God bless the Canadian soldier

FORT BRAGG, N.C. - The sheer scale is what first impresses. This army base is so big that it has its own freeway -- the "All American", which is the nickname of the 82nd Airborne, based here. Fort Bragg is one of the principal bases supporting the war in Iraq, and just last weekend another unit kissed their loved ones goodbye and shipped out.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are immense undertakings, and it is nothing short of remarkable that the machinery of war functions as well as it does. But it is not machinery that makes the lasting impression. It is the faces of the soldiers, most of them very young. Their faces remind me of the faces of my college students.

There is no need to idealize the young soldier. Fort Bragg, like most American military bases, is surrounded by a sprawl of fleabag motels, strip clubs, cheque-cashing outlets and low-rent liquor stores, which indicates that the armed forces are not drawn equally from all segments of the entire population. Yet despite the ordinary grittiness of it all, there is promise in these young faces, and that promise is the great hope and sacrifice of war. It is these faces in which the people of Iraq, for better or worse, see the face of the United States.

President George W. Bush, made that point when he visited here on the 4th of July: "[Soldiers from Fort Bragg] were the first coalition forces to arrive on the scene after the bombing of Zarqawi's safe house. They administered compassionate medical care to a man who showed no compassion to his victims. And when this brutal terrorist took his final breath, one of the last things he saw was the face of an American soldier from Fort Bragg, North Carolina."

This past week has introduced Canadians to the faces of four of our own who were killed in battle: Cpl. Christopher Reid, Pte. Kevin Daillaire, Sgt. Vaughn Ingram and Cpl. Bryce Jeffrey Keller. The Afghani people see the face of Canada in our fighting forces over there, and we have reason to be proud of what they have seen.

The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, to which the four men belonged, has as storied a history as the All Americans of the 82nd Airborne, both of them being founded during the First World War. Yet it is undeniable that the face of the Canadian soldier is not as prominent at home as is his American counterpart.

Perhaps it is a matter of scale. After all, American military bases dominate their local cities in ways that our much smaller bases do not. But there is more to it than that. I live in Kingston, Ont., which, with its military base and Royal Military College, has a stronger military presence than most cities. The Trenton air base where our soldiers' remains are brought home is just an hour down the road. Yet despite all that, the reality of our fighting men and women does not make the impression that it should.

It's all well and good that our forces in Afghanistan should have Tim Horton's available to them, but it's more important that Canadians at our Tim Horton's at home are reminded of our troops in battle. To spread Canadian values abroad requires valuing at home those Canadians we send overseas in our name.

I suppose there is the danger of overdoing it. But doing anything involves a danger of overdoing it. Perhaps we don't need our equivalent of Toby Keith, he of country music's super-patriotism, but listening to his American Soldier on the car radio is a cultural reminder that the soldier deserves to be in our thoughts. The local paper reports that Hilary Duff, queen of the pre-teen set, was here last week with a free concert for military families. The wag cracks that they have suffered enough, but that is only a wisecrack -- where are our free concerts for military families?

On a more personal note, visiting various American parishes one is struck by how regularly the troops are prayed for. Many churches post photographs of parishioners' relatives who are at war. Our Canadian forces are also at war, but I am embarrassed to say that our spiritual support of them is not what it should be.

The face of Canada is not only evident in the aid worker, diplomat or the missionary abroad. It is now, as it has been so nobly in the past, also the face of the soldier at war, fighting for justice, for liberty and peace. The faces of those we send may be the last ones seen by the enemy, but they are entitled to a place in our thoughts, hearts and prayers too. God bless the soldier.

God bless the True, North, Strong and Free, as well as Father Raymond J. de Souza

Thank you Princess Pats, you will always have a place in the hearts of this Canadian for your courage, tenacity and sacrifice.You have lead the way to rebuilding the CAF, and reminded two nations of what freedom means , as well as its sometimes terrible cost, our own , and Afghanistan. No one can ever take that from you or from Canada.

