A Proud Canadian Lt.General Tommy Burns.
Canadians have served honourably since 1956 wearing the Blue Beret of peacekeepers. General Tommy Burns is known as the father of the Blue Berets. A veteran of two world wars and a civil servant. He was reinstated as Lt General to command Canada's first contingent to the UN.
Burns, Eedson Louis Millard Eedson Louis Millard Burns, soldier, diplomat, author (born in 1897 at Westmount, Que.; died in 1985 at Manotick, Ont.). As career soldier, civil servant, and then soldier-diplomat, General Burns gave a lifetime of service to Canada. He fought on the Western Front during World War I with the Royal Canadian Engineers. He received the Military Cross after he was wounded in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. In World War II, he commanded Canada's most battle- hardened army corps, the 1st Canadian Corps, during the fierce fighting in Italy that led to the freeing of Rome. In the late 1940s, Burns became a civil servant with the recently formed Department of Veterans Affairs. There he helped set the generous policy that Canada organized for returning war veterans.
In 1955, Burns transferred to the Department of External Affairs. From 1956 until 1959 he served as commander of the U.N. Emergency Force in the Middle East, the first peacekeeping force under United Nations direction. In this role, he was respected by both the Israelis and the Arabs. His blunt firmness and even-handed supervision of disputes won him their lasting respect. He continued to be a peacekeeper in the 1960s, when he served as Canada's chief adviser at conferences on disarmament. He wrote several books based on his experiences, including Between Arab and Israeli (1962).
In 1981, the United Nations Association of Canada awarded him the Pearson Peace Prize Medal for his peacekeeping work. He was a Companion of the Order of Canada.
Canadian Peacekeeper awaiting air transport 1961.
So faithful readers this weekend take a moment to think of the Guys and Gals Military, Mounties, and civilians.who have served under the Blue Beret.
THE CANADIAN PEACEKEEPING VETERANS ASSOCIATION Established by Canadian peacekeeping veterans and federally incorporated in 1991, the Canadian Peacekeeping Veterans Association (CPVA) is a democratic, apolitical, non-sectarian, and not-for-profit, veterans-only organization. The CPVA mission is to bring veterans together in comradeship, to advocate for the defence of their rights and to watch over and promote their interests. One of three peacekeeping veterans associations in Canada, it is governed by veterans for veterans. Membership is open to all veterans of war and peace, including veterans of all nations who are members of the United Nations Organization.
Proud to serve, proud to have served, IN THE SERVICE OF PEACE
Please show support to our present day troops serving in all areas of the globe including our present day Blue Berets.
Nil Sine Labore
Robby
