2759 Lt. Col. (Ret’d) Jean Charles Bernand Forbes (RMC 1942) was 89 when he died of kidney failure May 19, 2010 in Saint-Anne-de-Beaupré, Que. He leaves Nicole Pomerleau, his wife of 65 years, and their sons, Pierre and Martin. Jean Charles Bertrand Forbes, a fifth-generation Quebecker, was born in Matane on March 19, 1921. Soldiering, he often said, was in his blood. One of his ancestors fought with General Wolfe at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. In 1940, he enrolled to take a science degree at the Royal Military College in Kingston. One of Canada’s most fearless career soldiers, Forbes distinguished himself during the liberation of Holland in the Second World War. Early in 1945, he was wounded at Groesbeek in Belgium when his jeep was blown up by a bomb and sent back to England to recuperate. After the war, he returned to Matane, his home town. In 1948, he joined the Royal 22e Régiment, (The Van Doos) as a parachute instructor. He fought in Korea, where he was cited for bravery during the assault on Hill 355, in October 1951. Forbes was awarded the Dutch equivalent of the Victoria Cross, and later received the French Legion of Honour. A video recording of him talking about his exploits may be seen at the National War Museum in Ottawa. He retired from the military in 1965, sold mutual funds for Edper Investments in Montreal and became president of Hover Industries, which manufactured hovercraft in England. His memoirs were published as Fantassin Pour Mon Pays La Gloire et des Prunes (Septentrion, 1994). (Infantryman to my Country and the Glory of Plums).
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