WEYBURN – Howard Schmidt, 99 years old, was presented with the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee medal by Weyburn-Big Muddy MLA Dustin Duncan on Dec. 28, at the care home where Schmidt is a resident.
He was to receive the medal at a ceremony in Regina recently, but he wasn’t able to make the trip then, so Duncan arranged with the family to present it to him now.
Schmidt is a veteran of the South Saskatchewan Regiment in the Second World War, and he recently took part in the Remembrance Day service at the Weyburn Legion. He laid a wreath, with assistance by guest speaker Capt. Craig Bird, who went on to give tribute to the price paid at Dieppe in 1942.
“In 1942 the ill-fated Dieppe Raid took place. Most notable are the losses that Weyburn and Estevan, and the South Saskatchewan Regiment suffered during that attack on Green Beach. The SSR recruited out of the southeast and 523 men took part in that raid. The regiment lost 78 killed in action, and 89 were taken prisoner, to serve out the remainder of the war in German prison camps. Three later died of their wounds, and a further three died while prisoners of war. Of those that were lost, 12 were from Weyburn, nine from Estevan, and 25 from the southeast, so over half of the SSR losses were from this corner of the province,” said Bird.
There will be a ceremony in Weyburn for additional recipients of the Platinum Jubilee medal, which is being awarded to Saskatchewan residents in commemoration of the 70th year of the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
