Posted By Sudbury Northern Life Contributor Bill Lee
Having not yet reached 58 years of age, I'm currently one of
the youngest members of Fred Vincent Branch of the War
Pensioners of Canada in Sudbury and definitely the youngest to
sit on the 2008 Executive of the Dominion Command of the War
Pensioners of Canada.
As an association, the War Pensioners of Canada was first known
as the Canadian Pensioners Association of the Great War
Incorporated. We were established in 1922 by a group of
veterans of the Great War who were experiencing difficulty with
the government of the day honouring disability claims for
honourable wounds inflicted upon them during the war.
They formed this organization with a shared philosophy. Their
goal in those early days was to assist all veterans in need.
Eighty-six years later we have not deviated from that course.
Our motto is: veterans helping veterans.
Sudbury's local branch was established in 1963. Today, as it
was back in 1922, the criteria for membership to the War
Pensioners of Canada remains exclusive to veterans. When you
talk to a member of any branch of the WPC you can be certain
you are engaging in a conversation with a bona fide veteran of
the Canadian Forces - an individual who lived and experienced
the military culture of Canada.
The branch here in Sudbury does more than just show up at
Remembrance Day services. We also keep in touch with our
general membership as we become aware of new developments
and/or new programs when that information is passed to our
executive from our ongoing rapport with Veterans Affairs Canada
(VAC).
We communicate our concerns about various government policy
changes and how these changes might effect veterans. We offer
assistance to those veterans who are new to the VAC claims and
appeals process. Not only does this branch have a very
knowledgeable pensions officer, but every one of our 140+
members has had dealings with VAC claims and appeals process at
one time or another, therefore offering our newer members a
greater opportunity to learn from the vast experience and depth
of knowledge from those who have gone before.
When the War Pensioners of Canada are honoured with a request
for a funeral service, we will make sure that, regardless of
group affiliation, the veteran in question is given the full
War Pensioners Service with the honour and respect all veterans
deserve. We take a proactive role in making sure that the
surviving family members of our veterans are apprised of their
rights and entitlements.
We have recently entered into a program partnership with our
sister branch the Northshore Branch of the War Pensioners of
Canada in Espanola, known as the Veterans Grave Marker Project.
Through either branch, families of deceased veterans can
purchase a metal grave marker/plaque with a red poppy on a blue
background with gold lettering that reads Lest We Forget. 
For more information on this please contact the Fred Vincent
Branch at Grave Marker Project, 281 Victoria St., Sudbury,
Ontario P3C 1K5, or come to one of our meetings and we can hook
you up with one of the program representatives.
All this and more, including two annual social events, is
accomplished every year through monthly meetings and quarterly
newsletters along with a dash of open and frank discussion
without fear of political correctness raising its ugly head.
William H. Lee is Branch President of the Fred Vincent Branch
of the War Pensioners of Canada in Sudbury.
