Wander through most Royal Canadian Legion branches these days and you will see, on the walls and in the display cases, photos, paintings and mementoes from the two world wars.

But you will likely find little from the more recent conflicts in Bosnia and Afghanistan.

Gord Rittwage thought it was time that changed.

Rittwage has been president of the legion Branch 631 in Collins Bay since the spring and has spearheaded a move to rename the branch after a more recent soldier.

So on Friday, Nov. 1, the branch will be called the Captain Matthew J. Dawe Memorial Branch 631.

Dawe, who is from Kingston, was killed in action in Afghan­istan in 2007 at the age of 27. He is buried in Cataraqui Cemetery.

Rittwage, who spent seven years in the naval reserves and had a 29-year career in the correctional service, said other legion branches have been named after past heroes, such as Billy Bishop, but he believes Collins Bay is setting a precedent.

“This is the first time, I believe, in Ontario that a branch has been named after a newer casualty, in this case the Afghanistan war.”

The idea to rename the branch was sparked by a provincial legion convention in May when speaker after speaker stressed the organization has to be renewed and revitalized by including the more recent veterans.

“That struck me,” he said. “We have got to reach out.”

His own son currently serves in the navy and once told him there was nothing in the Collins Bay branch that pertained to Afghanistan or Bosnia.

Rittwage took his own look around and realized his son was right. So he started the process to change it.

His first call was to the branch’s first president, Al Mitchell, who is now in his 80s and lives in Newfoundland. It’s his name on the club room door.

“How attached are you to that?” Rittwage asked him, thinking he might rename the room after Dawe.

Mitchell replied he had no problem with renaming it since he has been gone for 35 years and no one knows him around here anymore.

“But why would you stop there?” Mitchell asked Rittwage. “Why wouldn’t you name the whole branch after him?”

Rittwage took the suggestion to his 11-member executive.

“They jumped on it. They thought it was a great idea, an opportunity to reach out to the community.

“Legions have been around since ’29. We have our traditions, but we have to stay relevant to today’s community and today’s soldier.”

With his executive’s blessing, Rittwage contacted Peter Dawe, Capt. Dawe’s father, and told him the legion wanted to honour his son.

“I didn’t tell him how big I was planning to go,” said Rittwage. He didn’t want Dawe to be disappointed if the whole concept fell through.

Dawe gave his approval and thanked the legion for the gesture.

The next step was to get the legion membership to agree with the plan. Two-thirds of the 440 members had to say yes.

This was no minor move, said Rittwage.

“It changes your charter, it changes everything,” he said.

He expected some of the members might not want to see something so drastic as renaming the entire branch.

“Some are clinging to the past, but others want to move forward,” he said.

A special meeting was held to put the motion before the membership.

“We had well over a two-thirds majority who thought this was a great idea,” Rittwage said.

The next step was to get the approval of the legion’s command.

“And Command came back with a resounding yes.”

Rittwage said it is important the legion stay current.

“What bothers us most is the mean age (of the members),” he said.

All of the First World War veterans are now gone and the Second World War vets are in their 80s and 90s.

There are only a few newer vets in the branch, but a couple of new ones have joined up recently.

Rittwage is hoping that trend will continue.

“Especially since this idea came out, we have had a lot more guys coming in and checking us out.”

A recent renovation of the vestibule included a display of portraits of the 158 Canadians who died in Afghanistan.

“We are targeting today’s soldier,” he said. “We want them here because we are more than just a bar.”

The legion’s mission, to support the veterans and their families, will not change, he said. They won’t forget the ones who have gone before. The legion branches continually lobby on behalf of veterans and provide a multitude of services for them, he added.

“We are basically putting a modern face on what we stand for.”

Stay in the past and “you become irrelevant,” he stressed.

Rittwage is expecting a big turnout on Nov. 1 for the noon-hour ceremony to rename the branch, including representatives from Canadian Forces Base Kingston, CFB Trenton and the Royal Military College. The Dawe family is also expected to attend.

During the ceremony, a new sign will be unveiled on the roof.

“We are going to have quite a showing here,” said Rittwage. “It should be quite a day”

He is hoping the new name will usher in a new era for the legion in Collins Bay.

“People have been looking at this building for 35 years. They drive by every day, and a good contingent of the soldiers from the base live in the west end. They have seen the old sign day in and day out and now they are going to see one of their own’s name up there. I think it’s going to make an impact. It is because it is relevant to today. Not only our community but other communities have been impacted by the war.”

michael.lea@sunmedia.ca