You may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all the time.

Abraham Lincoln

The Spirit of The Class of ’95 is Still Very Much Alive…
By Nicholas Vlachopoulos, 19930

They made their way back to RMC from all over the globe: from Tokyo, Japan; Sydney, Australia; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Victoria, B.C.; Phoenix, Arizona; and many places in between. 

The class of 1995 is a unique class in that it was the last class to graduate officers from the three Canadian Military Colleges (CMC) consisting of Royal Roads Military College in Victoria, B.C. (RRMC), collège militaire royal du St Jean, Quebec (CMR), and the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario.  They made their way back for their 10 year reunion, and what a bitter-sweet reunion it was. 

It is amazing how 10 years pass by so very quickly.

It seemed like only yesterday that we were running circles in pitch-black darkness, conducting our larks, attacking (or defending) The Boat, serving our breaches, bowling for bars, doing square drill, eating our kye, wearing our capes, developing friendships, learning about leadership and trying to keep our heads above water in our academic endeavours.  I apologize if most of this lingo seems foreign to civilians and the cadets that came after us…it seems like a lifetime away and yet it seems so very recent. 

When one initially graduates from a CMC, the tendency is to get as far away from it as possible, in order to explore the vast possibilities, to apply the knowledge one has been exposed to, and to launch into challenging, professional military and civilian careers.  And launch into that vast world we did.  And as one looked around the room at the various venues that were organized during our reunion weekend (thanks primarily to the efforts of Erin O’Toole 19894, Lisa (Cheeseman) Smid 19621, Derron Bain 19787 and Peter Dawe A119), one saw how well our class had lived up to the expectations of an RMC, RRMC and CMR graduate.  We had become, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, professionals, engineers, doctors, military officers, police officers, teachers, writers, authors, businessmen, consultants, baseball bat makers and overall good citizens – all of us serving and contributing to the betterment of our country and the world.

The bond we shared at Military College (MilCol) had withstood the test of time.  The atmosphere was vibrant with good will, good wishes, camaraderie, mutual respect and admiration for one another.  After 10 years, the only real memories of the MilCol experience that really counted were the good ones.  The institution drew us back – back in order to celebrate our common achievements, to re-new friendships, and in a way, to pay homage to an institution that gave us so much (although we may not have truly understood this when we were part of it as officer-cadets).  In some way, the Military College lives in us and the real substance of the college was the people that were part of it.  RMC, RRMC and CMR mean different things to different people.

Re: Ottawa's Afghan Warning, Sept.15

The Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) is pleased that Bill Graham, the Minister of National Defence, plans to inform Canadians about the dangers soldiers will face in their new mission in Afghanistan.  Canadians must recognize that some 1,500 of our troops will eventually be deployed to the volatile region of Kandahar and will encounter experienced, hostile Taliban forces.  This mission will entail considerable risk. 

Since Canada is a responsible member of the international community, this deployment is fully consistent with our nation’s interests and values. 

If Canadian soldiers are injured or killed in Afghanistan, the CDA hopes that the general public and politicians, especially the Prime Minister, will continue to express support for the vital work our troops are doing there.

The CDA encourages the government to continue to tell Canadians about the vital role played by the Canadian Forces in our society, and the risks that our soldiers take.  Given the sacrifice that our men and women in uniform are prepared to make to defend Canada, both at home and abroad, they deserve nothing less.

Alain Pellerin, executive director, CDA, Ottawa

  UP

Victory in Europe a Bittersweet Day for Canadian Veterans
Reprinted from Air Force, Maple Leaf, 4 May 2005, Vol. 8, No. 17

By 12192 Col Tom Lawson (RMC ’79)
 

My father, George Lawson, was a fighter-reconnaissance pilot during the Second World War.

He was single when he left Canada for Europe in 1942, but he had already met a young lady, Eileen, whom he was to marry following his return. In 2005, they are still quite healthy and robust, living in their Etobicoke, Ontario home. In honour of the upcoming 60th anniversary of VE Day, I spoke to my parents, asking if some memories have survived from all those many years ago. Indeed, they could both remember the day remarkably well, but their impressions differed surprisingly.

Street where the celebrations were in full swing. The noisy mass made its way toward city hall where the happy residents of Canada's largest city shared the joy and relief of the moment. Eileen had many reasons to celebrate. A large number of her high school friends had gone to war. Some had died overseas, but most would now be returning safely, and among them was George. The future held such promise.

Since the summer of 1943, George had been on extended fighter operations over Western Europe with 414 Squadron, on Mustangs and Spitfires. At the end of 1944, he was posted as an instructor to 61 Operational Training Unit at RAF Rednal, near Wales.

This is where he found himself on VE Day, well back from the action. He recalls sitting in a pub that day in the nearby town of Shrewsbury, birthplace of Charles Darwin, contemplating the evolution of the war with several Canadian and Australian squadron mates.

Their celebrations were far less ebullient than those taking place back in Toronto. George recalls the mixed sentiments among the aircrew. For these pilots, the declaration of victory meant the end of the objectives they had lived with and for, so many years. Although there was a greater awareness that this news was good for the world, VE Day marked the end of their way of life, some parts of it good and exciting, and the start of a search for new purpose.

