John Kuharski, 104, given a King Charles III Coronation Medal by MP Frank Caputo (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

KINGS CORONATION MEDALS

Pair of Kamloops WWII veterans honoured with King’s Coronation Medals

Sep 20, 2024 | 5:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — Eighty-five years after the start of the Second World War, fewer than 10,000 Canadian WWII veterans are still alive, as that link to our past ever fades. After battling in theatres of war across Europe, Africa and the Pacific, those still with us are nearing or have already eclipsed 100 years old.

On Friday (Sept 20) afternoon, MP Frank Caputo honoured a pair of Kamloops veterans — both of whom served during the war.

Not wanting to delay the presentations to the two centenarians, the medals given to the veterans were the personal coronation medals of Caputo and MLA Todd Stone.

“I wanted to be sure, Zach, to come and wish you a happy birthday,” Caputo told Zach Bourque. “We met here probably a month ago. I got a King’s Coronation Medal, because my shipment hasn’t come in, so you got my version of it. It’s my version but I wanted to make sure to give it to you. You know, you are 101, so I wanted to make sure you got it as soon as possible.”

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101 year old Zach Bourque honoured on his birthday (image credit – CFJC Today)

Bourque, who celebrated his 101st birthday Friday, was also presented a certificate from Caputo. Bourque was in England when the war came to an end but remained in Europe for another year, serving in post-war, Allied-occupied Germany.

“My secret is to stay away from cigarettes, whiskey and wild, wild women — and jealous husbands. And here I is,” joked Bourque, when asked about his keys to life.

Bourque served three years, from 1943 to 1946, before returning home to Canada.

Operation Overlord, more commonly known as D-Day, took place 80 years ago as Allied forces turned the tides of WWII, pushing back into mainland Europe. John Kuharksi was one of thousands of Canadians who stormed Juno Beach that day, not knowing how large a factor in history they were soon to become.

“You don’t know it until you get there and it takes a few days to see how everybody is moving on and everything else. Then you get the idea of what’s happening. You see people on the streets, you see a lady with a couple of kids in the grass laying, and you can’t stop. You have to move, you don’t stop anymore. As long as you are moving, you’re moving,” said Kuharski.

By the end of the Battle of Normandy, Canadian casualties surpassed 18,000, with more than 5,000 soldiers never returning home. Kahurski still remembers the moments before he reached the beach.

“I remember, there was a sergeant, Sgt. Finch. He said, ‘After this is over, I want you two guys —’ the guy who drove the ammunition truck, and me, I drove the gas truck — ‘I want you two guys, when this is over, we are going to Winnipeg and start up transport.’ And about a week later, he got killed,” said Kuharski. “It’s a whole different thing. You’re not there, you have no idea.”

Approximately 30,000 Canadians are being awarded with coronation medals across the country.