'You just loved talking to him': WW II vet remembered in Yellowknife

After years sitting nearly forgotten in a corner, Dusty Miller's Air Force uniform is now proudly ondisplay at the Yellowknife branch of the Royal Canadian Legion.

It's brightly lit and arranged in a row alongside uniforms from other branches of the Canadian military and RCMP. It's a reminder of Miller and the thousands of others who fought in Canada's Armed Forces.

Miller, believed to be Yellowknife's last surviving veteran of the Second World War, died July 30. Family, friends and the Yellowknife community remembered him Wednesday in a memorial service at the territory's Legislative Assembly.

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The Second World War was only a brief period of time for Miller, who was 99,but it remained one of the defining features of his life.

He had progressively advancing Alzheimers for 30 years but continuedattendingRemembrance Day ceremonies in Yellowknife and speaking about his life.

He wasan aircraft engineer with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the war, posted to a Canadian squadron of Beaufighter airplanes assigned to night-fighting in Britain. When meeting people, he often joked, 'Shake the hand that shook the world!"

"He was a joyful, little old man," said Don Asher, the president of the Yellowknife branch of the legion.

"You just loved talking to him and [he'd] tell you all these stories from the war and everything else," he said. "Dusty was one of the [veterans] that I really loved very much."

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Asher led the move to bring Miller's uniform out of a dark office and into the light, before the legion moved to its new hall earlier this year.

"The other legion hall was very small, in the corner there were two uniforms, a Navy and an Army Air Force jersey. I thought it was disgusting that they were sitting in a corner, dusty and not being looked after," Asher said.

When the new legion opened up, Ashermade sure the prominent display was there and that Miller was on hand for the opening ceremonies.

"Dusty Miller didn't die [in combat] thank God, but many people from the Northwest Territories died for the freedoms that we have today," he said. "That's important to remember and that's why the uniforms are on display.

"It'll be there for years, hopefully so people can see the different services and the men who fought and died for our freedoms."

With files from Juanita Taylor