A rare opportunity to see “retired” Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) vehicles is coming to the South Cariboo when the Freedom Route 7 convoy rolls through for a brief visit.
It will hit 100 Mile House on July 18, and is slated to be at the Legion #260, 933 Alder Ave., from about 10 a.m. until 11:30, giving everyone a chance to view these old army trucks and transport vehicles most people today have never seen up close.
Western Command Military Vehicle Historical Society (WCMVHS) convoy co-ordinator John Hawthorne says the group is doing it this year to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Alaska Highway, as well as for Canada’s 150th year since Confederation.
If you see “a bunch of old green machines roaring down the highway” you will know why they are here, he notes, so assemble your family and friends and have your cameras ready if you’d like to witness and share this experience.
“There is at least one one from [the 1940s] and most of them are from the 1950s to the 1980s.”
They first stop in Clinton, and then a couple of nights at a member’s Green Lake summer home prior to arriving at the Legion in 100 Mile, so folks may also spot them around these areas in the South Cariboo for a few days in advance of that date, he explains.
“There are one or two Albertan [members] who are going to meet us up there near 100 Mile.”
While the Alaska Highway was built under an agreement for the United States army troops and supplies to get through British Columbia to guard Alaska against the enemy during the Second World War, Hawthorne says older CAF veterans have noted this also helped secure Canada.
The club has also held various other Freedom Route circuits to other places in Western Canada since 2000 (this is their seventh), they all share a similar ideology – the goal of spreading the word about our veterans and their contributions through awareness and remembrance, he explains.
For more information, call the Legion at 250-395-2511, or if more urgent communication is needed, text or voice mail messages may be sent to John Hawthorne on his mobile phone at 604-809- 6308.