104-year-old veteran that passed before Remembrance Day honoured for legacy

Résumé détaillé

One of Manitoba's last surviving Second World War veterans died ahead of Remembrance Day.

One of Manitoba’s last surviving Second World War veterans died ahead of Remembrance Day.

104-year-old Leonard (Len) Van Roon died on Oct. 26, but his legacy and advocacy are being remembered by the community.

“I had sadness for a couple days,” said his son Len Van Roon Jr. “But this is really a 104-year-old life to celebrate of community involvement and caring. I very quickly moved to a sense of pride in his accomplishments.”

The elder Van Roon took part in one of the most pivotal moments in the war, being one of the first waves to hit Juno Beach during D-Day. Canadian forces during that day suffered more than 1,000 casualties, but the operation was vital and considered a turning point in the Second World War.

Now at the Charleswood Legion, the Len Van Roon Tulip Garden has been established out front. The flowers were planted recently and gifted from Holland, a place the veteran helped liberate during the conflict.

“It’s about what he represents and what he stood for, and that’s to remember,” says Charleswood Legion Chair Tom Crew. “Remember the sacrifice of those young men who died in the First and Second World Wars, and the operations since then.”

During his life after the war, Van Roon shifted focus to educating the public about conflict, often speaking at schools. His son says it was always a message of peace.

“That meant a lot of us too, that he still cared about the importance of peace and why can’t we move beyond conflict,” says Van Roon Jr. “He liked to send that message to school children. The reluctant hero who did a very important job, but he always had a message that war was a terrible thing and shouldn’t be happening.”

Début de l'article, extrait de Global News. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.