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John King was a very strong and friendly man in my recollection. I was a
volunteer working with my Mother at Wequedong Lodge in Thunder Bay when I was around
Sixteen. John was always glad to see us because we would always make a point to take him
out for excursions with the Lodge. John at the time was in a Seniors home, first at Beacon
Hill Lodge then another I really forget which. It is not part of what I remember. I
remember the animation that John had when he was out with us, the spirit and energy that
made him so much younger than he was at that time. Telling us stories about his younger
days, relating to me at my young age with what seemed like folklore tales to someone of my
"all-knowing" age of Sixteen. He often told me and my Mother of the time when he
was a Soldier in the 'Rifles' storming the beaches of Normandy, and sharing with us the
losses of so many years before. His friends, and the men he didn't know dying around him.
It was this kind of stories and memories that I have of John King. One who would tell me I
was 'just a kid, with the world to experience' and always have something to top what
seemed the 'extreme' for me. I was with John when we watched the Remembrance Day Ceremony
from a distance in Waverley Park in Thunder bay. He was in a wheelchair at the time, and
was overwhelmed with emotion from the event even from a distance. Being Sixteen, I had no
real idea what it meant to him or the other surviving veterans at that time. He was
sharing a world of thought and emotion with me that I've only come to realize working on
this project. The retrospective that I have had is one of amazement and pride that I was a
person that could share for a brief time with one of our Native Veterans. I want to Thank
John King for that and my Mother for letting me volunteer with Wequedong Lodge. Like many
of the unrecognized Native Veterans of our time, John was a special man. I am filled with
pride that John was a man that we could all look up to as an man, an elder and a Native
Veteran. I am also filled with great pride because John King was my friend. |
