In Canada’s most Patriotic Village here, it seems only fitting that one of its son’s medals is coming home, this weekend.
Lieutenant Austin Michael Heffernan defended Canada during World War II.
On May 22, a ceremony is planned at St. John’s Church to honour him and to donate his memorial medal to John Walsh, representing the Arthur Historical Society.
Mass at the church begins at 10:30am, with a light lunch afterwards at St. John’s hall.
A recently distributed flyer invited members of the community to “come out and honour Austin Heffernan,” an Arthur native who was a friend and relative of many within the community.
Heffernan was the victim of a roadside bomb on June 6, 1945 in the Netherlands.
The Silver Cross was subsequently presented to his parents, Margaret and Charles Heffernan, of Arthur, later that month.
The Memorial Cross, often known as the Silver Cross, is a Canadian medal awarded to the mother, widow, widower, or next of kin of any member of the Canadian Forces who loses his or her life in active service, including peacekeeping, and other such international operations.
The cross represented memories, consolation, and closure to a son’s life as the victims never had a chance to say their final farewells. Lieut. Heffernan was buried at Bergen-Op-Zoon, the Canadian War Cemetery, in Holland.
In some respects, it is a story of coincidence, plus the determination of individuals to ensure the medal returned home. While the cross offered consolation and kept his memory alive for the next 27 years, after his mother’s death in 1972, the medal was passed from one family member to another.
Eventually, it ended up in a box of several items and jewelry taken to the Carmel Heights Seniors Residence, in Mississauga.
Rediscovered in November 2010 by Cathy Kubina and Lillian Ostrowski, they noticed the sterling silver medal marked Lieut. A.M. Heffernan.
Ostrowski knew of some Heffernans in London who suggested she contact a Heffernan family in Peterborough.
Paul Heffernan suggested Ostrowski contact Cliff Heffernan and his cousin, Albert Heffernan, who had done some family history research.
Now the medal is back in Arthur.
Once the presentation to the historical society is made, it will take a place of honour at the Arthur Historical Archives – representing Austin Michael Heffernan, from Peel Township, who made the supreme sacrifice for his country.
