Canadian Veterans Licence Plates

Hi

As one who works on a military base where there are lots of transients and their vehicles, I get glimpses of other Provinces liscence plates that acknowledge a persons status as a Veteran. My original plan was to photograph those I saw and put the pics up here with a call for the membership to "show us theirs" but I got to thinking that some may not wish to see their plate number on the net.

Attached is a couple of links that show the other Provinces and Territories versions of their Veterans Plates:

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Below is Ontario's reqmts to get one and I believe the other provinces rqmts are similar:

The veteran licence plate is available to those who have served:

In the Second World War or the war in Korea as a member of any of the Canadian Forces, an Allied force, the Merchant Navy or the Ferry Command
For a minimum of three years in the Canadian Regular Forces (may still be serving)
For a minimum of three years of actual paid duty (1095 days) in the Canadian Reserve Forces or has been awarded the Canadian Decoration
In NATO operations or as a member of a United Nations peacekeeping force as a member of any of the Canadian Regular or Reserve Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, another Canadian police force, or an allied force
In the Vietnam War in the forces of the United States or its allies during this war and who was a Canadian citizen at the time of such service.

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I personally do not have one (even though I more than qualify!!) for the simple reason that I don't want one.

Any members have one and care to share? I'd like to hear from them. Maybe I'll end up changing my mind. :idea:

What about other nations. I know the US has them for most (all?) States. Any others?

regards
Darrell

I have a plate that belonged to a C Scot R veteran from Nanaimo. It's a BC plate which I think, along with the Sasketchewan plate, looks the best.

In regard to 'Veteran License Plates' in the United States, each state has many different ones. For instance:

-Plates for WW II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War veterans.

-Plates for the US Army, US Navy, USMC, US Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard and Reserves.

-Plates for POWs.

-Plates for veterans who were awarded the Purple Heart.

-Plates for veterans who were awarded the Medal of Honor.

-Plates for veterans who are retired military.

-And many others.

Eligibility for a Veterans License Plate in the United States:

These plates are available to a qualified vehicle owner, lessee, or trust beneficiary who is a:

-Veteran or retired military or medal recipient.
-Member of the active or reserve military.
-Military academy students or alumni.

I was just doing some checking on Veteran License Plates in the United States and the options are more numerous then I originally thought. Some states have plates for veterans who served in Laos, Somalia and for Pearl Harbor veterans. Here are the two different Purple Heart Plates for Michigan:

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AIRBORNE license plate for New York:

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POW plate for Texas.

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Pearl Harbor Survivor for California.

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Ohio even has a plate for WW I Veterans.

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Chloé Fedio
Staff Reporter

Veteran’s widow forced to replace poppy licence plate

A mourning war veteran’s widow who was forced to replace her poppy licence plate when her husband died wants the policy revisited.

For Karen Riehm, the plate is a reminder that her husband risked his life during the liberation of Holland in World War II.

“I’m broken-hearted,” she said. “It’s part of who he was and it’s part of my memory and they’re taking it away. I feel like I’m being robbed of something very precious.”

Riehm, 72, is a woman of tradition, fiercely proud of her family lore.

Her earliest documented Canadian ancestor was a United Empire Loyalist of Scottish background who fled the United States in the 1790s. Her great-grandfather was an artisan who helped design the famous McCausland stained-glass window on the main staircase of Toronto’s Old City Hall. And her husband of nearly 40 years helped defeat Hitler in what he described to his five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren as the “last just war.”

“He spent a lot of time teaching them about the difficulty other people experienced and therefore how fortunate they were to be Canadian. He was so proud to be Canadian,” she said.

Robert Riehm died in October at the age of 88. His wife was still in mourning went she went to transfer the ownership of his Lexus to her name in November. She recalls crying in the Service Ontario office when she was told she had to buy new plates.

“I was dumbfounded, I was stricken and I cried,” she said.

Riehm is not the first widow to be forced to remove her poppy plate — and she won’t be the last, said Robyn Zettler, assistant executive director of Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command.

“The plate is for the veteran. It’s not meant for anyone else. Upon the death of the veteran it is to be removed from the vehicle but the spouse is allowed to keep it for sentimental reasons,” Zettler said.

Poppy plates have been available for Ontario veterans since 2003 in a joint program between the provincial government and the Royal Canadian Legion. More than 33,000 have been issued.

Eligibility criteria were determined by the legion, said Ciaran Ganley, a provincial spokesman. “This is their policy and we’re heeding their wishes.”

Ganley suggested the Support Our Troops graphic plate with a yellow ribbon logo is the “next closest thing to the poppy plate.”

But for Riehm, keeping the plate on the car keeps her husband’s memory alive.

“I don’t think anybody else should get a poppy who doesn’t deserve it but I think under the very special circumstances of a death of a loved one, I should be able to keep that plate on the car,” she said. “It’s part of my memory of him.”