Squamish World War II veteran passes away

The Royal Canadian Legion Diamond Head Branch 277 has lowered its flags to honour and remember the passing of Ted Gregoire.

One among the four World War II veterans in Squamish, Ted passed away on April 20 in his sleep. He was 101 years old. The family would like to thank Dr. J Jamieson, Shannon Falls Retirement residence, and Squamish General Hospital for the exceptional care they provided to Ted.

A service will be held at First Memorial Boal Chapel North Vancouver at a future date.

Edward Jean Henri Leonard (Ted) Gregoire was born on November 4, 1918, near Rennes, France, and migrated to Canada in 1919 with his parents, who settled down at Eriksdale, Manitoba, a town about 85 miles north of Winnipeg.

Ted enlisted with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles and spent few years south of London performing garrison duties and training in preparation for the assault landings on Juno Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944.

He was part of the initial D-Day assault with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. Ted was fortunate to survive the heavy casualties that occurred with the first wave, but even though they were able to secure a German position and take prisoners, Ted was captured a few days later.

Ted experienced four days of marching followed by detainment nor far from his city of birth, Rennes. He and other POWs were transported on a French box car to Frankfurt, where Ted recalls the train was attacked by four allied fighter planes. On another occasion the train tracks were blown up by the French forcing the Germans to transfer the POW’s through a community to another train.

Ted ended up at a POW camp outside of Berlin with the task of making tiles and bricks, until American troops liberated the camp a few days before V-E Day on May 8, 1945, and was brought back to Winnipeg. After being discharged from the forces, Ted worked for a decade for the City of Winnipeg and then moved to BC to work for the City of Vancouver.

Ted settled in North Vancouver with his late wife, Mary Belle, and worked as a heavy equipment operator in West Vancouver. They retired to White Rock in 1983 and came full circle back to Squamish in 2010 to be close to their daughter.

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of France, the French Government bestowed the Legion d’honneur, the highest decoration, on all Canadian Veterans who took part in the D-Day operation, the Battle of Normandy and the liberation of France.

Edward (Ted) J. Gregoire was among those honoured with the award.

He is survived by his daughter Coral (Dean), granddaughters April, Bryanna (Luke), grandchildren Madyson, Haylee and Connor, son Gary, and brother Henri (Corky).

Ted enjoyed 101 years of his freedom that he fought for, said Ken Ward, the veteran research chairman at the legion.