Military might
P.E.I. woman knows how to do battle for veterans, including herself
MURRAY RIVER – Military life has allowed Bev Acorn Lemieux diverse avenues to demonstrate plenty of strength and character, both during and after her service.
She was a member of the Canadian Forces for more than a dozen years but also a military spouse for decades to Michel Lemieux, her husband of 46 years and counting.
Growing up in Bridgetown, near Souris, in the eastern part of P.E.I., Bev was regularly given glimpses into the life of a soldier.
She was quite young when her father, the late Fred M. Acorn, first started to haul out a “great big white long album’’ that always announced it was time for true, personal war stories.
Acorn would bring to life his time serving overseas in the Second World War on HMCS Digby – a Bangorclass minesweeper that served the Royal Canadian Navy, seeing action in the Battle of the Atlantic and the Battle of the St. Lawrence.
Acorn would never talk to Bev about any of his dark wartime moments, but he would at times cry over some recollections in which he appeared
to be intentionally omitting harsh details.
The stories told by Acorn, who had four brothers who also served during the Second World War, including one who was taken prisoner of war in Germany, had a growing impact on Bev during her childhood.
“I was so intrigued by the travel, the camaraderie, the pride he had in serving his country,’’ she says.
“You could hear it when he talked.’’
Bev says her father was determined to have a child who would grow up and join the military.
She would be that child. Her siblings – a brother and three sisters – showed no interest in pursuing such a life.
After completing high school and a secretarial course, a 21-year-old Beverly Acorn left her job with the province to serve her country.
Her father, needless to say, “was beyond proud”.
Bev spent 11 weeks in basic training in CFB Cornwallis in Deep Brook, N.S.
It was grueling, she recalls. She soon became homesick. Just three weeks in, she strongly considered turning her back on military life before it had even really begun.
Her mother, though, convinced her to march on.
Bev is grateful for the nudge. It would lead her along a gratifying path. “Very rewarding,’’ says Bev. “It’s not necessarily an easy life, but it’s a very educational life.’’
Bev’s first posting was in CFB Comox on Vancouver Island, where she would work in supplies for three years.
Early into her posting, she met her soulmate, a strapping young soldier from Montreal Island.
“Just a handsome dude,’’ she says.
“He was walking in from doing his run. … I was with my friend, Marion, and I looked up and I said to Marion, ‘ Oh, my God, I don’t know what happened, but something just told me I’m going to marry that guy’.’’
A few months later, she did.
Bev would tally 13.5 years of service, including seven years working in administration for the National Defence Department in Ottawa and three years at CFB Summerside that ended just two years before the base closed on April 1, 1991.
She was far from done with military life, however.
She would be Michel’s military spouse for the remainder of his 32-year career in the Air Force.
Bev would raise two boys as the family was regularly uprooted, moving to bases across Canada, the U.S. and Germany.
“When (Michel) would be away, if I needed anything, you could always count on your military family,’’ she says.
“We consider the military our family. They were our family for 32 years – and we still belong to them.’’
Michel is quick to praise Bev for stoically tackling the demanding role of a military spouse to perfection.
“I wouldn’t have achieved what I did if it hadn’t been for her,’’ he says.
Michel also lauds his wife’s “adamant and fierce’’ efforts to help veterans receive all the care and benefits for which they are entitled – a tireless advocacy role that helped earn Bev the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal. Created in 2012, the medal honours Canadians who have dedicated themselves to the service of their fellow citizens, their community and their country.
One medal Bev sorely lacked for many years, though, was the Canadian Forces Decoration medal, which is presented to a Canadian Forces member who has completed 12 years of honourable service to the country.
Bev had put in just such honourable service for those dozen years plus another year and a half.
Unfortunately, documentation was missing, leaving Bev to battle (she prefers to say advocate) for the past 25 years to claim her rightful shiny recognition.
Over the years, she took her cause to four Veterans Affairs ministers and a couple of prime ministers, as well as ministers of National Defence. They all promised to look into her case. She ended up empty handed each time.
In the end, current Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay took up her cause and finally got Bev her coveted prize. Pay records ultimately paved the way for Bev getting the nod to receive the Canadian Forces Decoration.
She received the welcomed news via letter, delivering her a jolt of joy.
“I had to sit down,’’ she says.
This past Thursday, in front of the cenotaph in Cardigan, MacAulay presented her with the military medal.
Bev, who is a member at large for the Air Force Association of Canada, has teamed up with Michel in recent years to raise money for Homes for Heroes, an organization that provides homeless veterans with temporary housing, counselling and job training that enables them to transition back into society.
Bev, who is 69 and lives in Murray River with Michel, plans to continue to advocate for veterans. She urges veterans and family of veterans to learn about all of the benefits and services available to veterans.
“I want veterans and their spouses to know that Veterans Affairs is improving and expanding their support,’’ she says.
“I want them to know they are not alone. I want them to know assistance is available through Legions, Office of the Veterans Ombudsman, VET’s Canada, Veterans Affairs and others.’’
Bev, of course, also has their back.