Richard Rohmer

Richard Rohmer
Rohmer speaking at a Remembrance Day ceremony in 2009
Born	1924
Rank	Major-General

Major-General (Ret'd) Richard Heath Rohmer, OC, CMM, DFC, O.Ont, KStJ, CD, OL, QC, JD, LLD (born in 1924). Canada's most decorated citizen, an aviator, a senior lawyer (aviation law), adviser to business leaders and the Government of Ontario. He is a prolific writer as the bibliography below shows. See the list of his e-books (and his new "The Building of the CN Tower") at http://www.rohmer-ebooks.com all published by his family corporation RailCore Press Inc.. Rohmer was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and spent some of his early youth in Pasadena, California as well as in western Ontario at Windsor and Fort Erie.

The Peterborough Examiner's lead editorial of 14 January 2009 says this: "Rohmer, one of Canada's most colourful figures of the past half-century, was a World War II fighter pilot, later a major-general in the armed forces reserve, a high-profile lawyer and a successful novelist and biographer."

He was an unexceptional student in high school and worked briefly at Fleet Aerospace before joining, at 18, the RCAF early in World War II. He flew P-51 Mustang fighters and was taking part in the Battle of Normandy as a fighter reconnaissance pilot when he spotted what appeared to be a staff car, usually used to carry German officers. In this case, the German officer being carried was Erwin Rommel. Rohmer was not permitted to attack the staff car but by radio reported its location to Group Control Centre who sent in two Spitfires that strafed the target. Rohmer later took part in the liberation of France, Belgium and Holland. After the war, thanks to the advice of a priest at Assumption College in Windsor, he found his way to the practice of law where he continues to distinguish himself. He continued with the Air Force, attaining the rank of major-general, and Chief of Reserves of the Canadian Armed Forces. He is active in a range of legal, corporate and military activities. He was chairman of the 60th anniversary of D-Day celebrations which took place in the presence of the Queen at Juno Beach in Normandy on 6 June 2004. He co-chaired the Ontario advisory committee that created the Veterans' Memorial, unveiled on 17 September 2006 in front of the provincial legislature at Queen's Park. He is chair of the Premier's Ceremonial Advisory Council and a member of the Advisory Council of the Order of Ontario. He chaired the significant Royal Commission on Book Publishing in 1971 /72 . He is Canada's premier author of both fiction and non-fiction works . His most recent non-fiction is [The Building of the CN Tower] to be published April 2011by RailCore Press Inc of which he is president . His most recent novel, Ultimatum 2 was published in early 2007. It fictionalizes a confrontation between the US and Russia against Canada over the building of an international high level nuclear waste disposal site in arctic Canada.

General Rohmer is the Honorary Deputy Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, the Honorary Chief of Toronto Emergency Medical Services, patron of the Toronto St. John Ambulance(1978–2007), Honorary Fire Chief of Collingwood, Ontario, and honorary detective of the Toronto Police Service.

He was twice chancellor of the University of Windsor, serving a total of 13 years. In 1978 he negotiated the donation to the university of Conrad Black's collection of Duplessis papers in exchange for an honorary degree.

He was a charter member of his local Civitan club, and he served as governor of his Civitan district and treasurer of the international organization. His position allowed him to meet U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to present Civitan's World Citizenship Award.

He lives with his wife Mary-O in Collingwood, Ontario and practices aviation litigation with the Toronto law firm of Rohmer & Fenn. He has two daughters, Ann Rohmer a TV personality and Catherine, a lawyer. He is a licensed pilot.

Bibliography

• The Green North: Mid-Canada (1970)
• The Arctic Imperative (1973)
• Ultimatum (1974)
• Exxoneration (1974)
• Exodus UK (1975)
• Separation (1976)
• Balls! (1980)
• Periscope Red (1980)
• Separation two (1981)
• Pattons Gap (1981)
• Triad (1982)
• Retaliation (1982)
• Massacre 747 (1984)
• Rommel and Patton (1986)
• Starmageddon (1986)
• Hour of the Fox (1988)
• John A.'s Crusade (1995)
• Death by Deficit (1996)
• Caged Eagle (2002)
• Raleigh on the Rocks (2002)
• Ultimatum 2 (2007)
• Generally Speaking (autobiography, 2004)
• The Royal Commission on Book Publishing (Chair, 1972)
• Poems by Arthur Henry Ward (1980)
• Practice and Procedure Before the Highway Transport Board (1965)

Honours

• Officer of the Order of Canada (1990)
• Commander of the Order of Military Merit
• Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
• Order of Ontario (1997)
• Knight of the Order of St. John
• Canadian Forces Decoration
• Queen's Counsel (1960)
• Officer of the Order of Leopold (Belgium)
• Chevalier of the Legion of Honour
• Jubilee Medal
• Centennial Medal
• Confederation Medal
• Golden Jubilee Medal
• Second World War Medals

External links

• Richard Rohmer at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database