235 www.on.legion.ca MacDONALD, Henry Walter “Harry” Henry was born in Sudbury, Ontario on April 2, 1934. He enlisted with the Royal Canadian Regiment in Ottawa on October 16, 1952. In 1953, he was assigned to 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, in London, Ontario. He completed his paratrooper training at Rivers, Manitoba, earning his jump wings at only 19 years of age, and subsequently became part of the elite Mobile Strike Force. Harry served with 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, in Soest, Germany, from 1955 to 1957 during the Cold War era, followed by service at Ipperwash from 1957 to 1959. He later joined the PT Cadre - later known as PERI - as a Physical Training Instructor. During his distinguished military career, he was stationed at Camp Borden with the Royal Canadian School of Infantry, where he was promoted to Warrant Officer. He also served with the Service Corps School and at the Billy Bishop Centre. Further postings took him to CFB Esquimalt in Victoria, British Columbia, and to Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. After 23 years of faithful and dedicated service to Canada, Warrant Officer Harry MacDonald retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in Kingston. He is a fouryear member of The Royal Canadian Legion Kingston/Napanee Branch. MacDONALD, Walter James Walter James MacDonald was born in Pembroke, Ontario on July 6, 1888. He was a lineman working in Calgary, Alberta, when he enlisted in the Army (Regular Force) with the Canadian Expeditionary Force on April 21, 1916, joining the 13th Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion. On July 6, 1916, he sailed aboard the famous troopship RMS Olympic, arriving in England before proceeding to France on August 10, 1916. After additional signal and engineering training at Shorncliffe, England, he was transferred to the Canadian Corps of Signals and the Canadian Engineers Cable Section, serving as a Sapper with the Canadian Corps Headquarters Signal Company. Throughout the war, he worked “in the field,” maintaining and repairing the vital communications systems that connected front-line units with headquarters during combat operations. Walter’s service brought him through some of the most dangerous conditions of the First World War. During 1917, he was hospitalized through several medical facilities, including No. 44 Casualty Clearing Station, No. 4 General Hospital at Camiers, and the Convalescent Depot at Étaples, before returning to duty. Despite these hardships, he continued to serve with distinction. On April 6, 1918, he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field, a decoration awarded to non-commissioned officers and enlisted men for acts of courage and devotion to duty under fire. Unfortunately, the exact details of the action for which he received the medal are not presently known. Tragically, on November 11, 1918, the very day the Armistice was signed ending World War I, Walter was severely wounded near Mons when an artillery shell exploded, resulting in the loss of his right arm above the elbow and wounds to his back. He was treated through a series of hospitals in France and England, including the 10th Canadian Field Ambulance, No. 25 General Hospital at Étaples, hospitals at Colchester and Buxton, before being invalided back to Canada on April 14, 1919. Walter continued his recovery in military hospitals in Calgary until his discharge from service in October 1919. He passed away in 1954. We Will Remember Them Ontario Command
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