Town celebrates veteran’s 100th birthday

Roger Varley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

How does one honour one of the last surviving Canadians to take part in the Second World War's D-Day landings as he celebrates his 100th birthday? In Uxbridge, it was with a parade, a fly-by, royal honours, government recognition, gifts and a well-attended party.

World War II veteran Major Jim Parks holds a special birthday card during his town-hosted birthday party at the Uxbridge Legion on Saturday afternoon. Photo by John Cavers

Major Joseph James (Jim) Parks turned 100 on Sept. 22, but the party was held Saturday at the Uxbridge Legion. The day started with a parade from Uxbridge Secondary School, travelling the short distance down Third Avenue to the Legion. The parade was led by the Uxbridge Legion Pipes and Drums band, and included the Legion colour party, the fire department, army cadets, 1st Uxbridge Scouts, members of council, MP Jennifer O’Connell, members of the Queen's Own Rifles and two Second World War jeeps.

As the parade made its way along Third Avenue past a sizable crowd of onlookers, a C-130 Hercules from Trenton made two low passes down the street and right over Parks as he sat in a chair in the parking lot waiting for the parade. Soon afterwards, local social media platforms were awash with videos of the aircraft swooping in.

Surrounded by members of his family, including his great-grandson, Parks was smartly dressed in a green beret and jacket and proudly wore his medals on his chest.

When the parade reached Parks, the pipe band serenaded the veteran before everyone was invited into the Legion for the party. It took Parks a while to reach the Legion hall as a long line of well-wishers waited to shake his hand.

Inside, guests were handed small Canadian flags and cut-outs featuring Parks' face.

The C-130 Hercules as it begins its fly-by over the party. Photo by John Cavers

Organizer Tish MacDonald told the packed room they were there to "respect, honour and celebrate" Parks' war service. That was shown by the number of certificates presented to him from the Township of Uxbridge, Region of Durham, Province of Ontario, His Majesty the King (which included a personal note from Prince William), the Governor General and the Prime Minister of Canada. Parks was also awarded the King Charles III coronation medal. During the medal presentation, MacDonald noted that Parks had met with the king and Prince William at Juno Beach on a recent visit.

Following the official certificate presentations, Parks was presented with birthday cards from local school students, students from across Canada and school children in the Netherlands and France.

During the war, Parks was a member of the Winnipeg Rifles, which he noted were known to the German enemy as "the black devils." Because of his Winnipeg connections - and because Parks is a life-long Blue Bombers fan - the football team sent him a Blue Bombers shirt with his name on the back and the number 44 to mark the D-Day landing.