In one squadron, a wealthy lieutenant ordered medallions struck in solid bronze and presented them to his unit. One young pilot placed the medallion in a small leather pouch that he wore about his neck. Shortly after acquiring the medallion, the pilot’s aircraft was severely damaged by ground fire. He was forced to land behind enemy lines and was immediately captured by a German patrol.In order to discourage his escape, the Germans took all of his personal identification except for the small leather pouch around his neck. In the meantime, he was taken to a small French town near the front. Taking advantage of a bombardment that night, he escaped. However, he was without personal identification. He succeeded in avoiding German patrols by donning civilian attire and reached the front lines. With great difficulty, he crossed no-man’s land. Eventually, he stumbled onto a French outpost. Saboteurs had plagued the French in the sector. They sometimes masqueraded as civilians and wore civilian clothes. Not recognizing the young pilot’s American accent, the French thought him to be a saboteur and made ready to execute him. He had no identification to prove his allegiance, but he did have his leather pouch containing the medallion. He showed the medallion to his would-be executioners and one of his French captors recognized the squadron insignia on the medallion. They delayed his execution long enough for him to confirm his identity. Instead of shooting him they gave him a bottle of wine.
Canada’s History with the Challenge Coin:
One of the first appearance of a challenge coin within theCanadian Forceswas that of theCanadian Airborne Regiment. Although conceptualized in the early 1970s, it was not officially adopted until the regiment returned fromCyprusin 1974.
Recognized as an “Americanism”, the widespread use of challenge coins is new to theCanadian Forces(CF) and was introduced by GeneralRick Hillieras theCanadian Armybegan to work closer with the US military. While many regiments and military establishments purchase them as ‘challenge coins’, most branches and schools within the CF use them for presentation purposes.
The first RCAF coin belonged to427 Squadron. Back in the Second World War, 427 and the film studiosMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer(MGM) shared the lion as their respective symbol. During a ceremony held on 27 May 1943, a bronze statuette of a Lion was presented to the Squadron as were MGM’s coins for the Squadron members.These coins granted free access to the MGM’s theaters in Britain and were popular with aircrew and ground crew alike. In 1982, the custom was reintroduced by Lieutenant-Colonel Hugh Cunningham, then the squadron commanding officer; it has since expanded widely within the RCAF Tactical Aviation community.
Every newofficer cadetat theRoyal Military College of CanadainKingston, Ontario, is issued a challenge coin upon completion of First-Year Orientation Period. The coin is engraved with the name of the college in French and English surrounding the college’scoat of armson the obverse. The cadet’s college number and theMemorial Archis on the reverse surrounded by the motto in both languages.
Members of theCorps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical EngineersFund are issued challenge coins with the current RCEME badge and the member’s branch fund membership number on the obverse side, and the original pre-unification RCEME badge and branch motto on the reverse side. Usually, these are issued to craftsmen at the Canadian Forces School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, inBorden, Ontario, where branch fund membership is first offered.
Many of the CF training centres and staff colleges have a unique coin—some available for the students to purchase, others available only by presentation by the establishment or the commandant for exemplary achievement while attending the facility. GeneralWalter Natynczyk, when he was chief of the Defence Staff, and the Canadian Forces chief warrant officer often present their personalized coins to deserving soldiers.
Police, security and fire departments have embraced the concept and have found coins to be an excellent means of team building and creating a sense of brotherhood or belonging. Many feature a patron saint, badge or representative equipment.
Band/Flag Party/Flight Night - Tuesday 7 Feb is going to be in honour of Pink Shirt Day 2023
The theme for this year is "Lift Each Other Up" and the Cadets Canada Team wants to ask Cadets what it means to "lift each other up" with a series of short Instagram reels.
Reminder, this Thursday, 26 Jan, is the 2nd Cadet Fitness testing night. This is mandatory for Cadets to be eligible for promotion. Cadets are to wear appropriate Sports clothing including their Cadet Blue FTU T-shirt. Make sure you bring a pen as you will need to record your results and bring your water bottle.
Cadets please see the attached link to the Air Cadet League of Canada Scholarships. If you are interested in these please speak with Major Taylor
Post-Secondary Education Scholarships are provided by donors, and are administered by the Air Cadet League National Air Cadet Scholarships and Awards (NACSAC) Committee. All eligible candidates will be considered.
This Thursday is Movie night at the Hollywood 3 in Pitt Meadows at 19190 Lougheed Highway Pitt Meadows, BC V3Y 1B3.
1. Do not come to the squadron.
2. Cadets need to arrive by 6pm. You should be done by 9pm or shortly thereafter.
3. Do not wear your uniform.
4. The Sponsoring Committee is paying for Admission, a pop and a popcorn. Anything else is at the Cadets own expense.
Any questions please call Major Taylor at 778-994-4464.
We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's.
Cadets starts back up on Tuesday 3 Jan with Band/Flag Party/Flight night. See everyone at 1830 hrs.
Also just a reminder that Capt Baldwin will be down from 1830-2000 hrs to sign out FTU boots. Please see the newsletter for available sizes. Any questions please email 583air@cadets.gc.ca
583 Coronation Squadron is active from September to June, and meets each Thursday evening from 6:30pm to 9:30pm on the Albion Fair Grounds in Maple Ridge. All youth aged 12 to 18 years are welcome to join this youth-oriented program.
Please feel free to drop by and visit if you would like to talk with our Officers or Cadets about the Air Cadet Program.