Alexander Kovar of the Battlefords was presented the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal at the Delta Bessborough Hotel in Saskatoon on Dec. 16 by Saskatchewan Lt. Gov. Vaughn Solomon Schofield.
Kovar was born in Czechoslovakia and immigrated to Canada in 1929 with his family.
In 1942 he enlisted, through the Battleford Volunteers Army Cadets, into the Canadian Army at the age of 17. After training in Dundurn Army Camp, where he was a radio instructor, he was posted to England and then on to the front lines in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. His unit was the 8th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment of the 14th Canadian Hussars. Their duty, a dangerous one, was to follow the infantry into the combat zone. He was a gunner or driver and his rank was TPR.
At the end of the war, Kovar returned to Canada in the fall of 1945. In January of 1946 he received an honourable discharge.
The 8th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment Battle Honours were: Caen; The Seine 1944; The Scheldt; Twente Canal; Oldenburg; Falaise; Antewerp - Turnhout Canal; Â鶹´«Ã½AV Beveland; Groningen; Northwest Europe 1944-45.
While engaged in farming, both prior to and after his military service, Kovar owned and operated school buses, as well as several additional undertakings.
In 1960 he started as a patrolman, doing fish and wildlife enforcement with the Department of Natural Resources and then transferred to supervisory duties at the Battlefords Provincial Park, which he helped build, until he retired in 1983.
During this time period, he was also fire marshall along with active policing of the city of North Battleford, Battleford and surrounding municipalities for a period of five years. For 10 years throughout this time, he also worked with the emergency measures organization.
Kovar and his wife Lillian, of 62 years, have two daughters, one son and three grandchildren.
Kovar has volunteered with the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, the Western Development Museum, the Canadian Cancer Society and other organizations.
As members of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation since 1952, he and his wife have volunteered to fill plates at the annual Smoker. He has also served as president.
They have also flipped burgers for years for the Western Development Museum's Those Were the Days.
Kovar has been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion for 28 years. At the present time he is the service officer for the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch No. 9 in Battleford.
He never hesitates to help a person in need and is a respected member of the community.
