National Memorial Service

Eulogy by Commanding Officer Alberta “K” Division

National Memorial Service
March 10, 2005 @ 1300H
Butterdome

So much potential. So many opportunities unrealized. So much to offer. It is incomprehensible to believe that such a horrific loss could occur...but it has. The intensity of our pain is beyond description. We feel anger and we ask how could this happen. Faith, confidence and resolve have been challenged.

As I try to come to terms with this unspeakable loss, my thoughts, over the last few days, have constantly returned to the many remarkable men and women who chose to dedicate their lives in service to their country. A wise man once said that “There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed”.

I believe that the men and women who serve Canada either in law enforcement, or in our military, find themselves united in their intense desire to make this world a better place. Some might consider this idealistic, perhaps even naive...I think it is a simple truth which sets these men and women apart in our society. I have seen the determination to make a difference in the eyes of the many members of the RCMP that I have known and who I have the privilege to lead. Mission, vision and value statements are but a mirror into their souls. They have considered the risks and accepted them not because they blindly seek adventure but because they are eager to define their lives by their deeds. They chose to live with courage and dedicate themselves to the high religion of human service.

For the men and women who are drawn to the RCMP, “maintiens le droit” is not just a motto....it is a way of life! It was a life, a passion, that we shared with Peter, Tony, Leo and Brock. They dreamed of the life of a Mountie and that dream became a reality for them all. As I have learned more about these young men through their families and their friends, the more I realized that they were like so many others that I have known over the years. Eager to serve, brave, dedicated to community service and always ready to answer the call. When they became a member of the RCMP, when they assumed their operational duties in Alberta as a part of “K” Division, when they arrived at their posts in Mayerthorpe and Whitecourt, they became part of a family that was much larger than themselves and they were proud of that...as we are proud of them. They knew that their cause was just and they were doing exactly what they wanted to do. Such was their calling, such are the risks that we face.

Any loss to our police family has profound effect on us all. It can prompt us to question whether our individual decision to serve as we do is the right one. But if we don’t step forward, who will? While we wish it were not so, there is evil in this world and it is our duty to confront it. Evil would be victorious if our resolve, our determination to serve and protect is irreparably shaken by this tragic loss. While we may pause to mourn alongside Peter, Leo, Tony and Brock’s families...let there be no mistake that our strength is found in the morality of our cause and we will prevail through this terrible test of faith. Our fallen members would expect no less and we cannot fail them.

While we gather here to express our collective shock and sorrow for the loss of these four young members of the RCMP. We must look to our God and to each other for the strength to heal. Martin Luther King Jr. said with great passion and conviction that “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that”. We have been covered with a terrible veil of darkness....even as we mourn, we must allow the light back into our lives. Even as we struggle with understanding the incomprehensible, we need to care for one another and heal deep wounds. If we are capable of allowing hope back into our hearts, then we will have honored our fallen brothers as they deserve to be honored.

W.M. Sweeney, A/Commr.
C.O. “K” Division