A North Vancouver volunteer has been awarded one of this country's highest civilian honours, for his years of service to Canada’s veterans.
Veterans Affairs Minister Lawrence MacAulay awarded Honorary Lt.-Col. Don Foster the commendation for 12 years contributing his time and fundraising, along with five other British Columbians, in a ceremony March 3.
The Lynn Valley resident, though, is far more enthused to talk about the veterans who have inspired his philanthropy.
“Volunteering is what our armed forces are all about. They're all volunteers,” he said. “The veterans that I meet, and the serving members, if you needed something, they step up. And that is how things get done. People step up.”
Since 2017, Foster helped launch the Juno Beach Centre’s Legacy of Honour video program, which recorded oral histories straight from surviving veterans so their stories could live on for future generations.
Foster also played a role organizing mess dinners and movie nights, and helping vets with banking.
In 2009, Foster spoke with his children's piano teacher and learned two of her brothers were killed in the Second World War, one of whom was still missing in action in the Netherlands.
Pvt. Earnest David Harris of New Westminster disappeared on night patrol in January 1945.
Foster started five years of research with other volunteers in the Netherlands. He learned from a letter written by a prisoner of war that Harris had been given a Christian burial at the time of his death, but, because the region’s dikes were blown as a defensive measure, his unmarked grave was under 10 feet of water. In 2014, Foster met up with his Dutch counterparts and they placed a plaque that now gives a permanent marker for Harris, just metres from where he died. Each year, children from the local school come to pay their respects. Even today, Foster chokes up when he discusses it.
Although it was not mentioned in the government’s release, Foster said there’s something particularly special about the award: that he was nominated for it by George Chow and Norm Kirby, two Canadian Second World War veterans who passed away, in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Both were featured in the Legacy of Honour videos. Over time, they became friends of Foster’s to the point he’d visit them regularly, and helped in the planning of their funerals.
“Each one of those people I developed a close relationship with, because you have to really understand somebody's story before you can do the videos,” he said. “For them to think of me in that light, it just shook me at that point, because these guys walk on water as far as being Canadian heroes.”
Lynn Valley veteran Jaye Edwards, one of a small contingent of female auxiliary pilots who served the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, is also featured in the videos.
Foster said he was humbled to learn he’d receive the award, particularly when he knows so many other deserving volunteers who work on the initiatives with him.
His father was a veteran who landed on D-Day, and his family is full of Armed Forces members. Foster said what drives him is a desire to emulate their spirit.
“They’re a powerful force. They're not expecting to get any recognition or payment or anything,” he said.
It’s a message he hopes will inspire others to find fulfilment, helping out.
“It feels good when you know you've had a chance to make a difference in anything you do,” he said.
