A 35-year life of military service, starting at age 19, has left veteran Jack Poulter, now 92, grateful for his part in a family legacy.
It was his father, a member of the Veterans Guard, bringing home military pamphlets that first sparked Poulter's interest in the army and modern history. "It was an interesting life to me. It was different from going to school or reading the same history books year after year," he said.
Poulter chose the supply business strategically as his realm in the military; it was a safer option but also gave him a marketable skill should the army downsize.
It ended up being an exciting career that led him across the globe; everywhere from Rafa with the United Nations Ordnance Company to Ottawa where he was involved in developing the first combat clothing for the Canadian Army.
"I had a variety of jobs, which I really appreciated and enjoyed," Poulter said.
He also worked as the chief logistics officer for the UN Disengagement Observer Force between Israel and Syria, worked with IBM as a functional systems analyst, was lieutenant of the ammunition depot, took a two-year course on how to fight in nuclear and non-nuclear wars, and served three different times as a base administrative officer, which was "unique."
Finding love in the army
Poulter owes his decision to join the army for finding the love of his life.
Through one of his first roles, a clerk for a rural Manitoba recruiting caravan tasked with encouraging young men to join the Korean Special Force, he met Beverly Anne Linsley who became his wife of 55 years.
"I saw a pretty young girl walking two Dachshund dogs, and of course the old trick was you stop and pat the dogs and then chat up the bird," he said with a smile.
"As it turned out, her father was one of the regular force officers attached to the reserve unit that I belonged to, the Winnipeg Grenadiers, and he and my father were friends."
In a further stroke of luck, Beverly and her father were posted to Camp Borden in Ontario where Poulter was in officer candidate school. "That was where our dating and romance continued," he said. There were walks with hand holding and going to movies at the theatres on base, he added. "And, I eventually married her in the military chapel at Camp Borden some years later."
Through their marriage, the legacy of service continued into a new generation when their son decided he would follow in Poulter's footsteps and join the forces. He went on to the same service battalion Poulter served in and later commanded it.
"He was promoted to three ranks higher than I was when I retired. He became a major general, which one of his staff said to him when that happened, 'Sir, there's only seven people you'll have to salute in the forces now."
When asked how he felt when his son got to that point, Poulter smiled. "Oh, I was very pleased for him."
Looking back on his career and the subsequent path of his son, Poulter seemed content with how things turned out.
"I was very fortunate," he said.
