Published: October 27, 2023 @ 10:00 a.m.
On behalf of the Royal Canadian Legion Bayview Branch 22
The Royal Canadian Legion Bayview Branch 22 has installed Veterans banners throughout Grand Bay-Westfield on the light poles along River Valley Drive and Nerepis Road.
The Legion has also installed two (2) Veterans banners at the Grand Bay-Westfield Veterans Peace Park.
“In addition to the Veterans banners throughout the community, the Legion will feature two (2) different Veterans annually on the light poles located at the Veterans Peace Park. The banners pay tribute to Veterans and are displayed proudly in our community.” – Cory Ryan, Royal Canadian Legion Bayview Branch 22 Vice President.
The two (2) Veterans featured for the 2023 banners at the Veterans Peace Park are:
Warrant Officer Berton Wilson Munn, CD, was born in Nerepis. After graduating from Upper Regional Miramichi High School, Willie joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1960. Over the next few decades he served in Montreal, Shelburne, Chatham and Summerside. He also did a NATO posting to Germany and a UN posting to Egypt.
Willie also spent some time aboard ship on HMCS Annapolis and with the reserve unit HMCS Brunswicker. He retired from the RCAF in 1985. He then worked for Saint John Shipbuilding until 1996.
Willie was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion, the Royal Canadian Air Force Association and also the NB Federation of Woodlot Owners.
and
Sgt Darren Pollock, CD (1976 – 2018)
Darren, the son of Dianne (Stackhouse) and Darrell Pollock, grew up in Martinon and Grand Bay-Westfield. While living in Martinon, Darren and his friends spent many happy hours playing their favourite game “Capture the Flag”. It was also here, that Darren began his life-long love of baseball. Darren was in high school when his family moved to Grand Bay-Westfield. He immediately claimed the basement as his personal living space and it was here that his friends often congregated. During this time, Darren had a part-time job as a delivery boy for Pizza Shack.
After high school, Darren joined the Army Reserves in Saint John where he taught a variety of courses including driving and winter survival. In 2004, he joined the Canadian Military Engineers (Regular Force) as a Water Fuel Environment (WFE) technician. After Darren’s deployment to Afghanistan, he became a WFE instructor at the Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering at CFB Gagetown. In 2011, Darren was posted to CFB Halifax where he was a WFE technician / supervisor. In 2017, Darren served on a peacekeeping mission to Latvia.
Darren was a certified baseball coach and served as a 1st base coach for his sons’ teams. Besides baseball, Darren enjoyed hunting, boating and snowmobiling at his camp on the East Branch of the Musquash River. His wife Tara and sons Davis and Destin live in Hammonds Plains, NS.
To learn more about the Grand Bay-Westfield Veterans Peace Park, visit HERE.
