119 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca KENNEDY, Donald WWII Donald was born in Manchester, England in 1910 and immigrated to Canada in June 1927 at age seventeen. He worked for farmers and was a miner in a gold mine in Bissett, Manitoba before joining the Royal Canadian Air Force on November 24, 1941. He had married Esther Reid in 1938 and they had a daughter. Donald was stationed at Canadian air bases until 1943 when he shipped overseas. He was stationed at Middleton-St. George with 419 Moose Squadron as ground crew and general duties and had the chance to visit his mother and sister who lived in Wakefield. Donald returned to Canada in 1946 and was released on February 18. He worked at the Shoal Lake Creamery from 1953 to 1968 then became weed inspector for the rural municipalities. Esther passed away in 1967 and he remarried in 1969. Donald was active in municipal politics in Shoal Lake and later in Hamiota. He held the office of President and was a member of Shoal Lake Legion Branch 72 for forty-five years before he passed away in 1983. KENNEDY, Ralph J. WWII Ralph was born in 1924 in Antler, Saskatchewan. He joined the Canadian Navy at 17 with his brother Bill. He was an Asdic operator, first on HMCS Rimouski then on HMCS St. Laurent and was part of ONS 154 involved in the North Atlantic run on the St. Laurent and on HMCS Port Colborne. On the Port Colborne, he took part in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day and also served in the Bay of Biscay and on the Murmansk Run. Ralph was awarded thirteen medals and in 2008, received the prestigious Queen’s Jubilee Medal. After the war, Ralph married Lois Scott with whom he had four sons. He became a high school teacher and a night school principal, teaching for 37 years at Tec Voc in Winnipeg. He helped establish Kin Place Personal Care Home, was a Municipal Councilor for three years in the R.M. of Springfield, Manitoba and a Director of the North-East Man Health Association for seven years. Ralph has been a member of Springfield Legion Branch 146 for more than fifty years. KEOWN, John L. “Jack” WWII Jack was born in Boissevain, Manitoba on March 16, 1919. He joined the Army in October 1940 and transferred to the Air Force in 1941, going overseas in May 1944. He received his commission on December 1 and flew with 424 Squadron as an air gunner. On December 6, 1944, Jack and his crew were on a raid over Osnabruck when their plane was hit, going down on fire at 8:30 pm at Geleto, Bentheim, Germany. Three crew members were unable to get out and all three were buried at 9:00 am on December 9 in New Cemetery at Lingen on Ems River in Germany. The bodies were later moved three miles southwest of Cleve, Germany to the Reichswald Forest British Military Cemetery. Jack was posthumously awarded the Royal Canadian Air Force Operational Wings for gallantry in action against the enemy. KENT, C. E. WWII C. E. Kent joined the Canadian Army during World War II and served with the Camerons as a Lieutenant.
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