As the Cochrane Cadets gear up to for their Vimy Ridge visit next year they celebrated their 40th anniversary last week.
“I think the parents and guests enjoyed themselves, everyone I talked to seemed to agree the corps has come a long way,” said Zane Roberts, trainer officer with the cadets.
The 50 cadets celebrated 40 years last Tuesday at the Bow Valley Baptist Church with honoured guests from across the province thanking them for their dedication.
“The progress has been seen by people who have been around for a long time … the cadet program itself is unlike any other youth organization,” Roberts said.
For the last two years the Cadet Corps of the King's Own Calgary Regiment has been raising monies to travel to England, France, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands in April 2017.
It was last reported the cadets were more than 70 per cent for their $100,000 fundraising goal.
“It will be a wonderful opportunity to see the monument and be able to get a sense of what they had to put up with through tours. I am really excited – you can talk to them until we are blue in the face about how it was but for them to be able to stand on the ground in Europe and how it will affect them is a big deal,” Roberts said.
One specific stop the expedition will be making is at Vimy Ridge in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.
The Battle of Vimy Ridge took place from April 9 to 12, 1917, during the First World War when the Canadian Corps overtook the German Sixth Army. The battle was the first time all four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together and thus became a nationalistic symbol of achievement and sacrifice.
“The staff are looking forward to it, everyone is looking forward to it, everyone will have it click in their heads the condition they had to live in,” Roberts said.
“I’m proud of the core, staff and cadets, and I think we have many more years to come.”
The next cadet’s fundraiser will be Nov. 25 to 26 where between the two days the cadets will spend 20 hours of community service and are looking for sponsors for the evening.
The group meets every Tuesday at the Bow Valley Baptist Church, inviting boys and girls aged 12 and over to register.
For more information about the Cochrane Army Cadets, visit www.kocr.ca
FACTBOX
Highlights of those in attendance:
Lt.-Col. Claveau - Commanding Officer (CO) for Regional Cadet Support Unit (NW)
Lt.-Col. Hunt - CO of King's Own Calgary Regiment
Dick Cruickshank - president of the KOCR Association
Jason Ritchie for MP Blake Richards
Peggy MacAllister - Army Cadet League of Canada-Alberta Branch
Ed Liukaitis - Army Cadet League of Canada-Alberta Branch
Capt. Chris Taylor - CO 3016 Calgary Highlanders
Randy Graham - President of Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #15
David Usherwood - vice-president of Royal Canadian Legion, Branch #15
Warrant Officer Jim Klein
Lt. (Navy) Tim Thompson
Kari Murphy, mother of fallen cadet Lamont Murphy
