Ben Brachmann Enjoys Belonging to Legion

Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent

Vegreville resident Ben Brachmann has been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 39 for three years now. Before that, he was an Associate member of the Ponoka Branch for seven years.

Brachmann decided to join the legion because he always liked to support the veterans. “Joining the branch, volunteering, and helping out is a good thing to do,” Brachmann expressed.

Branchmann also has family members who were veterans. “My father was a Military Police officer in the army during World War II, and my grandmother was involved in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) where she served in the Canadian Air Force.

Branchmann said he didn’t have any stories from his relatives’ experiences during this war period because his grandmother skipped over any mention of her time in service and she passed away when he was young. His father also didn’t like to talk about the war.

“My son is also a retired RCMP member. So, that motivates me to want to belong to the legion.”

Brachmann really likes belonging to the legion and feels it is essential to bring new members to the legion because they will bring new ideas and perspectives.

“It help to grow the branch. Belonging to the legion is like being in a club; you get to meet new people, get to know them, and the good feeling of helping to serve the community because you are volunteering. For Remembrance Day, you are helping promote the poppies; for Decoration Day, you are putting the flags out. We also give out scholarships to students, and do other services to the community,” Branchmann said.

Branchmann reflected that we can get more people to join the military by giving them exposure, such as the Open House at the Legion event. “At this time, we talked about being a veteran and what it is like to belong to the military. It is a good thing to serve your country,” Branchmann added.