Sometimes, military veterans tend to be quite self-deprecating about the service theyB次元官网网址檝e given their country. 

West Shore resident Jim Tenhove may fall into that category as he describes his military career. 

In 1970/71 he was deployed as part of the peacekeeping contingent sent to Cyprus as part of the peacekeeping force set up by the United Nations when tensions between the countryB次元官网网址檚 Greek and Turkish people reached a boiling point.  

Three Canadian peacekeepers died in that conflict and Canadian troops came under fire during the 1970s. 

Still Tenhove downplays his role. 

B次元官网网址淵eah, I was with the peacekeeping force in Cyprus, but I was a cook,B次元官网网址� said Tenhove with a chuckle. B次元官网网址淵ou know how it is, the first thing they want us (the cooks) to do is throw potatoes at the enemy.B次元官网网址� 

Tenhove first joined the armed forces in 1964 as a soldier apprentice and then remustered as a cook. He was eventually promoted to Warrant Officer. 

Besides his time in Cyprus (where he met his wife), he also was in Germany with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. 

B次元官网网址淢y last captain there was Rom茅o Dallaire. He went on to do some amazing things and weB次元官网网址檙e still friends,B次元官网网址� said Tenhove. 

Other highlights of TenhoveB次元官网网址檚 career include a deployment to CFS Alert, a post just 350 km shy of the North Pole. 

B次元官网网址淭hat was sure interesting. When I got there it was dark for 24 hours a day, and by the time I left the sun never went down, at all. It was quite the experience.B次元官网网址� 

Despite TenhoveB次元官网网址檚 downplay of his career, he harbours an abiding appreciation of the sacrifices Canadians have made in service to their country. 

B次元官网网址淚 was born in Holland two and a half years after the end of WWII. If it wasnB次元官网网址檛 for the Canadian soldiers that liberated Holland, I wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be here today,B次元官网网址� said Tenhove. B次元官网网址淚 went back to Holland nine months ago and went to the war cemetery where 2,600 Canadian soldiers are buried. It was a reminder of the sacrifices that people made.B次元官网网址� 

Still giving back, Tenhove volunteers with the Legion to bring the message to schools on Vancouver Island, and has run the poppy campaign on the West Shore for the past two years. Prior to that, he worked with the Salvation Army for 13 years; in that time, they raised more than $30 million.

Not only that, but he worked with Bob Saunders and helped start the Saunders Family Foundation, a non-profit that helps local youth through sports.

It appears that Tenhove, despite his self-deprecation, has never given up his belief in serving the community.