Memorial Ribbons for Ternapolski's kin
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Tillsonburg's Bill Ternapolski proudly wears a Memorial Cross, given to next of kin whose deaths were related to authorized military service.
And now his children and grandchildren will have Memorial Ribbons. Two of his sons, Chris Ternapolski and Dave Ternapolski, were presented the purple ribbons at a special Sept. 21 ceremony in Courtland, as well as John Medai, uncle of Bill's son John W. Ternapolski, Royal Canadian Regiment 2nd Battalion, who was killed in Kiseljak, Bosnia in 1993 at the age of 25. Two ribbons will go to Bill's grandchildren on the 21st of December.
“Same regiment I was in,” said Bill, noting John W. was an active member of the Canadian Forces for four years.
“John was in Bosnia and he came home for Christmas – and we had a great Christmas. We all came down to Tillsonburg for a little while. I think my grand-daughter was baptized. I took him back to the airport, he flew back to Bosnia.
“A friend of mine's son was hit the day before John died, mortar attack. The next day my C.O. called me and said 'you're son's dead.' I said, 'no, I don't believe it.' He was killed by a drunken Serb bus driver – he forced John off the road and it rolled over. That's what killed my son. It took three days to sober that guy up. That place was just crazy. I'm glad I didn't have to go to Bosnia, Cyprus was bad enough. The stories that come out of there...”
Bill had joined the Canadian Forces in 1963 and retired in 1993, serving 12 years in Germany, had two tours in Cyprus, seven trips to Norway, and three years in Gagetown, N.B.
MEMORIAL RIBBON
The Memorial Ribbon is presented as a memento of personal loss and sacrifice in respect of military personnel who die serving their country, issued to commemorate the death of a CF member after Oct. 1, 1947. Introduced during Remembrance Week 2012, the Memorial Ribbon was created as a means to provide a small token of remembrance to some of the closest loved ones, especially children, who are not recipients of the Memorial Cross. The ribbon is inspired by the purple ribbon worn with the original Memorial Cross awarded from 1919-1945. It is a length of purple ribbon, held in place by a silver-colored circular pin.
Up to five memorial ribbons are issued to close loved-ones. Any designated recipient may wear the memorial ribbon at any time they deem appropriate, worn over the left breast, pinned above any medals the recipient may have been awarded.
The ribbons presented in Courtland last month were the first to be presented in Canada.
“When I applied for them, the guy from Ottawa said you're the first person,” said Bill. “I applied for it in March.
“It's for people who meant something in John's life. His children, his brothers, and my uncle Jim. I thought, 'who was most important in John's life?'”
“We named this hall the John William Ternapolski Memorial Hall,” noted Ed Weil, president of the Lance Corporal David W. Young Chapter of the Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping.
The David W. Young Chapter in Courtland was formed in 2002, originally as the Southwestern Ontario Chapter, and renamed when Young passed away. It currently has 13 members, reduced after many of its London-area members joined a newly formed chapter in London. They also saw members leave when a Niagara chapter opened, both trained by the Courtland chapter.
“We're trying to rebuild,” said Weil, wearing his UN-blue dress uniform, the colour of the United Nations. “It is hard to grow in this area. London's no problem because it's a garrison community and there's a lot of people.
“Right now we have 29 chapters all across Canada, and we have more veterans – 7,800 United Nations Peacekeepers – than the Royal Canadian Legion has. Of course, the Legion has 330,000 members, but not vets. Most of our members are vets – very few are honorary members.”