Award being named after Truro veteran

TRURO - Sitting with Herb Peppard at the kitchen table of his Truro home, it's almost easy to forget this man is part of military
history.
But come June 20 that factor is going to be a lot easier to remember. That's when Peppard, along with three other members of his old unit, the First Special Service Force (FSSF), will have military awards named after them.
"Every year my name will be on that award that's given to a deserving soldier," said, Peppard, 85.
That news reached the Alice Street resident earlier this month, along with an invitation to attend a ceremony in Ontario. Both took him completely by surprise.
A new unit, labelled the Canadian Special Operations Regiment CSOR) will be absorbing the battle honours of the FSSF (known in some circles as the Black Devils) and will also be naming some of their awards after their predecessors.
"I feel very honoured," Peppard said during a chat in his kitchen. "I really got choked up when I found out."
Correspondence from the regiment indicates that the Sergeant Herbert Peppard Silver Star Award will be presented annually to a soldier who best demonstrates - through action and conduct - the attributes and spirit of a special forces soldier.
Their surviving comrades and current members of the CSOR chose the four namesake award candidates.
"You were selected for this honour by the living members of the FSSF and by CSOR," Peppard's letter states. "It is a testament to the man you are and the inspiration you remain today."
For Peppard, the experience is humbling, especially given that he was selected by his peers and fellow comrades.
"I was amazed that they picked me, I never thought of myself as that good of a soldier, 'cause I had so many AWOL's (absent without leave) against me."
That sentiment, he said, was shared by at least one of his superiors, who once observed: "It appears to me you soldier when you want to and you take leave when you want to."
But Peppard has done more than his fair share of soldiering, including fighting in Italy and helping to conquer Rome over the Germans during the Second World War; carrying the dead and taking a bullet wound in his side.
Today, Peppard continues to be active in his community through a variety of volunteer efforts and at the local legion, which remains close to his heart.
"I'm a proud member of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 26, Truro," he said.
Peppard will be leaving within the next few days for Pembroke, Ont., where he will make the inaugural presentation of his namesake award to another deserving
soldier.