Dextraze, Jacques Alfred, 1919-1993 : Jacques Alfred Dextraze was born in Montreal, Quebec on 15 August 1919. He was educated at St Joseph de Berthier College (1930-1937), MacDonald Business College (1938-1940) and Columbia University (Business Administration; 1947). In November 1939, he enlisted with the Fusiliers Mont-Royal reserve (FMR), volunteering for active service with the regiment in May 1940. He was promoted to sergeant in June 1941 and he arrived in Britain in 1942 to join the FMR as a lieutenant, serving with them in the United Kingdom abd in North West Europe. He became its commanding officer in December 1944 and in June 1946, he was named the commanding officer of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment for service in the Far East. The war ended before the regiment's departure and he accepted his release from the Canadian Army. For his wartime service, he received the Distinguished Service Order (1944) with Bar (1945).
After the war, Dextraze was employed with the Singer Manufacturing Company, completing inventories of company lands. He later served as Director of the Thurso and Nation Valley Railroad, a Singer subsidiary and lastly, as Manager of Forest Operations.
Dextraze was recalled to the Canadian Army in 1950 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He commanded and trained the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Regiment for service in Korea, service for which he was named an Officer of the British Empire (O.B.E.) in 1952. He returned to Canada in December 1951 to attend the Army Staff College and he later held various posts at Army Headquarters. In 1957 he attended the Army Staff College. He later held various posts at Army headquarters. In 1957, he was made Commandant of the Royal Canadian School of Infantry at Camp Borden and in 1960 was given command of Camp Valcartier. In 1962, he was promoted Brigadier-General and appointed as commander of the Eastern Quebec Area.
In December 1963, Dextraze was appointed Chief of Staff of United Nations forces in Congo to plan and direct rescue operations. For this service, he was named a Commander of the British Empire (C.B.E.) in 1964, and returned to Canada to command the Special Service Force. He later commanded 2 Canadian Infantry Brigade Groups in Camp Petawawa. He subsequently held senior command and staff positions at Mobile Command and at Canadian Forces Headquarters. In 1967, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, in December 1970 to the rank of Lieutenant-General and in September 1972, to the rank of General, serving as Chief of the Defence Staff and of the Canadian Forces until his retirement in September 1977. He was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1978.
Following his retirement fron the Canadian military, Dextraze served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Canadian National Railways until 1982. He was subsequently elected as a Director of Wabasso Incorporated and as a Director of Bombardier Incorporated. He died in Ottawa in May 1993.
