Walter Gordon Calahaisn
Private Walter Gordon Calahaisn (Service Number M-66379) was a Métis World War II Veteran born on October 16, 1922, in Grouard, Alberta. He enlisted in the Canadian Army on November 7, 1941, at High Prairie, Alberta, serving with No. 13A District Depot. Private Calahaisn deployed overseas during the Second World War, seeing active service across Canada, the United Kingdom, the Central Mediterranean Area, and Continental Europe. For his military service in defense of freedom, he was awarded the 1939–45 Star, Italy Star, France & Germany Star, Defence Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp, and the War Medal 1939–45. He was honorably discharged on May 22, 1946, in Calgary, Alberta. Following the war, he returned to Alberta and married Myrtle Marie Steinhauer on July 28, 1950, in Edmonton, with whom he raised nine children. In civilian life, he worked for the Department of National Defence in building maintenance, and alongside Myrtle, owned and operated a janitorial business and an Indigenous gift shop. Veteran Calahaisn passed away on August 24, 2000, at 77 years of age. He was commemorated through the Métis Veterans Legacy Program with a Recognition Payment presented to his surviving spouse, Myrtle Calahaisn, by Métis Nation of Alberta President Audrey Poitras on October 7, 2020, in Edmonton, Alberta.
Recognition Payment Recipients
- Myrtle Marie Calahaisn (née Steinhauer) Surviving Spouse
Gallery
