Ronald Keith Crawford, Chief Petty Officer, 2nd Class
Petty Officer 2nd Class Ronald Keith Crawford was born in North York on June 18, 1970. His family moved to Port Perry when he was 3, and he attended RH Cornish Public School. In 1981 the family moved to Uxbridge, and he transferred to Uxbridge Public, Joseph Gould Senior Public, and Uxbridge Secondary School. He moved to Oshawa in 1986 to finish high school at GL Roberts, then attended Sir Sandford Fleming College. Childhood pastimes included camping, fishing, hockey, and golf.
He chose the Navy for his career, and enlisted on April 17, 1991, in Toronto. Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Cornwallis (near Digby) was the base in Nova Scotia where he did basic training. He was then stationed on the other side of the country at CFB Esquimalt, in British Columbia near Victoria. He spent all but 1 year of his naval career stationed in Esquimalt. He served on several ships: HMCS Restigouche, HMCS Mackenzie, HMCS Huron, HMCS Algonquin, HMCS Protecteur, and the HMCS Vancouver. He did a rotation in Libya for seven months, July 2011 - January 2012, serving in the Mediterranean Sea.
He was discharged in May 2015, and was awarded four medals: Canadian Forces Decoration, and First Clasp; NATO Article 5 Medal (OP Unified Protecteur/Libya); NATO Non Article 5 Medal (OP Active Endeavor); and Order of Military Merit. The last award was presented to CPO2 Crawford at Rideau Hall by His Excellence The Right Honourable David Johnson, Governor General and Commander in Chief of Canada, on March 2, 2012. He now lives in Duncan, BC, with his wife Shannon. They have two children, Randy and Nichole. He enjoys hunting, fishing, and camping.
CPO2 Crawford wished that his grandfather, World War 2 veteran Keith Hope, had lived to see him receive his medal in Ottawa. During his naval career his grandfather always wore the hat from the ship upon which Ron was serving, and proudly explained where he’d got it. Grandpa Keith and grandson Ron are proudly displayed on the same pole in the Uxbridge Honour Our Veterans Banner Program.
We thank them for their service.
We Will Remember Them.
NM