Reacquainted
Parade gives veteran Legionnaires a chance to meet up once again
There was a time when Hedley Smith and Kevin St. George would simply make their own way towards one another when they met.
When they spied one another Saturday, they needed help getting close enough for rekindle their good friendship.
The two are among the aging older guard of war veterans and Royal Canadian Legion members who once were among the driving forces of the annual Remembrance Day parade and other Legionnaire-led events in Corner Brook.
The cold temperatures and snow flurries didn’t keep them way from taking part in the annual parade again this year, although both men required wheelchairs and assistance from family members to do so.
“I’ve seen it rain so hard, my medals fell off and snow so hard that my ears froze off,” said Smith of the many parades he has attended since he was a young lad in the 1950s.
Just as he wouldn’t have missed this year’s parade for nearly anything, he also wasn’t about to leave without having a word with his old navy buddy St. George.
The feeling was certainly mutual for St. George as his face lit up when Smith’s son Dave wheeled his father over to St. George.
“It was wonderful to see Hedley again,” he said. “We are both housebound now and don’t get out as much.”
As happy as they were to see one another again and have a brief chat, Smith and St. George were both equally as glad to see yet another fantastic turnout by the general public for the Remembrance Day parade in Corner Brook.
“It means so much to me to see so many people recognize the toll paid by our soldiers, a good many of whom never came back from war,” said Smith.
“I’ve seen it rain so hard, my medals fell off and snow so hard that my ears froze off.” Hedley Smith