The Poppy is an enduring symbol and tradition of Remembrance.
Photo Credit: CAF/DND
Esprit de Corp Magazine December 2019 // Volume 26 Issue 11
Let's Talk About Women in the Military – Column 10
by Military Woman
Question:
It’s November – that time of year when we as a nation reflect and remember those who have served and sacrificed for their country. Can I learn more about the sacrifices Canadian military women have made?
Answer:
Over 600,000 Canadians signed up to serve their country in World War I, a million in World War II, and 25,000 for the Korean War. Of these brave men and women, less than 50,000 are still living today. All told over the years, more than two million Canadians have stood up to volunteer for uniformed service to their country, with over 650,000 still living today. Such numbers may seem overwhelming and impersonal, until one puts individual faces and names against each of the conflicts. The Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) Faces of Freedom website helps make these numbers personal, by sharing with us the stories of real women and men who have served throughout this last century.
As we know all too well, not everyone that signs up comes home. Over 61,000 Canadian soldiers in WWI, 42,000 in WWII, 500 in Korea, 158 in Afghanistan, 130 in various peace operations across the world, and many more on domestic operations have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Reflecting on the sacrifices of military women in particular, many Canadians will remember the face, the name, and the story of Captain Nichola Goddard.
Captain Goddard, 26, died on May 17, 2006, in Afghanistan while working as a forward observation officer. Her death marks the relatively recent addition of women to front line combat roles and positions. What may come as a surprise to some, is that almost 200 military women have died in service to their country.
Stories of women's sacrifices date as far back as 1885, when nursing sisters first stepped up to work in conflict zones alongside Canadian soldiers. However, their deaths were not recorded as military sacrifices until they gained military officer status in WWI. By the end of World War I, over 45 nursing sisters had died from hospital bombings, ship sinkings, and disease. In 1926, a Nursing Sisters' Memorial Marble sculpture was unveiled in the Hall of Honour in Parliament's Centre Block, in remembrance of these brave women's service, sacrifice, and heroism.
Historic records cite Eliza Kennedy as the first "servicewoman" to die for her country. Eliza was a member of the Canadian Merchant Navy on the SS Hesperian when it was sunk by an enemy torpedo on September 4, 1915. Eliza Kennedy, and many other women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, are commemorated on VAC's webpage titled “Lest We Forget Her".
The last name entered the memorial website is Master Corporal (MCpl) Kristal Giesebrecht. MCpl Giesebrecht, 34, who died alongside fellow medic Private Andrew Miller, 21, on June 26, 2010 when an improvised explosive device, or IED, exploded under their vehicle in Afghanistan.
Service-related deaths come in many forms, and not all are a direct result of enemy action.
Major Michelle Mendes, 30, was an intelligence officer who died by suicide while serving in Afghanistan. Her memorial plaque is undifferentiated, and her sacrifice is acknowledged alongside the other memorial plaques hanging in the Carling Campus Afghanistan Memorial Hall. The military acknowledges and recognizes a death by suicide can still be a service-related death. Hopefully, this institutional level of understanding will soon be commonplace across all workplaces, including the first responder communities.
Service-related deaths can also happen at home as part of a training accident or operational response to domestic emergencies. For example, Captain Juli-Ann "Jules" MacKenzie, 30, and Captain Colin Sonoski, 39, died when their CH-146 Griffin helicopter crashed during a search and rescue mission out of Goose Bay, Labrador on July 18, 2001.
To each and every one of the women and men who have been memorialized here, or otherwise recorded in history or in the hearts and minds of loved ones, rest easy. Army, Navy, Air Force or Medical matters not, you all live on in our memories.
You have not, and you will not, be forgotten. R.I.P.
Update:
2020. Acknowledging our fallen CAF sisters – Abbigail Cowbrough and Jenn Casey and RCMP sisters – Robin Cameron, Chelsey Robinson and Heidi Stevenson.
2021. A Statistics Canada survey denotes 97,625 serving members and 461,240 Veterans.
