Posted on 04/25/2016 9:42:29 PM PDT by Trumpinator
Russia honours veteran with medal, vodka
By Jonathan Sher, The London Free Press
Monday, April 25, 2016 10:05:18 EDT PM
When your life is the world of diplomacy and your boss is Vladimir Putin, you’re not easily surprised.
But the head of the Russian delegation in Toronto was taken aback this month when a 95-year-old Londoner, to be honoured for heroism during the Second World War, not only walked himself into the reception area, but passed up coffee and tea for a vodka.
“He was quite surprised I walked in instead of being carried,” Londoner Bob Kennedy said.
Kennedy was among four Canadians given medals but the only one of the quartet healthy enough to make the trip to the Toronto consulate on the 14th floor of a tower on Bloor Street.
In his case, it was for his role in Britain’s Royal Navy, which protected merchant ships taking vital supplies from Loch Ewe, Scotland, through frigid waters north of Norway, to Murmansk, a Russian port above the Arctic Circle.
Kennedy manned the big guns that kept Nazi warplanes away and did so knowing a sinking ship would mean a quick, icy death.
“Your life in the water was three minutes,” he said.
Later in the war, in 1942, Kennedy experienced life in a foundering ship when the flagship of the 15th Cruiser Squadron, HMS Naiad, was sunk in the Mediterranean Sea. He spent five hours in cold water before being spotted and rescued by a destroyer.
Seventy-four years later, it was the vodka served at the consulate that was ice-cold. The guests had been offered tea or coffee, but Kennedy’s son Bruce, among family members who accompanied him, asked about vodka.
“It was very nice,” said Bob Kennedy, who attributes his longevity and good health to a nightcap of Glenfiddich single-malt Scotch.
The Ushakov Medal, named for the 19th-century patriarch of the Russian navy, Fyodor Ushakov, was originally reserved for Soviet war-time heros and later expanded to peacetime service and acts by foreign nationals who protected the Soviet fortunes during the titanic clash with Hitler.
It was Putin, the Russian president, who signed the decree that awarded medals to Kennedy and others.
“According to Russian President Vladimir Putin decree No. 131 . . . you are awarded the Russian Ushakov Medal for personal courage and bravery displayed during the Second World War,” Consul General Vladimir Pavlov wrote.
Asked about the Russian leader, Kennedy said, “Putin is not the laughing type. He doesn’t smile so much . . . But it’s a lot better than when (Josef) Stalin was around.”
Kennedy was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1920 and grew up close to a military base. He delivered milk to soldiers and their families. In 1939 he signed up to become a Royal Marine.
He would survive attacks by German U-boats and Japanese kamikaze pilots and see the war end five years later on the deck of HMS Gambia, in Tokyo Bay, when Japanese leaders signed a surrender that officially ended the Second World War.
From a solitary marine in a massive Allied armada, to the only veteran in a Toronto consulate, Kennedy has felt the loss of comrades and time: “There’s not too many of us left.”
jsher@postmedia.com
The article confuses me somewhat - is this Vet Canadian or Scotsman proper?
Say what you will about Russians, they honor their (and other country’s) veterans, unlike much of this country.
From what I can work out Bob Kennedy was born in Scotland in 1930 which would almost certainly make him a British citizen unless he has done something to renounce his citizenship, and also a true Scotsman.
He presumably moved to Canada sometime after World War II and at some point may have become a Canadian citizen. As both British and Canadian law allow dual citizenship, he would not have automatically lost his British citizenship on becoming a Canadian citizen unless he expressly renounced it.
(I'm a joint Australian/British citizen under fairly similar sets of rules).
References to him being a Londoner and London in this case, would seem to refer to him being a resident of London, Ontario, which is a decent sized city near Toronto. As this article appeared in their local newspaper, they would assume no confusion with the better known London in the UK.
London, Ontario! Duh! Thanks!
I loved that the man said screw the tea where’s the vodka. That probably warmed the Russian’s heart more than anything there I imagine.
I don't think the Royal Marines were enlisting nine year olds in 1939.
Typo - 1920.
Glenfiddich!
Reason enough to like the old fella!
Yes, my family came over from Scotland and still misses it from time to time.
Either your math or your keyboard are off. Born in 1920.
I’ve noticed that many times.
The Russians, commies or whatever they are now, honor their military people and place them in a position of high respect and are very loyal to their nation be it the Stalin era or the Putin era. They seem to unite in the destruction of their enemies.
Our very own leftist wanna be commies hate the military and anything the US stands for. This bunch unites in the destruction of their own country.
My point is, I have more respect for the Russian citizenry than I do our own leftist citizenry.
Americans can’t comprehend the fantastic russian population loss in WW II. Battle losses were not thousands but tens and even hundreds of thousands.
Yes, this piece is very poorly written.
But God bless this hero. Spunky guy, too.
Glenfiddich! Aye!
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