As a part of his effort to protect the nation’s army historical past, Chilly Warfare veteran Kevin Hicks is sharing particulars from his profession within the British army, the place he earned a British Empire Medal.
“It’s from the Queen. It’s an honour,” Hicks defined. “And it was for one thing I did out in Cypress. I did a specialist mission which lasted over two years.”
Hicks additionally served with the Canadian army.
“I used to be despatched to Berlin in 1976, however I didn’t keep in Berlin,” he stated. “I used to be despatched to the checkpoint space … and one in all our jobs was to patrol by way of the Russian zone, all the way in which as much as Berlin.”
He was stationed in Berlin and Cypress and stated he noticed a lot of the motion one would possibly discover in a historical past guide, in real-time.
“I look again and I believe, ‘Wow. We really did that? That’s one thing,’” he stated. “And patrolling the Berlin Wall and doing the entire Berlin stuff as nicely … it type of blows your thoughts. I’m a bit piece of historical past, I suppose.”
Now, Hicks is bringing that historical past to life on the Saskatoon Museum of Military Artifacts as knowledgeable historic interpreter.
He’s keen about making certain new generations perceive the extent of sacrifice for individuals who didn’t make it house from battle, and for individuals who did.
“You don’t stroll away from these terrorist conditions the identical means you walked in,” he stated. “You might be completely different for the remainder of your lifetime.”
“We’re afraid that after we go, no person will bear in mind us or they are going to overlook us.”
His favorite a part of the job is talking with college students and answering their questions on his personal expertise and the experiences of the hundreds of Canadians who went to battle.
“I really obtained requested this by a scholar lately,” he mused. “What are we purported to do on Remembrance Day?”
He stated the query made him recall a dialog he’d had with one other veteran who had served within the First World Warfare on the Battle of the Somme.
“He seemed me within the eyes and he stated, ‘We’ll all be lifeless quickly, Kevin, and we’re afraid that after we go no person will bear in mind us, or they are going to overlook us. However you’re going to maintain us alive, aren’t you?’ And I stated, ‘Oh for certain.’ In order that’s what I stated to the scholar the opposite day. I stated, ‘On Remembrance Day, do me a favour, simply bear in mind us. It’s all we ask. Keep in mind us.’”
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