{"id":273919,"date":"2020-11-03T02:54:37","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T07:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=273919"},"modified":"2020-11-03T02:54:37","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T07:54:37","slug":"canadian-soldier-of-the-second-world-war-identified","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/11\/03\/canadian-soldier-of-the-second-world-war-identified\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian soldier of the Second World War identified"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Trooper Henry George Johnston (Photo: The family of Trooper Johnston via Government of Canada)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Department of National\u00a0Defence\u00a0and the Canadian Armed Forces\u00a0have identified\u00a0the grave of a Canadian soldier of the Second World War as that of Trooper Henry George Johnston. Trooper Johnston was buried as an unknown soldier in\u00a01945\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0Commonwealth War Graves Commission\u2019s\u00a0Mook\u00a0War Cemetery\u00a0in the Netherlands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trooper Henry George Johnston\u00a0was born on\u00a0May 2,\u00a01915,\u00a0in\u00a0Chauvin, Alberta. He\u00a0enlisted at\u00a0No. 13 District Depot as a General Reinforcement\u00a0in\u00a0October\u00a01943\u00a0in Calgary.\u00a0After training in Ontario, he embarked for the United Kingdom on June 25, 1944, arriving on July 3, 1944. He\u00a0was taken on strength by the\u00a01 Armoured<\/span><\/p>\n

Personnel Carrier Regiment, Canadian Armoured Corps, Canadian Active Service Force, on\u00a0November\u00a012, 1944. Trooper Johnston was declared killed\u00a0in action on January 17, 1945,\u00a0during\u00a0an attack\u00a0in which his Regiment\u00a0was carrying members of\u00a0the\u00a0Devonshire Regiment,\u00a0a\u00a0regiment of the British Army,\u00a0as part of Operation BLACKCOCK.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Canadian Armed Forces\u00a0have notified surviving next of kin of\u00a0Trooper Johnston\u2019s identification and have provided the family with\u00a0ongoing support. A headstone rededication ceremony\u00a0will take place\u00a0at\u00a0the Commonwealth War Graves Commission\u2019s Mook War Cemetery\u00a0in\u00a0Limburg, Netherlands,\u00a0at the earliest opportunity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Canadian Armed Forces\u2019 Casualty Identification Program fosters a sense of continuity and identity within the\u00a0Canadian Armed Forces, and provides an opportunity for the family, the unit of the fallen soldier,\u00a0and all Canadians to reflect upon the experiences of the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Quotes<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cTrooper Johnston dedicated his life in defence of peace and freedom during the Second World War. We honour him for his courage and selflessness. The service of this brave member will not be forgotten, as it continues to impact the way Canadians live today. As we approach Remembrance Day, all Canadians should appreciate that the Canadian Armed Forces\u2019 Casualty Identification Program continues to identify the names and tell the stories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us. We will remember them. Lest we forget.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of National Defence<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIn a conflict as vast as the Second World War, it can be difficult to remember that behind every casualty was a human being with a life they left behind to serve. Events like this remind us of that. Trooper Johnston paid the ultimate sacrifice, and will finally receive the recognition he deserves. We remember him today.\u201d
\n\u2014 The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“Canadian troops proudly fought alongside our Allies during the Second World War, providing key ground support to the British-led operation that pushed back enemy troops on the Roer Front along the Dutch-German border. Trooper Henry George Johnston is part of a proud legacy of Canadians who fought valiantly during the fierce battles, demonstrating great courage and character in the face of tremendous adversity. Trooper Johnston will be honoured for his service and his sacrifice will forever remain in our memory.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Lieutenant-General Wayne Eyre, Commander Canadian Army<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Quick facts<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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  • The\u00a0Canadian Armed Forces\u2019\u00a0Casualty\u00a0Identification Program, within the Directorate of History and Heritage,\u00a0identifies unknown Canadian service members when their remains are recovered\u00a0and there is sufficient evidence to identify them by name.\u00a0<\/span>\n

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  • The\u00a0program\u00a0also identifies service members previously buried as unknown soldiers when there is\u00a0sufficient\u00a0historical and archival evidence\u00a0to\u00a0confirm the identification.\u00a0When that is the case,\u00a0the previously unknown\u00a0soldier receives a new headstone with\u00a0their\u00a0name, unit affiliation, and a personal family inscription, if that is requested.\u00a0<\/span>\n

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  • The Casualty Identification Review Board is composed of members of the Directorate of History and Heritage, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Canadian Forces Forensic Odontology Response Team, and the Canadian Museum of History.\u00a0<\/span>\n

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  • The Commonwealth War Graves Commission commemorates the 1.7 million Commonwealth servicemen and women who died during the two world wars. Using\u00a0an\u00a0extensive archive,\u00a0the Commission\u00a0works\u00a0with\u00a0their\u00a0partners to recover, investigate,\u00a0and identify those with no known grave to give them the dignity of burial and the commemoration they deserve.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The Department of National\u00a0Defence\u00a0and the Canadian Armed Forces\u00a0have identified\u00a0the grave of a Canadian soldier of the Second World War as …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":273921,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-273919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-ca","category-news","mauthors-national-defence","mauthors-government-of-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273919"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":273923,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273919\/revisions\/273923"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}