge Day," April 9, 2010, the Government of Canada will recognize those who served in "The Great War" at a ceremony at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Canada's last known veteran of the war, John "Jack" Babcock, died in February.

Each One Remembered/On se souvient de chacun is a project designed to enable everyone to print and colour a poppy picture and place it in a window for the morning of April 9th. "It would be a wonderful show of national respect and honour if we could have 640,000 images in the windows of schools and workplaces across Canada--- one for each participant in the war," says Linda Granfield of Toronto, the creator of the project. "This is a no-cost way for all Canadians to take part in the "Vimy Ridge Day" proceedings. Imagine if we could walk or drive down the street and see red poppies in the windows of every school, or at the residences of the Governor General and the Prime Minister?"

"The Canadians and Newfoundlanders spent four long years on the world's battlefields," says Granfield. "We have four short weeks to put 640,000 coloured images of the poppy in windows across Canada. Can we do it? I'm sure we can. My motto is "Every Day is Remembrance Day" and here's a way to honour those who never returned and those who did return and contributed in so many ways to the life we have today."

ABOUT LINDA GRANFIELD: Linda Granfield is an award-winning author of non-fiction history titles for adults and young readers. For the past fifteen years, she has written books about Canada and the wars and has shared them in schools with nearly 300,000 young readers and veterans. Her most recent book is Remembering John McCrae, a companion to her other books about Canada and the First World War.

TO TAKE PART IN EACH ONE REMEMBERED/ON SE SOUVIENT DE CHACUN:

http://www.lindagranfield.com/EOR_english.php

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CANADA AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR:

Veterans Affairs Canada http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca and the Canadian War Museum http://www.civilization.ca/cwm/exhib...r-start-e.aspx

(Images on press release courtesy of the Granfield Collection)



To view the accompanying image, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20100311-lgr800.jpg

For more information, please contact
Linda Granfield
416-626-8429
lindagranfield@sympatico.ca
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