SAINT JOHN – It took 70 years, but a 97-year-old Second World War veteran from Saint John is being recognized for his service.
Last week, air force veteran Doug Ramsey received two shiny service medals in the mail.
“I was quite surprised, quite surprised when I got them,” he said.
Despite the time, Ramsey says it feels great to be recognized for his service. In his early twenties, Ramsey served as an electrician preparing war planes for battle.
“We were mounting bomb racks on the wings,” he said.
But, unlike dozens of his comrades, he says he never got the call to serve overseas. So, being a humble man, he never even bothered to apply for his service medals.
“I didn’t earn them,” he said. “I didn’t do anything important to acquire these.”
Some, like Saint John historian Harold Wright, would argue that.
“He is a veteran but like most veterans that didn’t serve overseas they sort of consider themselves, I am going to say, second class,” he said.
But Wright says Ramsey earned the right to wear these medals over his heart like any other veteran, which is why he convinced Ramsey to apply for the medals.
The two service medals arrived last week, just in time for Ramsey to attend his first ever Remembrance Day ceremony this Wednesday.
“I said, ‘Doug, will you come to Remembrance Day with me? Will you be my guest and I can sit with you,’ and by gosh he said yes,” said Wright.
When asked why in 70 years he’s never been to a ceremony, Ramsey said: “I don’t know, I just never got around to it.”
He says after the war, his focus became his family and his wife of more than 50 years, Mary, whom he adored.
Ramsey says Mary passed away more than 20 years ago, but he wishes she could be here to sit alongside him on Wednesday.
At Harbour Station, Ramsey will finally take his rightful place alongside other veterans. And Wright says that’s the way it should be.
“Every veteran no matter what they do deserves the same kind of respect and honour from their community.”
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