Toronto, Canada. An overflow crowd, of about 270, filled the Ojibway Hall in Huron Park Recreation Centre on Remembrance Day, November 11, 2023, for UPF Ontario’s annual Ambassadors for Peace (AFP) Awards banquet. Fittingly this year’s theme was ‘Honouring Veterans for Peace’, and over 50 veterans were in attendance. They all received a beautiful ‘AFP Appreciation’ medal, together with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Minister of Veterans Affairs to conclude a most wonderful, moving, inspiring and joyful evening.

This year’s banquet was very different to previous years in that, for the first time, UPF volunteers did everything: preparing a lot of food, setting the tables, putting up the decorations, preparing the sound and projection (AV) systems etc. Only gaining entry to the room at 2.00pm for a 5.00pm start there was a remarkable flurry of activity by a sea of wonderful volunteers, very well co-ordinated by UPF’s banner & program brochure designer and AV wizard, Koshin Young. (His father, Edmond, was the event’s excellent photographer.) We all knew the veterans would not arrive late, indeed many arrived quite early!

So, proceedings started on time with a bagpiper piping in the dignitaries and veterans. As a bugler stood on stage the Land Acknowledgment was read by Margaret Froh, Chief Captain of the Hunt, President of the Métis Nation of Ontario. This was followed by 8th grader Mee Young Gabriel leading the National Anthem and a Peace Ceremony with various local religious and ethnic group leaders. Dr. Moonshik Kim, Chairman of UPF Canada, warmly welcomed all, giving testimony to UPF’s founders’ deep sense of gratitude to the veterans of the Korean War for saving their lives. He spoke of their paying for the Little Angels’ 2010 tour to the 16 nations which answered the UN’s call with soldiers or medical support to commemorate the war’s 60th anniversary. Later a video was shown of their stop in Ottawa and the moving scenes in the Veterans Hospital as the Little Angels, played, sang and embraced the veterans living there.

The Remembrance Ceremony was a very deep moment: the Last Post, Silence, Reveille, Lament, the Act of Remembrance read by Romeo Daley, a Korean War veteran. Video congratulatory remarks were offered by Ontario’s Premier Doug Ford and Senator Yeonah Martin; in person, and with real passion, by local MPP Sheref Sabawy, a regular at this event, and DeWitt Lee and Khalilah Megan Campbell, founders of Black Veterans’ Day of Ontario, who together read a moving proclamation from the Mayor of Brampton.

In the spirit of remembrance Rebecca Cálix-Portelance, a young aspiring opera singer, read ‘In Flanders Field’ written by Canadian surgeon, John McCrae, followed by a haunting rendition of ‘Danny Boy’.  She prepared the way for Dr. Franco Famularo’s excellent keynote address introducing UPF’s key principles.   His speech ended with the audience breaking out into spontaneous applause as he showed the photo of his uncle, a World War 2 veteran, who after 2 years in a German concentration camp walked home to S. Italy, celebrating his 100th birthday on November 9th with Dr. Franco and his daughter in Calabria!

At that point the two veterans of World War 2, Jack Finan, the last living Lancaster bomber pilot, almost 104, and Ronald Zabrok, at 99 also a Korean War vet, received their medals and certificates to a standing ovation. A prayer by Rev. Thillairajan and dinner was served. During dinner MC David Stewart, very ably assisted during the evening by Hirona Neupane, toured the room and, upon hearing so many compliments on the quality of the food from the wives and female guests, knew that it was indeed delicious!  Some Korean entertainers played towards the end of dinner with genuine zeal.

Rebecca Cálix-Portelance returned with another beautiful song to prepare the room for the awarding of two AFP Service Awards:  the first to Lt. Cdr.(Ret’d) Melvin Patrick Cornect, a 35 year Navy veteran, who since retirement has been dedicated to naval veterans activities; the second to HooJung Jones Kennedy, who with her husband, Major (Ret’d) Donald William Kennedy, founded The Korean War Veterans Advocates of Canada. This organization was instrumental in gathering the veterans for UPF’s event.  HooJung has been a tireless advocate for Korean War veterans and for maintaining the memory of Canada’s contribution through the placing of, so far, 5 Gapyeong Monuments throughout Canada.

To transition to the final part of the evening our excellent bagpiper, Mike Cuffe, President of the Royal Canadian Air Force Association 447 Wing, returned to play ‘Amazing Grace’. 12 new AFPs were then appointed.  After a passionate rendering of ‘Where Peace Begins’, UPF’s unofficial anthem, by two very talented young Filipino singers the evening culminated in the awarding of the medals and certificates of appreciation to the assembled veterans. It was a bit chaotic with over 50 awardees but full of joy, jubilation and many photos, especially of World War 2 veteran Ronald, who stood beaming under the beautiful banner to happily greet and be photographed with all who asked!