Legion hopping

Paying tribute over a quart of 50 and a pack of Mark Tens at Montreal's Legion Halls

They have a reputation as the nation's smoke-filled, beer-soaked taverns of pity: the Legion Halls, where aging, sad war veterans toast their fallen buddies and swap war stories with those who survived, forever living in the past.

But when you think about it, the phrase "smoke-filled, beer-soaked tavern of pity where people swap war stories" is a pretty accurate description of places like the Copa, Bifteck and Else's, depending on the day of the week. And the clientele at the Legion Hall is arguably more engaging and eccentric. They have names like Sidney and Horace and Clarence. They drink beer from quart bottles. They smoke Rothmans, Viscounts, Mark Tens and all those other cigarette brands you see behind the counter and wonder who on earth buys them. They don't have an ounce of pretension in them. And their war stories are real.

To mark the last Remembrance Day of the millennium, the Mirror sent five reporters to visit Montreal's Legion Halls to raise a glass in honour of those who fell.

Sidebar: Bingo battles and a shot of Bailey's in Verdun

Sidebar #2: The secret lives of Legionnaires

Sidebar #3: An encounter with Popeye, the downtown Legion Man

Sidebar #4: Looking for new blood at Legion #106 in NDG

Sidebar #5: I love a girl in uniform