I am embarrased to say that I had forgotten that July 1st is Canada Day, and so Happy Canada to you Kim and our other Canadian forum members.
One of my most treasured moments from my military service is of a 4th of July celebration at CFB Summerside, Prince Edward Island. I was the Officer in Charge(OIC) of an aviation detachment flying out of CFB Summerside for a period of time that included July 4th. We returned from one of our longer missions and it was our inclination to just to the "Flight Suit Bar" at the back of the officers club and grab a beer and fish and chips without the formality of having to clean up and change into the uniform of the day in order to eat in the main officers mess. The Sargent at the door, whose primary function was to relieve us of our side arms before allowing us to enter, told us that the Flight Suit Bar was closed for the evening. When we arrived at our BOQ rooms there was a hand written request that we report to the Officers Mess in Dress Uniform at 1900 hours. When we enterd the officers mess at the appointed hour we were greated by most of the air base's officers in dress uniform. The entire room was hung with American Flags in honor of July 4th. We were treated to a very formal meal followed by much drinking and sea story telling and what seemed at the time to be endless rounds of billiards, a game the was always accompanied by wagering. To this day I don't know whether I came out ahead or not. Much fun was had by all. that was 39 years ago now and I understand that CFB Summerside is now closed.
