After 32 years of service in Canada's Armed Forces, I fail to understand what the fuss is about with respect to the repatriation of Canada's fallen in war. Rarely in past wars have Canadian soldiers been repatriated to Canadian soil and then usually under special circumstances.
The soldier has always considered it a supreme honour to die on the field of battle and to be buried near the place where he gave up his life. It is only recently that members of the services killed in action abroad have been returned to their homeland.
Time and distance are no longer crucial factors in the movement of military personnel and resources. Military air services support our troops in the field and from Parliament Hill to an operational theatre is only a matter of hours.
The repatriation of Canada's fallen began toward the end of the Cold War. They were first returned to their unit, squadron or regiment, whose members mourned their loss. In most cases, the ceremonies included the immediate survivors, who were recognized as fellow members of the military family. It was always an intimate affair, away from the prying eyes of those who did not fully comprehend the sacrifice that had been made in the search for peace and the protection of their fellow man.
For the most part, the next of kin understood the need of their sons' and daughters' comrades to mourn quietly the passing of one of their own. After appropriate military ceremonies at the home unit, the remains were released to the immediate family for the funeral and interment at a place of their choosing.
It matters little whether Tim Goddard, father of Canada's most recent victim of coalition operations in Afghanistan, was disappointed that the media were not allowed to cover his daughter's repatriation. It matters more that Captain Nichola Goddard, who was serving with Task Force Afghanistan as part of the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI) Battle Group, was reunited with her brothers- and sisters-at-arms one final time before the formalities of a family funeral.
During the past 60 years, there has been little public interest in Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen who have died in defence of their country. The events of Sept. 11, 2001 have brought back into focus the dangers that lurk beyond our everyday lives and the fear that it could happen to us. In our fear, we turn to our armed forces for protection.
We become intensely interested in how they are trained and equipped, we debate how they should be deployed and we examine the many alternatives to our involvement in violence in the name of self-defence. We then impose our demands to share the grief of loved ones as some of them come home in caskets.
That their units prefer to mourn their passing in private has escaped the understanding of many. Their friends and colleagues embrace the path they have taken and resent those who seek only to sensationalize an event that should be conducted with honour and dignity. The close families of the fallen share that grief with those who have trained, lived and fought alongside their sons and daughters, and military tradition allows them to do so.
Canadians do mourn the fallen who have devoted their lives to the service of their country so that others may live in peace. But the unnecessary demands for overpowering media focus in the early days of repatriation of our fallen should be resisted.
It is not an event to be dominated by media in search of the sensational. It is a quiet, solemn period of mourning that should be reserved for the families, including the military family who has been closest to those who have made the supreme sacrifice.
Terry Thompson is a retired air force officer.
PUBLICATION: Calgary Herald
DATE: 2006.07.14
BYLINE: Terry Thompson
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