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Hamilton Spectator
26-05-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Trek for Vets: MacKay Walks Through Tilbury on 800-KM Journey to Support Homeless Veterans
A retired military man has taken up the cause to assist fellow homeless veterans. Ken MacKay, of Port Dover is walking over 800 kms from Windsor to Ottawa as part of his 'Trek 4 Vets' project. He is hoping to raise funds to assist those in need. 'This is a partnership with an organization named Homes for Heroes, a nonprofit that builds villages with tiny homes and support services for military veterans,' he explained. 'So, I'm raising funds and awareness for our homeless veterans. MacKay estimates that there are anywhere from 2,500 to 10,000 homeless veterans across Canada. 'There could be more because veterans are very proud and they don't want to ask for help,' MacKay said. 'So, a lot of them couch surf and go from place to place. It takes them a lot to ask for help.' MacKay, 65, joined Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry when he was 18 and served for three years. Later, he spent nine years as a reservist with the 48th Highlanders. Homes for Heroes has established villages in Calgary, Edmonton, and Kingston, Ont., with expansion planned for Winnipeg and London. 'Through relationships I've established with other vets I've seen first- hand many suffering from PTSD and struggling with addiction and trauma because of the sacrifices they made,' he added. 'Those who did go overseas and were in combat or have seen horrible things. They're affected. Many are living on the streets, and I don't think our government is doing enough to help them. They sacrificed a lot and some of them are being forgotten.' The journey required plenty of strategic planning and says with the help of legions and members across the province have been paramount to the success of the trip. According to his plan the trek will take 42 days. 'With the help of his support team, we were able to figure out that there are legions approximately every 25 kms along the route,' he said. 'I've been very fortunate to find plenty of people willing to assist and put me up for the night.' While in Belle River, he stayed with Legion president Richard Brooks. MacKay now serves as sergeant at arms at his local legion in Port Dover, where the organization held a BBQ to send him on his way and raising $10,000. With a solid pair of walking shoes and a backpack containing only the essentials, he took the train to Windsor on April 26 Upon Leaving Windsor, he made stops in Belle River, Tilbury and Chatham Kent. MacKay is no stranger to long treks, but he admits this will be the longest walk he's ever attempted. MacKay says that he has done two 'Caminos' – mountain pilgrimages in Spain and Portugal that are hundreds of kilometres long. The walk will be no easy feat, given the unpredictable weather. He will walk six days out of the week, allowing one day to do laundry and rest his body. 'I like walking solo…it's a form of meditation for me, I like having not to think about anything in particular,' he laughed. He is halfway to his goal when the Lakeshore News caught up with him just outside of Toronto last week. 'Things have been going really well,' MacKay said. 'The weather has been co operating and I've met some great people along the way.' To date, he has raised just under $40,000. 'Last week, I stopped at a cheese factory outside of Kitchener, the people were so nice…they gave me a bunch of their product, however I was only to keep a small bit as it would go bad…along the way people have been so generous.'
CBC
26-04-2025
- CBC
Former soldier embarks on walk across Ontario to help homeless vets
Ken MacKay is spending the weeks ahead walking from Windsor to Ottawa A former soldier has armed himself with a good pair of sneakers and a backpack as he undertakes a new task: An 800 kilometre solo trek across the province to help veterans in need. Ken MacKay, 65, will spend the weeks ahead walking from Windsor to Ottawa, with the goal of raising $250,000 to support homeless veterans. "I didn't go overseas, I didn't see anything — they did and they're homeless, and they have to fight another battle," he said. "They shouldn't have to do that." MacKay, who's from Port Dover, Ont., joined Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry when he was 18 and served for three years, he said. Later, he spent nine years as a reservist with the 48th Highlanders. A former CBC camera operator in Toronto, MacKay now serves as sergeant at arms at his local legion. There are anywhere from 2,500 to 10,000 homeless veterans across Canada, according to a 2023 report from McGill University. "There could be more because veterans are very proud and they don't want to ask for help," MacKay said. "So a lot of them couch surf and go from place to place. It takes them a lot to ask for help." MacKay has already raised more than $26,000 of his goal, all of which will go to Homes for Heroes, a nonprofit that builds villages with tiny homes and support services for military veterans. A tiny home