William H.A. Willbond MSM, CD

William (Billy) H.A. Willbond

IWVPA Bronze Helmet Top Poet Award for Excellence - September 2006

Born 1941 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Billy joined the Canadian Army at age 17. In 1960, at the height of the Cold War, he was posted overseas and was on active service during the building of the Berlin Wall and during the Cuban Crisis. He also served with the United Nations on Cyprus in 1965.

After 3 years as Operations Sergeant in Canadian Airborne Regiment, Billy studied Chinese for 3 years before being posted to the Special Service Force in 1977 as Operations Sergeant. He retired from the Army in November 1979.

Billy is married and with his wife Lynn, has four children and nine grand-children. He is a member of the life member of the Canadian Airborne Forces Association, a Life Member of the British Columbian Federation of Peace Officers, a member of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Association, a member of the Royal Canadian Legion, and a member of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) Association and WO’s & Senior NCO’s Club (Retired). He is the Secretary of the Mark Isfeld Memorial Chapter of the Canadian Association of Veterans in United Nations Peacekeeping (CAVUNP), the National Chairman of the CAVUNP Honours and Awards Committee, the National President of the International Community for the Relief of Starvation and Suffering (ICROSS CANADA) and an active contributor to the International War Veterans Poetry Archives.

In recognition of his selfless service to his country, Billy is the recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal, Special Service Medal with NATO Bar, Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal, United Nations Forces in Cyprus Medal, and the Canadian Forces Decoration. In 2012, Billy was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for hiscontribution to Canada.

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