Mr. Speaker, today I wish to recognize Ewart Wannamaker, a young 92-year-old and a native of Carlow Township who is now a knight in the National Order of the Legion of Honour of France.
At a ceremony at the Bancroft Legion, he received his medal and certificate from Lieutenant Colonel Roger Vandomme, deputy defence attaché at the French embassy. In his presentation Lieutenant Colonel Vandomme spoke of the French nation's desire to honour young Canadians who left their homes and careers to bring freedom to France. “The medal is but a small token of our continuing gratitude to those Canadians”, he declared.
When joining the Canadian army in 1942 as a corporal craftsman with the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers, he help liberate France, Belgium, and Holland from the Nazis. Wannamaker was in the advance recovery unit, salvaging damaged vehicles so they could be repaired and returned to action or destroyed. He is still a member of the Bancroft Legion, and for his work he has received both a Certificate of Merit and a national Meritorious Service Medal.
To his family and friends, we honour Corporal Wannamaker, now a French knight as well as a beloved native son.