My dad never met [Robert Owen], as Robert was killed in action at Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917 during the Canadian attack and capture of the German strongpoint.

Robert's name is among the 11,000 Canadians whose names are inscribed on the huge Vimy limestone memorial, a memorial many consider to be one of the greatest works of art in remembrance of the Canadian soldiers killed during the 1914-18 Great War.

My family knows little of Robert's life. I only found out about him years ago after my grandparents' deaths. My dad found his silver British war medal hidden among his parents' possessions in their modest home in Belmont, just southeast of Brandon. It was tarnished and its yellow and blue ribbon badly frayed. It was almost impossible to read -- but I polished it up and found his name etched on its edge along with his service number.