On the eve of his centenary, Gaston Pettigrew was received with applause while entering the dining room of Maison Paul-Triquet in Quebec city.
Using his Royal Canadian Navy uniform, he smiled while sitting between the family, residents and staff, with a wooden box full to the edge with birthday cards before him.
Good wishes came from all over the world after a community group dedicated to military history published a special request for the veteran of World War II.
Pettigrew wanted 100 cards on time for his 100th birthday on April 11. In a matter of weeks, he received more than 1,700.
Pettigrew was only 18 when he enlisted in April 1943. He soon became a sailor at HMS Ettrick, a ship that served as an escort of convoy in the battle of the Atlantic.
He made 11 crosses between North America and Europe, although his ship was never attacked during these missions, Pettigrew remembers difficult conditions aboard the ship, which transported around 100 sailors.
Jordan Proust originally published Pettigrew’s story and the birthday desire on his Facebook PasionMilitaria, which he obtained hundreds of I like and reactions from around the world.
On Thursday, the local health authority said that Pettigrew’s residence hopes to reach up to 2,000 cards in the next few days.
‘Thanks to them, today we are French’
Myriam Marty, who lives in Toulouse in southern France, sent a card to Pettigrew after seeing his application in his Facebook feed.
“We really don’t realize what happened and I think today is our duty to thank,” Marty said.
“I have always had a very deep respect for these people,” he said, adding that “thanks to them we are French today.”
She says that the number of cards that are made only demonstrates that in a world it often focuses on individualism, people still enjoy gathering to honor those who have sacrificed.
The teachers rendean Koudelka and Michel St. Louis at Hilltop High School in Whitecourt, Alta., Made some 25 students help writing birthday cards for Pettigrew.
St. Louis says they used this as a learning opportunity for their degree class 9 in the city, located about 180 kilometers northwest of Edmonton.
“I described for what Mr. Pettigrew had to happen,” said St. Louis. “They knew about him, what he did, and all the good things he did as Canadian.”
Koudelka says that teenagers showed immense gratitude through their letters.
“It was very obvious that they were grateful,” Koudelka said.
To mark his birthday on Friday, Pettigrew will participate in an activity with members of the Navy in Quebec Garrison Club.