village for veterans is coming to London. Here's how it will work The group has villages in Calgary, Edmonton, and Kingston, Ont., as well as ones planned for Winnipeg and London, Ont. MacKay arrived in Windsor by train on Friday, where he was met by the first of many supporters who will put him up in the weeks ahead. His "Trek 4 Vets" to the nation's capital starts Saturday, and will see him stop at a constellation of Royal Canadian Legion branches across southern Ontario. MacKay is no stranger to long walks. He's done two "Caminos" – mountain pilgrimages in Spain and Portugal that are hundreds of kilometres long. "I was planning on doing 800 kilometres in the mountains of Spain, but I said why not do something in Ontario and raise some funds, some money for our veterans?" he said. To train, he's been walking 13 kilometres every other day, he said. His eight kilogram (18 pound) backpack is "quite light" compared to the 18 kilogram (40 pound) one he carried as an infantryman. "So this is nothing," he said. "It's seven pairs of socks, seven pairs of underwear, t-shirts, couple of zipper pants and toiletries and that's about it." He also has a reflective vest he'll wear for safety. MacKay said he doesn't listen to music while walking: "I like to hear the sounds of nature," he said. "My meditation is walking." His journey required careful route planning in addition to nightly accommodations. He said he had plenty of help from his fellow legion members. "We started looking for legions along the route and it just happened to be [that] there's one every 25 kilometres or so. So they would phone, you know, somebody in Belle River, Tilbury, or Chatham and ask, 'Can you put Ken up?'" he said. "We got yes, all the way along." One of those people is Claude Beaulieu, who was hosting MacKay in Windsor on Friday night. Beaulieu said he was approached by his Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 255 in Riverside, and said yes because "it's a good cause." A former Windsor Regiment reservist, Beaulieu said he's encountered a handful of homeless veterans locally while volunteering at a soup kitchen. "But it's not something that they bring up," he said. "Veterans are proud […] but unfortunately sometimes you do need help." MacKay will take the first steps of his trek on Saturday morning at Branch 255, then make his way to Belle River. "I want to get going. I've been planning this since December and I've just been waiting," he said. "I would go right now if I could." Those who want to keep track of his progress can follow the Port Dover Legion Facebook group, which will be posting regular updates, he said.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The 5 Americans who made history by earning the Victoria Cross
Since Queen Victoria instituted the Victoria Cross in 1856, five American-born men have received Britain's highest military award for valor. The first, William Henry Harrison Seeley from Topsham, Maine, was driven by a family squabble to go to sea when he was 22 years old. After deserting a merchant ship in Boston, he enlisted in the Royal Navy and served aboard the warship Impérieuse on the China Station during the Taiping Rebellion. In 1862, he transferred to the frigate Euryalus, on which he participated in a multinational punitive expedition to take out shore batteries that a Japanese daimyo, Mori Takachika, was using to bombard any European vessels that sailed through the Straits of Shimonoseki between Honshu and Kyushu. Reconnoitering from Euryalus on Sept. 5, 1864, Seeley pinpointed a stockade and while wounded by grapeshot, returned to give a full report to 1st Lt. Frederick Edwards. Afterward, Seeley was taking part in an assault on Mori's batteries when his captain, John Hobhouse Inglis Alexander, was badly wounded in the ankle, at which point Seeley carried him a quarter mile on his back to reach safety. On Sept. 22, 1865, Seeley was awarded the Victoria Cross for his heroism at Shimonoseki. Seeley returned to Massachusetts, where he died on Oct. 1, 1914. By the time of Seeley's death, there was a new, rapidly expanding war in Europe, which included the British Empire and would soon involve the United States. The war would set the stage for four more Americans to earn Britain's highest honor while passing themselves off as Canadians. George Harry Mullin was born in Portland, Oregon, on Aug. 15, 1891. When he was 2 years old, Mullin's parents resettled north of the U.S.-Canada border in present-day Saskatchewan. Given the circumstances, Mullin had little trouble enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in December 1914. He was attached to the scout and sniper section of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. Shipped to France, Mullin managed to survive the hazards and miseries of the trenches for two years, during which he was awarded the Military Medal for his bravery during the capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917. In July 1917, the British launched a new offensive centered around Passchendaele, which, like previous attempts, degenerated into a succession of struggles against one well-defended German objective after another. Within that context, on Oct. 30, Mullin had his moment, as quoted in the Jan. 11, 1918, issue of the London Gazette: 'When single-handed he captured a commanding 'Pill-box,' which had withstood the heavy bombardment and was causing heavy casualties to our forces and holding up the attack. He rushed into a sniper's post in front, destroyed the garrison with bombs, and, crawling on to the top of the 'Pill-box,' he shot the two machine-gunners with his revolver. Sgt. Mullin then rushed to another entrance and compelled the garrison of ten to surrender. 