Sixty years later, this much was clear from my parents' vivid recollections: back in Canada, and throughout the Western world, civilians celebrated VE Day with abandon. Nearer to the front, servicemen such as my Dad had many conflicting thoughts in their minds as they contemplated a future without armed conflict and the possibilities and opportunities that would bring.

12192Col Lawson is a fighter pilot and currently serves as the Director of Air Force Generation at NDHQ. He is the father of 23479 OCdt Benjamin Lawson, currently the CSS of 4 Squadron.  During this past summer, Veterans Affairs was looking to profile a WWII veteran who had a son of senior officer rank in the CF. 

When Public Affairs advertised this request, Col. Lawson  offered the services of Benjamin and himself, and his father, George Lawson, who was a Spitfire pilot during WWII. 

Website:  http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/general/sub.cfm?source=feature/week2005

  We get e-mails . . .(Guess who just had a baby!)

Hello everyone:

I am writing to tell you about my latest form of triathlon - one that is not recommended for the faint hearted, but whole heartedly if you are ready for the really long haul!

This triathlon consists of: swim, walk, give birth.  This is a common form of triathlon only performed by the female gender and one which is used to help speed up the last leg of the race.  In my case, it was a little too speedy and the date of the event was move up much too early without my consent! 

For those of you that did not know I was pregnant, I apologize for not getting the word out better - it has been a tremendously busy year and was looking forward to the month of Sept and Oct to stay at home, relax and get ready for the arrival of our first baby on a projected date of 20 Oct.

But this little one had different ideas!  Below is how it happened: Friday 16 Sept 2005. - 6-7am:   I swam about 2km with the master's group (I still did flip turns) 7:30-8:30:  Breakfast in town with friend (had a large pot of beans - this is important to remember as I believed my labour pains were related to these beans!!)

9:00-9:30:  Sign up for the Terry Fox walk (5km).  I started to have some lower abdominal pains that I attributed to the beans at breakfast. (I had not gotten to the final chapter in my book that would describe this as labour pains.  Also, Dave and I had booked a child birth class for Mon 19 Sep - which we later cancelled)

9:30-10:15:  Terry Fox walk - I did have doubts about the distance and I had to cut the course numerous times in order to catch back up with the last walkers after my frequent bathroom breaks that I kept hoping would solve my discomfort.  At the finish line and after my 4th visit to the toilet, I told Dave that I had to leave as I wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home to lay down.  I really didn't think it was labour since I was only at 36weeks.  Dave saw me off and he went back to work.

11:00 approx:  lying down did not make me feel any better and the pains are only got more intense - I begin to expect the real deal - but it is too early!  I began to panic!  I called my delivery doctor's office and was put on hold for what seemed like eternity.  When I finally got an answer they told me that she was on vacation and told me to call her replacement.  I called there and was put on hold while they paged him.  He advised me to get the hospital asap.

11:15 - immediately called Dave after getting off the phone with the doctor (after being put on hold by one of the staff in his office). He dropped everything to come home to get me, thinking that something was wrong, but that it would be just a quick visit to figure out what was wrong.  Dave's work colleagues knew better!!

11:40 - arrive at hospital - I was in pain at this point.  I was wheeled up to the delivery floor to the info desk where the head nurse asked me to stand up and get onto the table to be examined, only to have my water break!  After a very quick examination she had me immediately heading for one of the delivery rooms with me asking for an epidural.  She replied that I was too far along for that being 9.5cm dilated!  I got strapped in for the ride and got a quick tutorial from the nurse on what to do (so Dave and I ended up saving some $ on the birth class that we had booked for!).  Of course my choice of vocabulary was less than ideal but I made sure to include some foreign dialects to break it up.  Dave told me he could hear me way down the hall!

12:22 - Thankfully for the nurses and doctor (who arrived with less than 5min to spare) my cursing ended with the birth of a baby girl.  Yes, it was about 40min and if one includes all of the labour (which I didn't realize at the time) it was about 3hr.  I know it was unusual for a first time birth and one which I shouldn't trumpet too loudly to most other women!

Dave was by my side the whole time and enjoyed the on the job training birth class which ended with him cutting the umbilical cord. We named her Gemma Claire Rudnicki (Gemma is a common Australian & Irish name but I liked that it means "little precious gem" which is exactly what she is!)  She was measured at 4lb 12oz.  Dave and I were very concerned but they assured us that all of her scores were great but they would send her to the NICU for care and monitoring due to the weight.  She stayed there for 2 days under great care and then she came to my room, where Dave was also staying with me (the hospital is great in that if you sign for a private room, your spouse can stay with you).  Gemma developed some jaundice and had to do the fluorescent lights for 2 more days in my hospital room.  But we were given the green light to leave the hospital and go home on Wed 21 Sept. 

So that is the news here - we are on cloud nine for both joy and sleep deprivation as we are feeding Gemma often to ensure that she gains weight.  She can't handle a lot of feed at once and she wants to sleep a lot so we set our alarm clock every 2.5hrs to get her feeding.

 This is now Sunday, 9 days old, and she is already beginning to grow some nice rosy cheeks and filling into some of her wrinkled skin!  I am attaching a few photos.

One of my next tasks will be to obtain a 2005 Terry Fox T-shirt and certificate for Gemma for her participation in this year's event - the first of many, many more...

 All our best,
Sharon, Dave and Gemma

Read more about Sharon & family by following the link:

http://www.sharondonnelly.com/sharon.html