87 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND CROOK, John Graham John was born in Hillingdon, UK on November 12, 1960. He is a proud Legion member that served Her Majesty the Queen in the Royal Corp of Signals where his prime role was that of Driver/Radio Operator. He enlisted in the BritishArmy (Regular Force) in March 1977. John was stationed in Blandford Dorset (30 Signal Regiment) where he was deployed to Northern Ireland on Operation Banner and to Cyprus under the UN UNFICYO or UN UNFICYP program. After returning from Cyprus, John was posted to Berlin which at the time was behind the Iron Curtain where he continued his driving and radio operator roles. After two years in Berlin (229 Signal Squadron), he was posted to West Germany to 21 Signal Regiment working with the RAF Harrier Force out of Gutersloh. After three years moving around Germany with 2 Squadron 21 Signal Regiment, John was then posted back to London (12 Sig Bde) where he finished his time in the Army completing ten years of service. He was discharged in March 1987 and received the General Service Medal Northern Ireland and UN Medal UNFICYO. John has been active in the Royal Canadian Legion since immigrating to Canada in 1995, where he lived in Mississauga. CROSS, William Robert “Bill” Bill was born on September 4, 1930, in Hamilton, Ontario. Growing up in a border town, Crystal Beach, Ontario, he enlisted in the US Army on March 29, 1951, at the age of 21. Landing in Okinawa and then on to Korea, Bill spent three years as a Field Artillery Gunner with 1602 HQ Battery. He was discharged on March 9, 1954, and upon his return he settled back home in Crystal Beach where he married Rolande (Groulx) and raised his three children, Susette, Daniel, and Bill. Community service was of utmost importance to Bill, coaching local youth sports teams and becoming a proud member of the Ridgeway/Crystal Beach Kinsmen Club. Bill worked tirelessly raising money to aid in finding a cure for Cystic Fibrosis and was honoured with a Kin Life Membership Award. He never stopped serving his community. Bill passed away peacefully on May 12, 2019. CROSS, Joseph Johnston Joseph was born on November 30, 1894, in the hamlet of Cairo, Ontario in Lambton County, 65 kilometres from Sarnia, Ontario. He was the second oldest son of Gilbert H. Cross and Mary Jane (Johnston) Cross and farmed with them on their land. At the age of 24, he enlisted in the Army (Regular Force) on June 18, 1918, serving with the 4th Canadian Res Battalion during World War I. He contracted the mumps while stationed at Camp Bramshott, Liphook, United Kingdom and was therefore unable to be sent to the front lines at that time. Shortly thereafter, the war ended. He wrote several letters home about the state of the crops he saw during training. He was discharged on July 7, 1919. After the war, he continued farming, married Mona McLeown, had three children, and fifteen grandchildren before he passed away on June 15, 1975. Joseph was a thirty-year member of The Royal Canadian Legion Bothwell Branch 252.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==