Heritage Day

After several months of planning, the Service Battalion Senate, Inc. hosted a Heritage Day on 25 October 25. The occasion was to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the formation of the Winnipeg Militia Service Battalion on 1 January 1965, the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, and the 15th anniversary of the stand-up of 38 Service Battalion. There were two parts to the day: (1) unveilings, and (2) a dinner. There were three unveilings: (1) the unveiling of a wall plaque,(2) the unveiling of bison facial features on the unit sign, and(3) the re-opening of the Combat Service Support (CSS) Museum which received funding from the Winnipeg Foundation for new plank flooring to replace the old tiled flooring. The wall plaque, bison features and several other commemorative artifacts were funded by Veterans Affairs Canada. Approximately 45 current and former serving soldiers attended the unveilings at Minto Armouries, following which the CSS Museum opened for visitors.

That evening the Senate hosted a gala dinner at the Conference and Event Centre at CFB Winnipeg with 85 guests attending. Each current and former serving soldier was provided with a commemorative coffee mug, a key chain, and several lapel pins from the province, city and Veterans Affairs. The unit was presented with a centrepiece crafted by Cpl (ret’d) Don Schellenberg to be used at other dinners in future. Special guests MLA David Pankratz, Military Envoy, and Councillor Shawn Dobson, Military Liaison, both provided a few remarks as did the Commanding Officer and Senate Chair. The dinner ended with LCol Richard Kang, Commanding Officer, and CWO Troy Benko, Regimental Sergeant Major, cutting a commemorative cake. The dinner was followed by a group photo.

The Senate wants to express its sincere thanks to Veterans Affairs Canada for its financial support for numerous commemorative artifacts and the Winnipeg Foundation for helping underwrite the cost of the replacement flooring in the CSS Museum.