John has been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion since 1988 when he joined the Dominion Command Legion 003 in Germany. He is the Service Officer for the Maple Ridge Legion, and has served in this position for the last 12 years.

John’s first exposure to the military was 2 years  of  compulsory cadet service in his early teens in his hometown in Ontario. This program originated in WWI and was terminated in the schools in the mid 1960’s.

He later joined the Canadian Armed Forces Infantry  (1 PPCLI) in 1971. He completed basic training in Gagetown NB, and then served for 15 years based in Calgary AB. He was Infantry for the first 6 years, then spent the next 26 years in Logistics Finance. After this he spent a further 6 years in the Army Reserves  working in finance with the Cadets in Vernon BC summer program.

During his long career he spent time with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and spent 6 months in the Middle East. He was stationed at a radar base in Sioux Lookout, Northern Ontario, and then in Geilenkirchen, Germany from 1987-1990.

He retired in Vancouver BC (rank of Warrant Officer). He likes to dabble in the Stock Market, listen to audio books, and play Euchre, where he says his teammates are very kind to him and let him ‘cheat’ due to his failing eyesight.