Outer Cove, Newfoundland & Labrador
Master Corporal (Retired) Patrick Joseph O’Rourke is a Veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces. He is nominated for his service with The Royal Canadian Legion and the Veterans Memorial Committee.
MCpl O’Rourke has been a member of The Royal Canadian Legion for 20 years. Since 2005, he has been very active with Branch 56, St. John’s, serving with the Veterans Honour Guard, as Chair of the Senior Activities Committee, Chair of the Poppy Campaign, Service Officer and Vice President.
He is a long-time supporter of the Caribou Memorial Veterans Pavilion, a long-term care home in St. John’s. He has participated in fundraising efforts and has rallied other Legion members to join him for dinners, ceremonies and other events. As Vice President, he liaised with the home’s administration and Provincial Command on behalf of Veterans. He also became Chair of the Fundraising Committee to purchase and install a bronze statue of a caribou at the home.
From 2009 to 2014, he inspired and chaired a Veterans Memorial Committee in his local community of Logy Bay—Middle Cove—Outer Cove to build a memorial to those who served. The Veterans Memorial Park officially opened on July 1, 2014. In March 2017, the memorial was destroyed in a windstorm and MCpl O’Rourke again worked diligently to secure donations and funding to have it restored. The monument was officially re-opened on November 11, 2018.