Barrhead resident Lyle Saumer does not regret a moment he spent as in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) as part of a 25-year career.
Born in North Battleford, Sask., Saumer came to Barrhead, specifically Mystery Lake, in 1959 to help his brother on the Skoves farm. He was 15.
Two years later, when he was 17, he went into the city with the specific purpose of joining the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), also affectionately referred to as the Patricia's.
"Once a Patricia, always a Patricia," he said.
At the time, one could join the armed forces when they were 17, with parental permission, which Saumer’s father gave.
Truth be told, Saumer was so anxious to join the PPCLI, that he joined two weeks before his 17th birthday.
"The army sent me on two weeks' holidays until I was old enough," he said.
And although Saumer knew he wanted to join the CAF, he decided on the army specifically, about two weeks before taking his fateful trip to Edmonton, when he met a friend of his from Slave Lake, which he considers his hometown, Saumer’s friend said the Patricas would be going to Germany.
"Part of the reason why I wanted to join the service was that I wanted to travel, and by God, there was my chance," he said, noting the next day he went to the recruiting office.
After going through his basic training in Edmonton and Wainwright (May to September of 1961), Saumer joined the 1st Battalion of the PPCLI, at Candian Forces Base (CFB) Esquimalt, just outside of Victoria.
Saumer was posted there for two years before he had a chance to go overseas to Fort Macleod near Hemer, Germany, as part of the Canadian contingent of NATO's (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Northwest Europe command.
At the time, Hemer was a small town of about 6,000 or 7,000 people, about three hours south of Dusseldorf.
"It was during the Cold War, and I was an infantryman, so we did a lot of training exercises with the British, Belgian, French and the Americans," he said. "I just loved it. I was young and single and I loved being in Europe and especially Germany."
Saumer spent three years at Fort Macleod before returning to Canada and Edmonton in 1967. He was there for a little over a year before being transferred to Cyprus for what would be his first of two six-month tours as part of Canada's contribution to the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force.
The force formed in 1964. Its purpose was to maintain the peace between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot populations, both of which claimed the island for their own.
The majority of the Canadian contingent served on the island from 1964 to 1993. From 1968 onward, most were from the PPCLI.
In total, more than 25,000 Canadian Armed Forces members have served in Cyprus over the decades, and more than 160 UN personnel from multiple countries have died in Cyprus peacekeeping efforts.
"I was there with the RECCE platoon," he said. "I loved being part of the RECCE platoon. We patrolled all the small towns on the Green Line to ensure that the Turks and the Greeks abided by the rules set by the UN."
The Green Line was a buffer or demilitarized zone. The RECCE platoon was based in Kyrenia, a city on the island's north coast.
In 1968, Saumer returned to Canada, this time to Calgary, where the PPCLI moved to.
He was only there for a short time before returning to Germany and Fort Macleod with the PPCLI. Two years later, the PPCLI contingent in Germany joined the 3 Mechanized Commando, a mechanized infantry battalion attached to the Canadian Airborne Regiment, as part of Canada's contribution to NATOs ground forces, moving to CFB Baden–Soellingen in the southern tip in Germany.
He was stationed there for six years.
Shortly before going overseas, in 1967, Saumer got married to his first wife. His daughter, the couple's only child, was born in Lahr, Germany, near CFB Baden–Soellingen.
Saumer admits being stationed in a foreign country can be difficult on service people who are married, especially when their spouse can be a way for weeks if not months at a time.
However, he said it is not an insurmountable barrier.
"Separations can be difficult for families, but you do the best to prepare them before you are deployed," he said.
In 1975, Saumer returned to Canada and Calgary, where he stayed for the better part of a year, before being temporarily assigned to Montreal and the security effort of the 1976 Summer Olympic Games.
In the spring of 1978, he returned to Cyprus, and was stationed at UN Sector 2 headquarters in Nicosia, the nation's capital city at the Ledra Palace Hotel.
The hotel was one of the most glamourous hotels until 1974 until a negotiated ceasefire placed it in the demilitarized buffer zone.
"I served as the warrant officer for 'A' Company. I was responsible to record and brief troop and brigade commanders on the going-ons in our sector," Saumer explained. "We had outposts stationed at regular intervals on the Green Line, and if one side or the other tried to do something that was in contravention of the negotiated terms of the ceasefire, I would have to dispatch an action to handle it."
Fortunately, he said, during his tours in Cyprus, neither side committed a major infraction that would have necessitated the use of force.
However, Saumer said they did have a close call during his first tour with the RECCE platoon.
"We went out with machine guns and tank weapons because the Turks were starting to move towards the Greeks on the Green Line, so we forced them back. Eventually, the situation resolved itself," he said.
After his tour ended, Saumer returned to Calgary, where he would remain until 1983, when he was transferred to CFB Gagetown in New Brunswick. Three years later, at the 25-year mark, he put in for his separation papers, effectively retiring from the military as a master warrant officer and settled in Calgary.
In 1986, Saumer and his first wife divorced. Ten years later, he met his current wife marrying her a year later. The couple then relocated to Barrhead.
Looking back on his military career, he said he wouldn't trade his 25 years in the CAF for anything.
"I thoroughly enjoyed and loved my military life," he said. "I was very fortunate that I never had to go to a war conflict or fire a weapon in anger."
Meaning of Remembrance Day
While he counts himself lucky not to have fired his weapon at another human being, he realizes not everyone was as fortunate.
Saumer noted pre-COVID, he was able to get together annually with his friends and others who have served with the PPCLI all over the world.
"A lot of my friends stayed in the service after I retired, and ended up going to Yugoslavia, Afghanistan. One of my good friends lost his legs in Afghanistan to an IED (improvised explosive device)," he said.
Remembrance Day is time to remember the men and women that served in the First and Second World War, the Korean War, Afghanistan, the Gulf War, and did not come home. Not only is it important to remember those who have served, but those who are currently serving and are willing to give their lives for their country. No, it isn't perfect, but I love my country and so do all the other people who have ever served in the Canadian Armed Forces. On Remembrance Day, it is all those people, especially those who paid the ultimate price."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