The world salutes you!

Alba Go Bragh! Freedom!

Ex Robust Patricias:

The Next Generation:

Flags fly as a city mourns
By JOE WARMINGTON

Enjoy that cold beer because somewhere a Canadian soldier is standing on guard for thee.

And dying too.

For years a Canadian flag was proudly displayed on Maj. Paeta Hess-von Kruedener's front lawn. Today every house on his street has followed suit.

If only he were alive to see it. He will be buried in Kingston today and didn't get to see the patriotism that has swept his neighbourhood. Perhaps other Canadian soldiers defending freedom will see just what those neighbours did.

When is the rest of the country going to do the same?

"We have always had a flag at the front of our house," the fallen soldier's wife Cynthia said yesterday before attending a private viewing of her husband who was killed in Lebanon last month.

"It's a very difficult day," she said.

The funeral is at 10 a.m. at Princess of Wales Own Regiment Armoury in Kingston. The whole town is in mourning.

The whole country? Don't see too many flags flying!

Cynthia and her husband's friends have certainly shown they care. When she arrived home from the repatriation ceremony at CFB Trenton, she found the surrounding homes on her street flying the Maple Leaf to mark his homecoming.

"I hope it inspires people," she said.

We need more Canadian flags on more lawns and on more cars. What are we waiting for? Too many of our men and women have died this summer for there to be any excuse.

Hess-von Kruedener was killed July 25 by Israeli rockets that levelled a UN outpost in Lebanon. So many others have met their demise at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The moral of the story? Canada is at war. A nasty one.

You wouldn't know it on Yonge St. or at the cottage or on Hwy. 401 as families enjoy the freedoms freedom provides. As they should. Hamburgers, milkshakes, iPods and boating. Summer magic. What a country!

But do we remember across the world there are young men and women dying to defend it? What are we doing to let them know we not only care but we are squarely behind them?

So far I haven't seen much in the way of support. I'd like do something. There has been some Internet chatter about wearing red on Fridays. I like that (it should be red and white) but I think we can do more. Any suggestions?

"It doesn't matter the reason why they are there," coach Don Cherry said of his rationale behind his unwavering support for these soldiers. "The point is they are there."

And they need to know we are there with them.

"We live in Niagara-on-the-Lake, which touts itself as a historic town, proud of its heritage," e-mailed Barbara Morrison. "Yet on Canada Day, I did a personal survey and found that there were very few Canadian flags flown. I hope more people will display their flags. We have one flying at our house."

Others agreed.

"I read your article and immediately put my flag up," e-mailed Ed Smith.

But not everyone is filled with patriotism.

"Would I fly one? Not on your life. My patriotism ended with my subjection to the kangaroo courts that is called the Ontario Family Law system. We live in a democracy? Right," wrote Bruce Shephard.

Lawrence Chanin feels the same way.

"Nothing personal, pal, but Canada sucks the big one. This is not the Canada I signed up for. My Canada was hijacked by bigots, racists, religionists, militarists and Americans who care only for their own privileged advantages at the expense of millions of Canadians struggling for a hand up."

There's a lot of others like those two. The nice thing about freedom is everybody gets to express their opinion and nobody gets put to death for it.

My opinion is if we want to keep that we had better get behind our troops and show support for this wonderful country before we lose it.

It's the least we can do for Maj. Hess-von Kruedener and all of the others who so believed in it.

Now go have your ice-cream cone. A soldier somewhere is fighting for you right to do that.

