Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean
Speech on the Occasion of a Luncheon Given in Honour of the Silver Cross Mother
Rideau Hall, Sunday, November 11, 2007
Welcome to Rideau Hall on this National Remembrance Day.
Today we remember all of those soldiers, young and not-so-young, men and women, who gave their lives for freedom during one of the most violent centuries of our history.
Last Friday, at the Order of Military Merit Investiture Ceremony, I told the women and men being honoured that day that it is a difficult choice to put on the uniform and enlist.
It is a choice made all the more difficult because over time, it can weigh heavily on those who make it, as well as on their families.
Supporting one another is crucial, whatever happens, as is learning to adapt and living with the idea that departure may be ordered at any moment and that there may be no return.
At the Halifax Military Family Resource Centre, children and spouses of militaries have expressed, through drawings, the strong emotions they experience in reaction to deployments, marked by anxiety over departures and joy at being reunited.
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia has brought their work together in an exhibit entitled Reunion.
When I visited the gallery last February, a young boy came up to me and presented me with his artwork, which he had dedicated to his father, serving abroad, and explained what his picture evoked.
I listened closely as he expressed his love and pride for his larger-than-life daddy, whom he described as his hero.
I also understood the heaviness of waiting and how much he missed his daddy, and I saw in his drawing his eagerness to see him again, to jump into his arms and hug him.
I am so glad that this boy, Boyce Purcell, and his family are here with us today.
So I decided to bring this exhibit here to Rideau Hall, because I truly believe that the themes addressed by these families touch the humanity of us all. I also feel that their voices deserve to be heard.
As commander-in-chief, I consider it a great privilege to be able to be a listening ear for these families, to support them and to be with them, even in the most difficult moments.
When I am on the tarmac with grieving families, I know there are no words that can ease their pain. That these families welcome me and allow me to share their grief touches me deeply.
No, I have no words to describe the pain of loss and absence, because these emotions are as powerful as the love for the dear one who is no longer with us.
Mrs. Beerenfenger-Koehler, Wilhelmina, today you accepted the Silver Cross on behalf of all mothers—I would venture to say all parents—on behalf of spouses and children as well, who have experienced such heartbreak.
Your son Robbie Christopher served with the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment Battalion Group. He was posted to Kabul in the context of Canada’s military involvement in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
Rest assured that Canadians recognize the huge sacrifice your son made to help restore stability and security in Afghanistan in order to help the Afghan people, the families of that country half a world away who were stripped of their most basic rights.
Rest assured, too, that all Canadians grieve with you, because for all of us, human life is worth protecting and is priceless.
We will never forget.
