Sgt Gilbert recalls his time of service in the Middle East

By Joan Janzen

Sgt. Dale Gilbert has been a member of the Kindersley Legion for the past fifteen years. He recalled his time spent in the Middle East when he served as part of Canada’s contingent of the United Nations Emergency peace keeping force. At the time, a local paper announced Dale’s departure to Egypt from Moose Jaw in 1971. The trip included a six-week stop over in Calgary for training, in preparation for Dale’s duties as a cook.

While attending high school at Riverview Collegiate in Moose Jaw, Dale joined the reserve militia for five years. He had one three-month long tour of duty with the military in Germany, as part of his training, before joining the Saskatchewan Dragoons in 1970. Soon afterwards, Dale had an opportunity to serve in the Middle East.

PHOTOS BY JOAN JANZEN

Sgt. Dale Gilbert brought back this tattered Israeli flag as a souvenir of his time serving in the Middle East as a cook.

Sgt. Dale Gilbert holds a photo of taken when he served in the Middle East.

He had taken a cooking course in Wainwright, AB, so with a certificate under his belt he was able to serve as a cook for the Canadian contingent of 600 in Egypt, and 135 in Golan Heights in Israel.

Upon arrival in Egypt, the pale group of Canadians were dubbed as “pinkies”. Although there was no fighting in the area where the 135 Canadians were stationed, they would regularly hear the ‘boom’ from the Israeli tank battalion’s target practice, and the weekly fly over of the Israeli airforce.

Dale left Canada as a corporal and one year later came back as a sergeant, earning many medals during his time of service. He has an album of photos of his time spent in the Middle East, where he was able to see Lebanon, the Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem and many other locations. As an additional souvenir, he brought back a tattered Israeli flag, which flew between the Syria border and Israeli border where the United Nations forces were positioned.