For Canadian soldiers to be effective and feared by their enemies, they
> > must follow the example set by Chief of Defence Staff General Rick
> > Hillier. The following is a list of some key points about Gen Hillier,
> > which should be considered if others want to follow in his footsteps:
> >
> > Rick Hillier does not sleep. He waits.
> >
> > When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for
> > Rick Hillier.
> >
> > Jawbreakers were originally in the shape of Rick Hillier's fist.
> >
> > Rick Hillier's tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried.
> >
> > Rick Hillier does not hunt because the word hunting implies the
> > possibility of failure. Rick Hillier goes killing.
> >
> > Ghosts are actually caused by Rick Hillier killing people faster than
> > Death can process them.
> >
> > Rick Hillier frequently donates blood to the Red Cross. Just never his
> > own.
> >
> > Rick Hillier puts the "laughter" back into "manslaughter."
> >
> > The chief export of Rick Hillier is pain.
> >
> > Rick Hillier can slam revolving doors.
> >
> > If you can see Rick Hillier, he can see you. If you can't see Rick
> > Hillier, you may be only seconds away from death.
> >
> > Rick Hillier counted to infinity - twice.
> >
> > When Rick Hillier exercises, the machine gets stronger.
> >
> > When Rick Hillier sends in his taxes, he sends blank forms and includes
> > only a picture of himself, crouched and ready to attack. Rick Hillier has
> > not had to pay taxes ever.
> >
> > Rick Hillier owns the greatest poker face of all-time. It helped him win
> > the 1983 World Series of Poker despite his holding just a joker, a
> > get-out-of-jail-free Monopoly card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades, and a green
> > #4 card from the game Uno.
> >
> > If you see Rick Hillier crying he will grant you a wish. If your wish is
> > dying.
> >
> > Rick Hillier was once on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and was the first to
> > spin. The next 29 minutes of the show consisted of everyone standing
> > around awkwardly, waiting for the wheel to stop.
> >
> > Rick Hillier crossed the road. Nobody has ever dared question his
> > motives.
> >
> > They say that lightning never strikes twice. Neither does Rick Hillier.
> > He doesn't have to.
> >
> > Rick Hillier is allowed to speak of Fight Club.
> >
> > Rick Hillier sleeps with a night light. Not because Rick Hillier is
> > afraid of the dark, but because the dark is afraid of Rick Hillier.
> >
> > Rick Hillier died ten years ago, but the Grim Reaper can't get up the
> > courage to tell him.
> >
> > Water boils faster when Rick Hillier watches it.
> >
> > Rick Hillier has only one hand: the upper hand.
> >
> > The reason newborn babies cry is because they know they have just entered
> > a world with Rick Hillier.
> >
> > Rick Hillier doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the
> > information he wants.
> >
> > Leading hand sanitizers claim they can kill 99.9 percent of germs. Rick
> > Hillier can kill 100 percent of whatever the hell he wants.
> >
> > If Rick Hillier is late, time better slow down.
> >
> > Rick Hillier can divide by zero.
> >
> > Rick Hillier can speak Braille.>
> >
> > Rick Hillier refers to himself in the fourth person.
> >
> > One time in an airport a guy accidentally called Rick Hillier "Dick
> > Hillier." He explained it was an honest mistake an apologized profusely.
> > Rick accepted his apology and politely signed an autograph. Nine months
> > later, the guy's wife gave birth to a baby wearing combat fatigues. The
> > guy knew exactly what had happened, and blames nobody but himself.
> >
> > A blind man once stepped on Rick Hillier's shoe. Rick Hillier replied,
> > "Don't you know who I am? I'm Rick Hillier!" The mere mention of his
> > name cured the man's blindness. Sadly, the first, last, and only thing
> > this man ever saw, was a fatal roundhouse delivered by Rick Hillier.
> >
> > Similar to a Russian Nesting Doll, if you were to break Rick Hillier open,
> > you would find another Rick Hillier inside, only smaller and angrier.
> >
> > Rick Hillier's calendar goes straight from March 31st to April 2nd.
> > Nobody fools Rick Hillier.
> >
> > At birth, Rick Hillier came out feet first so he could roundhouse kick the
> > doctor in the face. Nobody delivers Rick Hillier but Rick Hillier.
> >
> > Superman owns a pair of Rick Hillier pajamas.
> >

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