06/08/2026
This past Saturday, Jun 6th, on the 82nd anniversary of D-Day Landing in Normandy I received an invitation and had the distinct honor of representing the members of Kin Canada at a Assumption of Command
and a Change of Command Dining in of 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins)
in St Thomas, Ontario.
Our founder Hal Rogers, served with the 54th Battalion in the First World War, fighting at Vimmy Ridge, Hill 70
Passchendaele and Amines. The Elgin Regiment through its lineage to
the 91ST Battalion, earned honors for many of the same battles, including Arras 1917 and Amiens. They served in different units, but their stories meet in the same fields of history.
They shared legacy is a powerful reminder that service endure across generations, binding
Canadian together in courage, commitment and community. The Elgin Regiment carries
the battle honors of Arras 1917 and Aminens, the very same campaigns in which Founder
Hal Rogers fought.
So while Founder Hal and the members of the Elgins never stood shoulder to shoulder in
the same trenches, their histories meet on the same ground. They share the same mud, the
same struggle, the same legacy of courage. They fought in the same great offensives that
shaped the identity of the Canadian Corps and in many ways the identity of Canada itself.
That shared heritage reminds us that service is not defied by a single uniform or a single
generation. It is a thread that runs through our communities. Our regiments, and our
history. It connects a young infantryman from 1917 to the combat engineers who serve
today, and it connects all of them to us in the work we do in Kin Canada, to the values we
uphold and to the country we continue to build together.
Thank you to the incoming Commanding Officer, LCOL Adrian Dereniowski of the Elgins for
the invitation to attend both the Parade and the Dining In. It was indeed and honor to wear
the chain of Office of the National President of Kin Canada and represent all members of
the association and to find the common thread between us.