Dollard Ménard

Brigadier Dollard Ménard DSO, GOQ, CD (7 March 1913 – 14 January 1997) was a senior officer in the Canadian Army. As a lieutenant colonel, he was wounded five times during the Dieppe Raid in 1942 while leading Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. His story inspired a famous Canadian World War II poster Ce qu’il faut pour vaincre (What it takes to win). He was later made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order. Since all of the other commanding officers were either killed or captured, he was the only commanding officer who had landed at Dieppe to return to Britain after the raid.

Dollard Ménard
Colonel Dollard Ménard c.1940s
Born(1913-03-07)7 March 1913
Quebec, Canada
Died14 January 1997(1997-01-14) (aged 83)
Allegiance Canada
Service/branchCanadian Army
Years of service1932–1965
RankBrigadier
Commands heldEast Sector of Quebec
Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal
Royal 22e Régiment
Le Régiment de Hull
Battles/warsWaziristan campaign
Second World War
AwardsDistinguished Service Order
Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec
Canadian Forces Decoration
Legion of Honour (France)
Croix de guerre (France)

Military career

Upon graduation from the Royal Military College of Canada, student # 2290 in 1932, he received his lieutenant's commission in 1936 in the Royal 22e Régiment ("the Van Doos"). He served in India in the infantry, the cavalry and the tanks from 1938 to 1940 and took part in the Waziristan campaign. In March 1940, he was promoted to captain and joined the staff of the Inspector General for the East of Canada. He was commanding officer of the East Sector of Quebec, which included amongst others Camp Valcartier from 1958 to 1962. He insisted that all units under his command with a francophone majority use French for drill and parade orders.

He was posted to Army Headquarters, Ottawa, in 1962, to work with Major-General Arthur Wrinch, who was Major-General Survival. He remained at Army Headquarters until he retired in 1965.

Later life

In 1994, he was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec. His citation for the Order of the Army reads:

While he commanded his battalion during the operation of Dieppe, on August 19, 1942, this officer gave evidence of the highest qualities of courage and of initiative. He was wounded at the beginning of the raid, as he landed with the first groups of assault, but he continued to steer the operations of his unit by wireless telegraphy, under a fire fed by machine guns, by mortars and by artillery. Later, with the aim of reaching a more favourable position, he dragged himself up to a high point of the ground, but he was again wounded. Even after having been transported aboard a landing barge, and although wounded for the fifth time, he continued to insist on organizing the defense against planes, and taking care of his men. He put an example which is in the best tradition of the Army and was an inspiration for all the officers and the privates of his battalion.

Aged 83, Ménard died on 14 January 1997.

Medals for sale

In 2005, a member of his family put his medals up for auction. This raised considerable media attention due to the risk of the medals being purchased by non-Canadians. Quebec philanthropist Ivonis Mazzarolo paid $40,000 to keep the medals in Canada. http://northernblue.ca/mblog/index.php?url=http://northernblue.ca/mblog/archives/19-General-Dollard-Menards-Medals-Go-to-Les-Fusiliers-Mont-Royal.html&serendipity%5Bcview%5D=linear%5B%5D

References

    Books
    • 4237 Dr. Adrian Preston & Peter Dennis (Edited) "Swords and Covenants" Rowman And Littlefield, London. Croom Helm. 1976.
    • H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "To Serve Canada: A History of the Royal Military College of Canada" 1997 Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1969.
    • H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "Canada's RMC – A History of Royal Military College" Second Edition 1982
    • H16511 Dr. Richard Preston "R.M.C. and Kingston: The effect of imperial and military influences on a Canadian community" 1968 Kingston, Ontario.
    • H1877 R. Guy C. Smith (editor) "As You Were! Ex-Cadets Remember". In 2 Volumes. Volume I: 1876–1918. Volume II: 1919–1984. RMC. Kingston, Ontario. The R.M.C. Club of Canada. 1984
    • Le Général Dollard Ménard, De Dieppe au Référendum, By Pierre Vennat, Éditions Art Global, 340 pages. 2004
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.