General Richard Rohmer not slowing down at 99
Canada's most decorated military veteran is celebrating his latest accomplishment, turning 99 years old on Tuesday.
Major-General Richard Rohmer has been living in Collingwood for several years now, where he marked the milestone alongside close friends and family, being greeted by a birthday bagpipe salute at his front door.
"I'm surprised and enjoyed it," Rohmer said with fondness. "I don't know what it is to be 99! But I do know it's a long period of time."
Over that long period of time, Rohmer has earned countless accolades throughout his decades-long career of public service. He played a significant role on D-Day and in the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War as a fighter-reconnaissance pilot.
He currently holds numerous titles, including Honorary Lieutenant General of the Canadian Armed Forces. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, amongst many other honours.
Rohmer says the secret to his success is that he never lets an opportunity go by, even at 99 years old.
"[My] day is always full. I've got about four different projects on at any one time, Rohmer says. "I'm an opportunist. If I see an opportunity going by, I will attempt to seize it, whether it's writing a book, doing a film, no matter what it is."
Rohmer is currently working on his latest published book. The poetry anthology, which he started decades ago and never completed, will be just the latest of more than 30 works of literature with his byline attached.
"When I saw that, I went and picked up this little book that I had written of poetry 40 years ago…I hadn't looked at it," Rohmer says. "I opened it up and read the poetry that I had written 40 years ago…and I said, that's not bad, that's not bad at all!"
The General spent his 99th birthday in the company of friends, accepting visits and phone calls from his many notable connections throughout the day, including a bagpipe salute organized by his friends Peter and Gail.
While the bagpipe performance was a gift for the General, it doubled as a gift for the bagpiper himself.
"This is really an event that I'll always remember," says Mark Rich, a bagpiper with the Bein Gorm Highlanders. "Bagpipes are often associated with times of sorrow and memory, and this is one of celebration and looking forward. I'm hoping with 99 will come 100 next year, so obviously a high point in my piping career."
Simcoe-Grey MP Terry Dowdall also paid a visit, dropping off a certificate in honour of General Rohmer's big day to go along with a letter sent by Premier Doug Ford as well.
"As soon as I heard, I knew that we had to make sure we were here to congratulate him," says Dowdall.
"We're so happy that you live here in Simcoe Grey. It's certainly a bragging point for me!"
His advice for others is simple and reflects his lifelong passion for staying busy.
"The opportunities are here to be seized, and we have to be a generation of opportunists."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.