This story is a part of Branch 25’s on-going National Legion Week campaign.

The Royal Canadian Legion’s mission is to support Veterans, promote Remembrance and strengthen communities. As part of our commitment to our communities, the Legion is involved in developing youth leadership at the local and national level. Youth play a crucial role in the growth of our communities and in continuing the tradition of Remembrance. The Royal Canadian Legion has a long and valued partnership with Cadets. Cadets engage in varied and unique experiences and develop competencies in leadership, citizenship, and physical and mental fitness. Cadets support our Veterans and take active roles in commemorative ceremonies. These youth play a significant role in supporting Legion activities and promoting Remembrance. In return, Legion Branches assist corps, squadrons and patrols in various ways that add to the success of the programs.

Branch 25 (San Francisco) of the Royal Canadian Legion has sponsored the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps (USNSCC) – Arkansas Division since 1991. Each year as a part of their annual inspection, the Branch presents a Sea Cadet with the Royal Canadian Legion Cadet Medal of Excellence.  Additionally, Sea Cadets from Arkansas Division participate in each of the services the Branch hosts by performing as the Colour Guard, reading poems and other passages, placing a ceremonial wreath, and a variety of other activities.

In their own words…

SN Oscar Mellet – The fact that we are sponsored by a branch of Royal Canadian Legion veterans, means a lot to me, especially for the honor guard events that we do. The ones that we do at the cemetery give me a lot of color guard experience and we get to honor those that made sacrifices for the world we live in today. I’m proud to do it.

SN Justin Mostasisa – For me, it gives me an opportunity to acknowledge that the U.S. isn’t the only ally that helped maintain a free society. It’s acknowledging that the U.S. isn’t the only country that has a military, and all of our allies contribute to the freedoms we enjoy, especially with Canada, we have an opportunity to really honor our partnerships with a nation that has supported us in all major conflicts. And to be the only U.S. Naval Sea Cadet branch sponsored by a Royal Canadian Legion, really, it shows how, you know, as Sea Cadets can not only represent the U.S, but represent and honor other countries in the world that have militaries that make sacrifices for the betterment of the world, and we can honor those that served.

SA Mackenzie Mikulich – The events we do for the Royal Canadian Legion definitely are super important. 
It gives me the opportunity to represent those that have come before me and makes me a better person. It gives me opportunities, to not only grow, but understand that there are other people in counties other than the U.S. that make sacrifices for the rest of the world. Before my involvement in these events, I had no idea of all the wars Canada had fought in and how much they support the U.S. It’s just a really great honor to know, acknowledge, and honor that. 
 The events also have provided us with challenges like Color Guard where we are learning how to adapt on the fly, which has made me very adaptable in that way.

PO3 Xavier Mendoza – I think it’s interesting because as U.S. citizens, we usually think of the United States having veterans groups like the Veterans of Foreign Wars or American Legion, and the Royal Canadian Legion is similar, but Canadian. The Royal Canadian Legion gives us a different take on world events, impacts, and provides us with different insights than what we might get from U.S. focused veteran’s organizations. And they come from they come from a country and a culture where their cadet programs are more supported by the community, so they have been supportive for us and it’s just really uplifting to be around them because they believe very strongly in the cadet programs. 
I’ve met a bunch of cool people from around the Bay Area and around Northern California, and I’ve just learned a lot of valuable skills from the ceremonies and got to do a lot of cool things that people normally don’t get to do.

Chief Olivia Keesor – I think the Royal Canadian Legion has really embraced us with their sense of community. I mean, they’ve brought a bunch of supporters and veterans together from different parts of the area and world, and we’ve been able to learn about different backgrounds a sacrifices, especially from ones not commonly understood by people from the U.S. I think it helps the rest of the cadets gain new perspectives on cultural differences and courtesies that are present in the militaries of other nations.

This story is a part of Branch 25’s on-going National Legion Week campaign.

As the piper for Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 (San Francisco), I have always had a keen interest in the history of Legion piping and pipe bands in the San Francisco Bay Area. Where once there were several full Royal Canadian Legion pipe bands in the San Francisco Bay region and Sacramento, the last branch associated band in the region was in San Jose and disbanded in the early 1990s. The Black Raven Pipe Band of San Francisco was officially the band of the Royal British Legion, San Francisco Post 1 but also performed as the band of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25.

