Terry McKimmie was just 17 years old when he joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in 1972.
Fast forward to Dec. 31, 2012 — his retirement day after 40 years of service — McKimmie had experienced life in a way most of us will only read about or maybe catch in the airing of historical news footage.
Right out of the gate, the Trail teenager travelled to Germany in 1973 to be part of a military exercise for all NATO combat engineers.
Much of his service was during the Cold War (March 12, 1947 – Dec. 26, 1991), a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term “cold war” is used because there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two superpowers, but they each supported opposing sides in major regional conflicts known as proxy wars.
Following the large-scale NATO exercise that spanned several weeks, McKimmie returned to his hometown of Trail.
Three years later he flew back to Europe to be part of the 1976 Nijmegen March, an annual event which recognizes the liberation of Holland from Nazi Germany.
After marching 100 kilometres across Holland in four days, McKimmie returned to Trail and his job at Teck. In fact, throughout his active duty, McKimmie was an employee at the Trail smelter.
After the exercise in Nijmegen (now-Netherlands), McKimmie remained in Canada for the rest of his military career; the Canadian Forces Base in Chilliwack is where he continued schooling and training in combat engineering.
Over the decades while building up precision skills and a lifetime of service memories, McKimmie married and became a father.
In 2003, his military training translated to boots-on-the-ground only hours away from Trail.
That August, the Okanagan was embroiled with interface wildfires, and the CAF was called in to protect people and property.
He was dispatched for six weeks to the small town of Barriere, outside Kamloops, leading a 100-person firefighting company.
Another memory McKimmie recalls from around that same time is the 100th anniversary of Canadian combat engineers (1903 - present).
McKimmie, a Sergeant Major, flew to Ottawa for a 100-person guard that marched from the back of the Parliament buildings to the Cenotaph for a ceremony, finished by a march to nearby covered barracks.
Today, nearing 11 years post CAF retirement, McKimmie remains involved with community service through the Trail Legion.
As president of the Trail Legion, he’s been especially busy the past several weeks ensuring all details of Remembrance Day services are carried through without a hitch on Saturday, Nov. 11.
The day will start at 10:30 a.m. with the Colour Party, RCMP honour guard, pipe band, veterans and cadets marching up Eldorado Street to the Cenotaph.
The service will begin around 10:45 a.m. with the singing of O Canada, followed by a hymn, a prayer and an address by Reverend Meridyth Robertson. Master Warrant Officer Shane Batch will read the Roll of Honour: 36 from WWI, 139 from WWII, one from the Korean War and two from the Vietnam War.
Last Post will be followed by two minutes of silence at 11 a.m. The Lament, Reveille, the Act of Remembrance and the laying of wreaths will lead up to the reciting of In Flanders Fields. Captain Eric Olson from the Trail Salvation Army will close with The Benediction. Finally, the crowd will be invited to sing God Save the King.
What is a combat engineer?
In Canada, they play a key role in ensuring troops can live, move and fight on the battlefield. They perform construction and maintenance tasks, operate vehicles and equipment in support of engineer operations, and maintain field installations and facilities.
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