Roderick “Rod” Deon has been nominated to receive the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation for his ongoing commitment to his comrades and remembrance.
Mr. Deon, who turned 100 years old this year, is one of the last surviving Veterans dispatched to the beaches of Normandy on D-Day during the Second World War.
Born on 2 July 1921 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. He enlisted in the Canadian Navy on 21 April 1942, served aboard the destroyer HMCS Ottawa (H31), and retired on 9 August 1945 as a Chief Petty Officer with the Shipwright’s Branch. He received several medals for his service, including the Atlantic Star, the France and Germany Star, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, and the War Medal 1939–1945.
This year, Mr. Deon handed out poppies as he does every year, marking 53 consecutive years of volunteering for the Royal Canadian Legion’s Poppy Campaign. For his various volunteer activities, Mr. Deon was also awarded a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.