There are many reasons to remember on November 11
Posted By JAYSON TARZWELL
Posted 3 months ago
With Remembrance Day around the corner I can still faintly recall my first Remembrance Day parade the mid-1970's. We were in West Germany and my father's unit was on the base parade square. I was five or six and on that November morning all I could think about was joining those soldiers on parade. The sight was inspiring to my young mind.
In 1981 I remember a man collapsing during the Remembrance Day parade. I found out later he was a World War One veteran who died that day, 63 years after his war ended.
Over the years Remembrance Day has become more important for me and thousands of others as we can, unfortunately, put faces to the names we remember.
Captain Jim Decoste was my training platoon commander in the summer of 1991. Jim was a tough man who wasn't afraid to use his hands to reinforce a training point when he though it necessary; when he did it was universally recognized as being deserved. While hard to earn his approval, he was quick to let you know you met his standard. He also possessed an innate kindness that was always present and it was clear that his aim was always to develop us and everything he did reflected that.
It was late one afternoon and we were getting supper in the field after a long day of training. Jim was handing out food and when I passed by, he wished me a happy birthday. I was taken aback, because not only had I never expected him to know my birthday, but I had completely forgotten it! In this one event, he taught me the small things are important. Jim was killed in a vehicle accident in Croatia on September 18, 1993, while serving with the UN.
Corporal Matt Dinning was one of my Military Policemen in Petawawa, when I arrived in 2004. He was a clean-cut young man with an athletic build and a mischievous sense of humour who like to joke around. He was a friendly person who put people at ease, which is a great trait for a policeman. When I first arrived I had spent some time with his shift in getting to know the base, and in those few hours we spent together he confided in me that he often lied about his age because he felt people would not take him seriously if he told them the truth. Matt was killed by a roadside bomb along with three other soldiers outside of Gumbad, Afghanistan, on April 22, 2006. He was 23 years old.
Corporal Albert Storm was a long serving soldier. He was a quiet and honest man who never had an unkind word for anyone. Albert was an institutional man who could be relied on to do his duty in a cheerful manner.
I did not know him well and never served closely with him, but his positive attitude was a well known. Albert was killed by a roadside bomb along with a fellow soldier on November 27, 2006, just after returning to Afghanistan following home leave. I see his picture on the memorial wall at work daily and he still makes me smile.
Major Ray Ruckpaul was an acquaintance from my first tour in Petawawa. We reconnected in Afghanistan when he moved into the building next to mine.
The last time I saw him was when I offered him a ride back to our building following a Ramp Ceremony for Pte. Robert Costall, a soldier killed by friendly fire in March 2006. When he got into my truck I said, "well, that sucked." He agreed and we drove back in silence, reflecting on Costall's death. Ray died from a single gunshot wound, alone in his room in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 29, 2007.
Warrant Officer RJ Wilson was one of the first soldiers I'd met upon arrival in London, Ontario, following training in 1991. As it turned out, we had a common friend who had done basic training with me and been in the Army Cadets with RJ. Earlier that year, RJ had returned from the Persian Gulf and he told me that when he and his friend joined the army they bet each other about who would go to war first; RJ proudly told me he'd won. RJ was killed by a roadside bomb on December 5, 2008, along with two other members of his team. RJ was on his second tour to Afghanistan.
Warrant Officer Gaetan Roberge was a bear of a man with a great sense of humour. A French Canadian with a thick accent, I met him in January 2008, here in Petawawa. His sage advice mixed with a liberal dose of French expletives was inspirational, educational and comical all at once. A body builder, his arms were as thick as most people's legs. Gaetan, or Gates as he was known, was killed while investigating a roadside bomb along with another Canadian and two Afghans, in the Panjwai district of Afghanistan, 25 km west of Kandahar City.
Those are the men and faces I will remember this year. Lest we forget.
Jayson Tarzwell is a captain and second-in-command with Echo Coy, 1 RCR, CFB Petawawa.