These pipe bands, dating from the very inception of the Royal Canadian Legion in California in the mid-1930’s, laid the groundwork and training for many regional pipers and pipe bands for decades to come.

I have been the piper for Branch 25 (San Francisco) since I joined in the early 1980’s. Then, I performed for most of the meeting openings and many events throughout the year.

I also piped as part of the Branch’s Honor Guard which was quite active in parades and ceremonies to the late 1980’s.

My current duties remain roughly the same though the need to open our meetings has passed with the advent of online meetings. Playing for Memorial and Remembrance Day ceremonies, member funerals, and the occasional veteran’s parade or ceremony are my bread and butter.

I also am privileged to oversee the awarding of a special commemorative trophy at the Redding Bagpipe Competition in memory of Past Branch President, and piper, Fred Rutledge. The “Piper of the Day” award is given to the piper at the competition who is determined by the event’s piping judges to have demonstrated an outstanding effort over the two-day event.

It is very meaningful to me to be able to present this award on behalf of the Branch and to keep Past President Rutledge’s name alive.

Outside the Legion activities, I am the Pipe Major for the Pipes & Drums of CAL Fire Local 2881. This pipe band represents the members of California’s fire and emergency response agency.

With duties throughout a huge state like California, my 20 years as Pipe Major, and 30 years as a piper with the Local 2881 Honor Guard has brought me to events all around the US and too many Line of Duty funerals for the fallen of CAL FIRE and other CA fire and law enforcement departments. It is always an extreme honor to pipe for the families of our fallen in their times of need. On the international stage, I’ve been privileged the last two years to perform with the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Pipes & Drums.

This civilian band of around 85 members, performs each year as part of the Tattoo’s massed Pipes & Drums and performs throughout the 90-minute Tattoo production. Composed of musicians from around the world who audition to participate, it is truly a great band and experience to be part of.

My association as a piper with San Francisco Branch 25 for over 40 years has provided me with many happy and meaningful memories. I’m always proud to perform at branch and veteran events and I plan on keep on adding to those memories for years to come.

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Charlie Martin, Branch 25 Piper

This story is a part of Branch 25’s on-going National Legion Week campaign.

Branch 25 (San Francisco) of the Royal Canadian Legion maintains specific plots in two cemeteries: Greenlawn Memorial Park in Colma and Liberty Cemetery in Petaluma.

The Branch, and many of its individual members, also maintain individual Canadian and Commonwealth member graves throughout the Bay Area.  Here is the story of one of those veteran’s grave.

James Edwards

A Forgotten Soldier now Remembered thanks to the Royal Canadian Legion.

In the long shadows of war, some stories slip through the cracks of history. One such story belongs to Sapper James Edwards of the Royal New Zealand Engineers. Born on 15 December 1901, Edwards served his country with quiet dedication in both world wars, lying about his age saw him serve in France in World War I and again during World War 2 as a New Zealand Forrester with the second Nz division in Britain. He served not with rifle or bayonet, but with saws and mills. As part of the New Zealand Forestry Companies, Edwards worked alongside his comrades in England, North Africa, and Italy, providing the timber essential for camps, bridges and repairs which was vital to the war effort itself. It was skilled, back-breaking labor that kept the armies moving.

In 1943, the Forestry Companies were reorganized. Married men were sent home, while single men were dispatched to new postings in North Africa. Edwards, a married man, was on his way home.

Yet Edwards’ end came far from the battlefield. Passing through San Francisco, fate dealt him a cruel hand. Struck by a truck on the Embarcadero on 10 October 1943, he died far from New Zealand. He was laid to rest in Live Oak, a private and historic California cemetery in concord California.

He was given a military burial by his comrades and a US army Padre conducted the service. His grave was marked only with a simple white wooden cross for decades, until the Royal Canadian Legion placed a headstone in 1999. Today, Edwards is no longer forgotten. His story speaks to the sacrifice of those whose service, though often overlooked, built the foundations of victory.

Edwards’ story reminds us that sacrifice takes many forms — and that remembering the ordinary hands that built victory matters as much as honoring those who fought on the front lines.

LEST WE FORGET.

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Trevor Page, Branch 25 Vice President