CWO John Mitges, MMM, CD (Ret’d)

We regret to advise of the death of Chief Warrant Officer John Mitges, MMM, CD (Ret’d) of South Surrey, BC on 14 February 2017 at age 95. John was a WW II Royal Canadian Engineer veteran who also served a full post-war career with the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE).

During WW II, as a young Troop Reconnaissance Sergeant in 18^th Field Company, John landed with the Nova Scotia Highlanders at Bernieres sur Mer before noon on D-Day, 6 June. Once the 9^th Brigade started pushing out of the beachhead, John’s platoon destroyed obstacles and clear mines along the route of advance. 18^th Field Company advanced across the Rhine and all the way up to the Baltic Coast where the unit became primarily involved in mine clearance. Wounded for the second time on the last day of the war, John was evacuated to hospital and later re-joined his unit before it returned to England.

John Mitges returned to Canada in December 1945. He was transferred to the small Permanent Force and posted to the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering at Chilliwack. In 1947, he was one of three RCE personnel seconded to the United Kingdom where he qualified as a Glider Pilot. With this new qualification under his belt, John was posted to the Canadian Joint Airborne Training Centre at Rivers, MB where he did a considerable amount of glider training and indoctrination flights for parachute training students.

John had a full post-war career with the Royal Canadian Engineers. During the Korean War, he was seconded to the British Army and had two trips to Korea to erect Nissan Huts. His career was marked by appointment as Sergeant Major of 1 Airborne Troop RCE and as Squadron Sergeant Major of 4 Field Squadron. He was selected for a two-year attachment with Plant Roads and Airfields at the Royal School of Military Engineering, UK. John's last appointment was as the senior RCE Chief Warrant Officer at Mobile Command Headquarters before taking his release in 1976.

In 2015, the Government of France awarded John Mitges the Rank of Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour for his contributions to the Battle of the Liberation of France.

There will be no service by John’s request.^{khFeb2017}