Guy Bordeleau

Mr. Guy Bordeleau has a passion for military history and has been involved in commemorating the achievements and sacrifices of Veterans from Trois Rivières and the greater Québec region for many years. In 1994, Mr. Bordeleau attended commemorative activities marking the Normandy landings in Bernières sur Mer, France, where he initiated several projects relating to the history of the Second World War. He created the organization "Compagnons d=une terre à l'autre" in the fall of 2002, with the goal of giving 12 Second World War Veterans the opportunity to travel to Europe for the commemorative events surrounding the 60^th anniversary of the Normandy landings. Also included in the group were approximately fifty individuals from the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Legion and the Mauricie region, as well as ten Scout Pioneers from Trois Rivières. That same year he coordinated and received a delegation of 50 citizens of Belgium who travelled to Canada with their collection of military vehicles to thank Canadian Veterans for their service during the Second World War. Since 2004, Mr. Bordeleau has worked with different European organizations associated with the "Devoir de Mémoire" [duty to remember] to ensure that Canadian Veterans receive the honours that these organizations wish to bestow upon Veterans. In 2010, Mr. Bordeleau granted the last wishes of his friend and a former soldier, Jean Marie Leroy. Mr. Leroy wanted his ashes spread at a military cemetery in Groesbeek, Netherlands, next to the grave of his own friend, another soldier, Joseph Conrad Montcalm. Mr. Bordeleau contacted Mr. Montcalm's family and included them in a touching ceremony attended by the Minister of Veterans Affairs, family friends and sixty members of the Canadian Forces. Mr. Bordeleau is also an avid collector of military vehicles from the Second World War, and was involved in organizing a parade of antique military vehicles in conjunction with the Canadian Forces and Veterans Affairs Canada as part of the celebrations marking the 400^th anniversary of the City of Québec. The year 2012 marks the 70^th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid and Mr. Bordeleau is working to put together a delegation of twenty boy scouts from the Châteauguay region so that they might travel to France and represent Canadian youth at ceremonies marking the Raid.