'His gallantry and fearlessness were witnessed by many, and although rapid fire was directed upon him, and his clothes riddled with bullets he never faltered in his purpose and he not only helped to save the situation, but also indirectly saved many lives.' Mullin left the military as a lieutenant and returned to Moosomin, where he married and had four children. In 1934, he served as sergeant at arms at the Saskatchewan Legislature. During World War II, he served as a captain in the Veterans' Guard. Retiring as a major, he died in Regina on April 5, 1963, and is buried in Moosomin. His VC is on display at the Museum of the Regiments in Calgary, Alberta. There would be three more Americans serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force whose extraordinary actions earned them a Victoria Cross, all in 1918. Raphael Louis Zengel was born in Faribault, Minnesota, on Nov. 11, 1894, but shortly thereafter his mother moved to a homestead in Canada. In 1915, Zengel enlisted in the 5th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Canadian Division, Canadian Expeditionary Force. During a trench raid near Passchendaele, on Nov. 11, 1917, his platoon leader and platoon sergeant were disabled, but he took charge to accomplish the mission, for which he was awarded the Military Medal in March 1918. Five months later, as his unit was advancing east of Warvillers on Aug. 9, 1918, Zengel noticed a gap in his formation where a German machine nest threatened his battalion with flanking fire. Rushing across 200 yards of open field, he killed two enemy soldiers and scattered the rest, after which he led and inspired his battalion for the rest of the day's advance. For this, King George V awarded him the VC at Buckingham Palace on Dec. 13, 1918. Serving in the Calgary Fire Department until 1927 and on the home front in World War II, Zengel retired from his second conflict as a sergeant major. Zengel died on Feb. 27, 1977, and is buried in Alberta. Born in Talmadge, Maine, on Jan. 29, 1894, William Henry Metcalf attended Waite Grammar School and was working as a barber when he enlisted in the 12th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, in Valcartier, Quebec on Sept. 23, 1914. Metcalf shipped out to France the following month and transferred to the 16th Manitoba Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Canadian Division, as a corporal. After surviving the battles of Ypres, the Somme, Passchendaele and Amiens, Metcalf was a lance corporal with the Military Medal and bar when the Allied forces launched their final offensives of the war. On Sept. 2, 1918, Metcalf's unit was assaulting the Drocourt-Quéant line at Cangicourt when it encountered heavy resistance on its right flank. Contacting a British tank, Metcalf led it against the enemy positions by preceding it in the open with a signal flag to make up for the poor visibility its crew was afforded. Although repeatedly wounded by enemy fire, he guided the tank until a breakthrough was achieved and only then took cover to receive medical attention. He was hospitalized for nine months before receiving the VC. After the war, Metcalf settled down in Maine as a garage mechanic. He died on Aug. 8, 1968, and in accordance with his last wishes, was buried in Maine soil overlooking the St. Croix River toward Canada. On the same day Metcalf earned his Victoria Cross, another American was doing the same in the same area — but not in the same manner. Bellenden Seymour Hutcheson was born on Dec. 16, 1883, and educated at Northwestern University Medical School. He married a Nova Scotian, and on Dec. 14, 1915, he renounced his American citizenship to enlist in the 97th Battalion, 1st Ontario Central Regiment, Canadian Expeditionary Force, as a medical officer. On the first day of the final British offensive on Aug. 8, 1918, he rescued multiple wounded British troops. A month later, on Sept. 2, 1918, Hutcheson was attached to the 75th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, assaulting Dury, east of Arras. During the battle, he recovered numerous soldiers, including a gravely wounded officer for whom he elicited the help of British and captured German troops, then advanced under fire to rescue a wounded sergeant. Having already earned the Military Cross, Hutcheson was awarded the VC for his actions on Dec. 14, 1918. After the war, Hutcheson reclaimed his American citizenship to resume his medical profession in Illinois. He died in Cairo, Illinois on April 9, 1954, and is buried in Illinois.
