A Coquitlam elementary school principal will be taking a break from his usual back-to-school routine this week with a trip to Victoria to receive a provincial award for his volunteer work.
John Goheen will be heading to Government House to receive the the Sovereign Medal, which recognizes Canadians who have made a significant sustained and unpaid contribution to their community, in Canada or abroad.
Goheen is best known for leading the Royal Canadian Legion Pilgrimage of Remembrance group tours that visit some of the most important, as well as some of the least known, events of the First and Second world wars.
But for the dedicated volunteer who has made veterans’ war experiences real for many people with his talks at the Port Moody Station Museum and tours of remembrance to Europe, the honour is gratifying, if surprising, because the Rochester elementary school principal was not expecting such recognition.
“I learned about it in an email, so I read the thing twice to see what I was looking at. I wasn’t even sure what was going on about it,” said Goheen, who still doesn’t know who nominated him for the medal. “When you volunteer, you do things because you love doing it and you don’t think about that part.”
The recognition comes at a time when the past is beginning to fade away, and Goheen is not sure what the future will hold for programs remembering the First World Warn now that 100-year anniversary events have concluded. And while there will be some acknowledgement this spring for the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands by Canadian soldiers, he worries people will forget without special effort.
“With anniversaries, the question on the back burner is always: 'What’s going to happen after?' ” Goheen said.
Having recently returned from his latest biannual tour of remembrance, Goheen is committed to continuing the program, if supported by the Royal Canadian Legion, because he sees how much these pilgrimages mean to family members of veterans. Over 15 days, participants experience being in the trenches of WWI and the beaches of Normandy, and visit sites throughout northern France and Belgium.
Goheen says he does a lot of research to make each trip special and can sometimes tailor events to recognize the contributions of individual veterans so their families can understand, and even revisit, the experiences of their loved ones.
For example, Goheen can bring families to within a few metres of the start of a battle or a town where a Canadian soldier may have billeted or waited for a battle to start.
“It personalizes it for people. They want to touch the ground, It’s a rewarding experience.”
This year, Goheen hopes local schools will want to remember the Netherlands liberation 75 years by planting tulips this spring that would bloom in May, marking the liberation, which the Dutch still call the sweetest of springs.
And while he’s looking forward to being feted at Government House, and receiving his special honour, Goheen said an even more significant recognition would be for Canadians to continue to honour and remember the important contributions of the country's veterans of war.
