E . L . M . Burns Eedson Louis Millard " Tommy " Burns , ( June 17 , 1897 – September 13 , 1985 ) was a Canadian Army Lieutenant General and diplomat . Early Education . E . L . M . Burns was born on June 17 , 1897 in Montreal , Quebec . His father was a militia staff officer , a member of the Corps of Guides . He served with the 17th Duke of York ' s Royal Canadian Hussars ( 17th D . Y . R . C . H . ) . He had risen to the rank of signal sergeant by 1913 . “ Tommy ” Burns , student # 1032 graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston , Ontario in 1914 . He joined the Royal Canadian Engineers , into which he was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1915 . World War I . He served in Canada until March 1916 when he went overseas with the 3rd Canadian Division Signal Company which , was composed of engineers . He fought on the Western Front with the Royal Canadian Engineers from 1916 to 1918 . He became a staff officer with the 9th Brigade in March 1917 , dealing with supply and personnel . He became a " staff learner " and acted as liaison officer between forward battalions and brigade headquarters . He returned to Canada in 1919 and was stationed at St . John as an engineer officer . Between the wars . He attended the School of Military Engineering , Chatham , England , for eighteen months . He was an instructor at the RMC in Kingston , Ontario . He returned to Halifax and served on duty during the miners ' strike at Glace Bay . He worked in the Survey Department in Ottawa . In 1924 , he was appointed as an instructor at RMC in field engineering . He attended the Staff College at Quetta , British India and returned to Quebec , Canada in 1930 . In 1939 , as a Lt - Col , he attended the Imperial Defence College in London , England . World War II . During World War II General Burns successively commanded the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade , the 1st Canadian Infantry Division , the 5th Canadian ( Armoured ) Division ( January 1944 to March 1944 ) , and then finally the I Canadian Corps ( March 1944 until November 1944 ) . His performance as a corps - level commander proved to be controversial , despite the successes of the Canadian forces in the Italian Campaign , and so he was replaced as commander of I Canadian Corps by Lieutenant - General Charles Foulkes . Civilian life . He served as Deputy Minister of Veterans ’ Affairs . He served as a President of the UNAC during the 1950s . He played a critical role in the Middle East peace process from 1954 to 1959 . He was instrumental in developing UN peacekeeping . As Chief of Staff in 1954 , United Nations Truce Supervision Organization ( UNTSO ) was designed to maintain the General Armistice Agreements until permanent peace could be formulated . He served as a Special Staff of the Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine ( 1954 – 56 ) with the Department of External Affairs and was thus nearby when the Suez Crisis of 1956 occurred . He led the UNEF from November 1956 to December 1959 . He was Canada ’ s principal disarmament negotiator from 1960 - 68 . He held the chair of Strategic Studies at the Norman Paterson School for International Affairs , Carleton University from 1969 - 75 . He wrote “ Between Arab and Israeli ” ( 1962 ) ; “ General Mud : memoirs of two World Wars ” ( 1970 ) and " Defense in the Nuclear Age " ( 1976 ) . Honours . He was awarded the Military Cross for maintaining communications under heavy fire , and , for the same action at the Somme , his non - commissioned officers received Military Medals . In 1967 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada for his services to Canada at home and abroad . He was described as a Former Chief of General Staff and Canadian adviser on disarmament in Geneva . He was the 1981 recipient of the Pearson Medal of Peace for his work in the military of Canada . He is a 2010 induction to the Wall of Honour at the Royal Military College of Canada . There is a park located in Nepean named after him . Memorial . A mannequin at the Royal Military College of Canada wears “ Tommy ” Burns ' khaki army uniform jacket , covered with medals and wrapped with a Sam Browne belt . Grave . Burns ' grave is in Kingston , Ontario .