Ralph Roberts
Royal Canadian Navy, 1950 to 1971. He is a Korean War naval veteran from the LaSalle area, remembered here from the story his family submitted to the Town of LaSalle.
The family's account
The Town of LaSalle publishes Local Veterans from stories submitted by veterans and their families, and the Town says it makes efforts to verify them. Hailey Trealout, a niece of Ralph Roberts, wrote that she submitted his story to that page. On 10 November 2026 she gave written permission, from herself and her family, to use his photo and story. The wording below is the Town's published account, retrieved the same day.
Ralph joined the Navy and served from 1950 to 1971 on HMCS Cresent, Iroquois, Portage, Granby, Fort Erie, Nootka, Magnificent, Cape Scott, La Hulloise, Bonaventure, and Gatineau. He received the Korea Medal, the Korean Volunteer Service Medal, the Special Service Medal, the Peacekeeping Medal, the UN Medal (Korea), the Queen's Jubilee Medal and the Canadian Forces Decoration.
After his discharge, he worked for the Legion for 13 years, retired and was the Service Officer for more than 18 years, and a life member of the Royal Canadian Legion. Ralph also received the Legionnaire of the Year award. Ralph received many awards including the Minister of Veteran's Affairs Commendation, the Meritorius Service Medal, the Democracy 250 Medal and the 50 years Legion Service Medal. Ralph passed away at the age of 80 in 2012 after a lifetime of service.
The Town page spells Crescent as "Cresent", Meritorious as "Meritorius", and Veterans as "Veteran's" in the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation. Those spellings are kept in the account above. The lists below use the usual official names.
Service
From the family's account, Ralph Roberts served in the navy from 1950 to 1971. The ships named there are Royal Canadian Navy ships, so this profile records him as a Royal Canadian Navy veteran. The Town page does not give a rank. Because he received the Korea Medal and the UN Medal (Korea), he is a Korean War naval veteran as well as a later Cold War sailor. This desk had previously listed him only under later life and naval service; the Korea section of the chronology now points here too.
- HMCS Crescent
- HMCS Iroquois
- HMCS Portage
- HMCS Granby
- HMCS Fort Erie
- HMCS Nootka
- HMCS Magnificent
- HMCS Cape Scott
- HMCS La Hulloise
- HMCS Bonaventure
- HMCS Gatineau
Medals and awards, as recorded
The Town account lists the following medals and awards. This desk has not independently verified each award against an official roll.
- Korea Medal
- Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea (recorded as the Korean Volunteer Service Medal)
- Special Service Medal
- Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal (recorded as the Peacekeeping Medal)
- United Nations Service Medal (Korea) (recorded as the UN Medal (Korea))
- Queen's Jubilee Medal (which jubilee is not stated)
- Canadian Forces Decoration
- Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation
- Meritorious Service Medal
- Democracy 250 Medal
- 50 years Legion Service Medal
- Legionnaire of the Year
Life after service
After his discharge, the Town account says, he worked for the Royal Canadian Legion for 13 years. In retirement he served as its Service Officer for more than 18 years, and was a life member of the Legion. The branch is not named on the Town page. He died in 2012, at the age of 80, "after a lifetime of service."
Source and rights
The lead photograph was sent by Hailey Trealout, a niece of Ralph Roberts, on 11 November 2026. She wrote: "This is a family favourite, but I will see if I can get a photo of a younger Ralph." Credit: Courtesy of the Roberts family. The story is published on the Town of LaSalle Local Veterans, Ralph Roberts page. Written permission from Hailey Trealout and the Roberts family to use his photo and story, 10 November 2026. The photograph is not under an open licence; please ask the family before any reuse.