On April 6th, 2016, Brother Peter Poohkay was awarded the rank of Knight of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour for his service during the Second World War, by the order of the French President.

In a letter from the ambassador of France to Peter Poohkay, he wrote "Through you, France remembers the sacrifice of all your compatriots who came to liberate French soil." See photos of the ceremony by clicking here.

Poohkay joined the Royal Canadian Ordinance Corps (RCOC) in 1941 where he was taught blacksmithing and given basic army training. Peter became a reinforcement for the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division after he arrived in England in 1941. His job was to repair the equipment used by the division.

Peter was part of the D-day operations. After landing on the beaches of France, the 3rd division moved across France with Peter repairing and welding the equipment that was damaged in battle. After the war in Europe ended, he signed up for the campaign in the Pacific but before he could get there, the war was over. He was discharged with the rank of Lance Corporal.

In 1951, Peter joined Lodge 146 in Edmonton, AB, and work at the Sparling-Davis Fabrication shop in Edmonton as a welder. In 1952, Peter and his family moved to Kelowna, BC, where he transferred into 359 and became a construction member. He worked for Dominion Bridge, Toronto Iron Works, Babcock & Wilcox and Combustion Engineering, but worked mostly for Horton CBI throughout Western Canada. The 94 year-old Boilermaker said "I liked to work and Horton liked the way I worked." He added "when I received my pay cheque my hand never shook, I knew I earned my pay."

Peter worked mostly as a welder but filled in as a foreman from time from time. He "never got paid for it, but was happy to do it, I was mostly a lead hand, I set the pace for the crew."

Peter retired in 1986 and today lives in Airdrie, Alberta. Learn more about Peter's role in the war by clicking here.