Ken Lutz was born February 27, 1957 in Souris, Prince Edward Island. He grew up in that small community alongside his three siblings; Ken’s father was a mechanic but Ken spent much of his early years at the farm across the street, and he even attended a one room school at one point. He attended high school in the community of Souris, and upon graduation Ken was ready to move on. He elected to join the Canadian Forces, and in early 1976 he was on his way to Cornwallis for basic training, followed by trades training in London, Ontario, where he specialized in infantry training as a member of the Royal Canadian Regiment. In 1976 the Olympics were held in Montreal, and one of Ken’s early assignments was to provide security at Mirabel Airport. His first overseas deployment came at the end of the 1970s, when he was selected to be part of Canada’s UN contingent in Egypt: there Ken served as a peacekeeper monitoring the border region between Egypt and Israel. After a short stay in Canada, he went on another UN deployment, this time to Cyprus. More time in Canada followed, during which time Ken became a corporal, and this was followed by another tour in Cyprus, this time in a recce platoon. Ken did his part with Canada’s NATO allies too, serving in Germany as the 1980s drew to a close – and as the Berlin Wall fell. As the 90s dawned, Ken expected to go to the Persian Gulf War and to Bosnia, but the former ended too quickly and an injury kept him away from the latter. Ken met and married a fellow Canadian Forces member during this time too, and when she was posted to Newfoundland they both relocated there. Ken left the active forces during this time and accepted a reserve posting in the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, where he became the RSM. During his time in the reserve force Ken was involved in a deployment to Sierra Leone, where he served as part of a multinational force whose goal was to bring stability to that west African nation. While he was there the 9/11 attack occurred: Ken and the others knew this would affect their trajectory and in 2006 he was sent to Afghanistan for the first time. Ken served as part of a reconstruction team, working with the local community on infrastructure projects such as irrigation and local business start-ups. As such he encountered threats alongside the battle groups, including small arms fire and IEDs. A second Afghanistan tour followed in 2009, where Ken again worked on reconstruction projects, though this time at more of a command level. Ken retired from the Canadian Forces in 2017, when he turned 60. Since he has remained committed to the military community, serving fellow veterans through the Legion. He also has remained committed to the ideal of remembrance, and in July 2024 he was involved in returning the Great War’s Newfoundland Unknown Soldier to St. John’s. Ken Lutz was interviewed by Scott Masters at the Souris P.E.I. Legion in July 2024.
