Category Archives: Legion Magazine

Branch 25 in the Legion Magazine

As the January-February 2026 issue of the Legion Magazine begins to hit members mailboxes, we wanted to point out that Branch 25 is featured several times.

Halifax hosts Persian Gulf 35 commemorations

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An item from the Legion Magazine.

The Cenotaph at the Legion’s Fairview Branch in Halifax is adorned with wreaths placed during a commemoration of the Persian Gulf War. [Corporal Gregory Cole/CAF]

Halifax hosts Persian Gulf 35 commemorations

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

Retired major Bob Crane doesn’t demand a thank you for donning the Canadian military uniform. Nevertheless, observed the Persian Gulf War veteran from Siksika Nation in Alberta, “gratitude is the one thing that we all appreciate when we do something for other people.”

Crane, a former member of 1 Canadian Field Hospital, spoke of the broader service that he and more than 5,000 comrades provided as part of a 35-country coalition force, spearheaded by the United States, to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi occupation after the latter’s Aug. 1-2, 1990, invasion. He remembered, too, the desert, the dust—and, of course, the heat.

It was a far cry from conditions in Halifax Feb. 25-March 1, 2026, where those same comrades, encountering a brisk Maritime breeze, gathered to mark 35 years since the end of the conflict. Notwithstanding a blanket of long-settled snow, however, clear skies afforded a sizable delegation of Persian Gulf War veterans—Crane among them—the chance to participate in several commemorative events.

[Yevgeny Khaldei/Shawshots/Alamy/RBYNRE]

History repeats

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

There are two certainties in war: death and suffering. Flag-raisings might be another.

Flags declare victory, as Red Army troops did (below) in raising the Hammer and Sickle over the Reichstag in Berlin on May 2, 1945. The flag, originally symbolizing the alliance of workers and peasants, was used in the Second World War as a sign of resistance against Nazism. This staged and altered photograph was composed at the request of Soviet premier Josef Stalin in the wake of the famous Joe Rosenthal photo of American Marines raising the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima, Japan, a few months previous. Like the Iwo Jima flag-raising (which was not staged), the Hammer and Sickle picture was used as propaganda, to send a message, inspire and reassure soldiers and the populace at large that the good fight was being fought—and won.

Defence Chief General Jennie Carignan addresses The Royal Canadian Legion’s Dominion Executive Council in April 2025. [Aaron Kylie/LM]

Defence Chief General Jennie Carignan on the state of Canada’s military

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

General Jennie Carignan has an idea of how she went from aspiring dancer to military recruit to Canada’s defence chief. “In a nutshell, I would say it’s the diversity of experiences, the diversity of positions and types of missions, and layered on top of that, education to be prepared for different situations.”

Born in Asbestos (now Val-des-Sources), Que., Carignan enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1986. “I basically left home to join the military at 17 years old,” she said, having been raised in a family with a history of service. Whether such realities ultimately influenced her career trajectory, however, is less certain to her.

“I probably didn’t pay much attention to my [police officer] father’s lifestyle, but I do remember, of course, the uniform, the weapon, the sense of authority, and the importance of his role within our community. Maybe unconsciously, this was part of my decision process to join the military.”

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From the archives: Winged war messengers

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An item from the Legion Magazine.

Royal Canadian Air Force personnel work with carrier pigeons in the Ottawa area in 1931. [LAC/3388456]

From the archives: Winged war messengers

STORY BY LEGION MAGAZINE

This story appeared in a February 1941 issue of The Legionary, the predecessor for Legion Magazine that celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The piece has been left mostly as it was originally published, with only minor copy edits to correct typos or glaring omissions.

From May to November 1940, 320 messages were sent from British Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft by pigeon, and 307 were delivered.

One of the messages brought news from Holland to the East Midlands, England, in four hours ten minutes. An exceptionally good performance was that of two pigeons which were released 340 miles from home in an entirely strange direction. They had to cross two countries and a sea, but both homed, the first in 11 flying hours.

Women workers at B.C.’s Coldstream Ranch are trucked to orchards and fields in 1946. [courtesy Museum and Archives of Vernon]

Historian Kelsey M. Lonie on WW II’s Prairie Farmerettes in B.C.

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

“We often generalize the participation of women in the Second World War,” said historian Kelsey M. Lonie, “but in a country as large as Canada, regional differences contributed significantly to the opportunities and willingness of women to volunteer.”

Such was the case of Prairie women and girls, many of whom sought service in B.C.’s agricultural sector, plugging gaps left by men and, moreover, the province’s own female workers who often pursued alternative war industries.

Now, their exploits have been highlighted in Lonie’s latest book, A Vacation for Victory: An Illustrated History of the Women’s Land Army in Canada. So named because of recruitment drives that occasionally framed the role as a holiday rather than strenuous labour, the new publication—scheduled to be released on May 19, 2026—offers a comprehensive yet nuanced exploration of these farmerettes, all against the backdrop of the broader food story in WW II.