Veteran honoured by street naming in Fonthill
Jim Summersides is greatly appreciative of a street being named in his honour, but he’s also thankful to have made it out of the Second World War alive and be able to still share his story decades later at the age of 94.
The local veteran and Pelham resident was joined by dignitaries and family for the official opening of Summersides Boulevard, a short stretch of road in east Fonthill between Rice Road and Station Street near the new Meridian Community Centre.
A modest reaction was delivered by Summersides at Monday’s event.
“This really is an honour,” he said, next to Margaret, his wife of more than 70 years, and their children Rex and Sherry.
In 1944, Summersides joined a Canadian-American unit known as the Devil’s Brigade, respected for fighting in some of the most dangerous and difficult missions during the conflict.
“It’s a blessing that we’re here, those of us that survived,” he said.
Sherry is grateful to the municipality, as well as Royal Canadian Legion Branch 613, for thinking of her father when putting forth the street name more than two years ago.
“I am very proud to be a daughter of a veteran and to have the community recognize them is beyond worth,” she said.
First vice-president Jake Dilts said Summersides remains a familiar face at the local legion branch, visiting for coffee three times a week, helping out with the poppy campaign before Remembrance Day, and through countless hours put into youth programming over the years.
“He’s put a lot into it and has been a great advocate for the legion,” Dilts said.
Summersides, born in 1924, joined the Armed Forces at age 18, training in Orillia before deploying overseas and fighting in Italy and France.
In 2015, Summersides was one of 42 special service veterans, 14 of them from Canada, honoured in Washington, D.C., with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honour in the United States.