MOOSE JAW — In a solemn ceremony held recently, 15 Wing Moose Jaw officially dedicated its military police detachment building to the memory of Master Warrant Officer Norman (Danny) Elbridge O’Donnell, CD — a decorated soldier whose legacy of selfless service now lives on in brick, with his name overlooking the main entrance to the base.
Building 79 on NATO Drive will now be known as the Master Warrant Officer N.E. O’Donnell, CD Police Detachment, honouring the veteran’s decades of service across multiple conflicts and his ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
O’Donnell, who died of a heart attack on July 30, 1978, while escorting Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during a royal visit to Moose Jaw, was remembered by dignitaries, defence personnel, and family members during a ceremony marked by military tradition and personal reflection.
“Danny literally died serving Queen and country,” said Saskatchewan Lieutenant-Governor the Honourable Bernadette McIntyre. “Commemorating his service to the Crown with this building dedication seems most fitting.”
The ceremony opened with a vice-regal salute and territorial land acknowledgement, followed by opening remarks from Warrant Officer M.L. Sanders and a biography reading by Master Cpl. McLean. The official unveiling of the detachment sign was followed by a blessing from the padre and tributes from family members and Canadian Forces Provost Marshal Brig.-Gen. Vanessa Hanrahan.
Brig.-Gen. Hanrahan, commander of the Canadian Forces Military Police Group, said O’Donnell exemplified the very best of the profession.
“If I look at his character, his honour, his willingness to actually give of himself … there are many examples over his career where he put himself on the line and put himself in danger to serve others,” she said. “That very much speaks to what we expect of, not just our Canadian Armed Forces … but also … a military police officer (and) our law enforcement partners all over the country …. We always need to be willing to put ourselves in harm’s way to serve others, and I think he exemplified that with courage, with dedication, and with devotion.”
O’Donnell’s career spanned deployments to Korea, where he was wounded while rescuing a fellow soldier behind enemy lines, to peacekeeping in Vietnam, Cold War postings in Germany, and domestic assignments across Canada. He served with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, the Royal Canadian Air Force Security Branch, and eventually as a respected military police leader.
“This story is one of selfless service, and it reminds us all of the weight of the uniform we wear and the legacy we inherit,” Sanders said. “Let this detachment stand as a place of continued vigilance and pride — a place where every member who passes through its doors knows the name above them represents courage, honour, and duty fulfilled to the very end.”
Family members travelled from across the country to attend the dedication, including granddaughter Kimberley O’Donnell and nephew Richard Hansen.
“To hear that he was going to be recognized for the service he performed was pretty special,” said Hansen, recalling childhood memories of fly fishing and wilderness adventures with his uncle in New Brunswick.
Kimberley, who never met her grandfather, said his story only recently came to light within her family.
“(Military families) don’t really talk about what they do or how they do it, and that was something big in my family,” she said. “I honestly didn’t even know that my grandpa had died in the line of duty … it was just an opening to this big can of worms of how amazing and incredible my family has been.”
Asked how O’Donnell might have felt about the building dedication, Hansen reflected on his uncle’s quiet humility.
“Honestly, he was a quiet one … He liked to just do his work quietly in the background and make sure it was done properly.”
The ceremony ended with closing remarks and a message of gratitude: that O’Donnell’s name will not only appear in the Books of Remembrance in Ottawa, but now above the door at 15 Wing — where the next generation of military police officers can draw inspiration from his example.
“All the flyovers today are him looking down on you, saying ‘Well done,’” said Hanrahan. “You’ve got the torch now, and I know you will continue well into the future.”
