True Patriot Love

As kick-off fundraisers go, the tribute committee that organized last night’s 2,000 person True Patriot Love Foundation event couldn’t have done a better job. The True Patriot Love Foundation was the genius of former Chief of the Defence Staff General Rick Hillier, and is being promoted by corporate and community leaders (led by Medcan CEO Shawn Francis) in an effort to raise funds for “programs to improve the well-being and morale of members of the Canadian military and their families, and to celebrate their selfless service.”

As many of you know, there is nothing glamourous about being a military family, and many of them walk among us with little recognition from their “non-service” neighbours (see prior post “Forgotten too easily” November 26-06). To see the corporate and community support for those both in uniform, present and past, and their families, was a highlight of anyone’s year (see prior post “Thanking our military” March 2-08).

Not only did the organizers manage to raise $2 million, they were able to bring together the Prime Minister, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, NDP Leader Jack Layton and a host of other federal, provincial and municipal politicans. In that room, the dozens of members of the Canadian Armed Forces got the chance to see and hear their political leaders fete them, and their families.

Canada’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Walter Natynczyk, had a perfect line in his speech: “we all walked into a recruiting office to join the military, but it was our families who were drafted.” In his speech, General Natynczyk also toasted Ft. Lt. Arthur Bishop, a WWII Spitfire pilot and son of Air Marshal Billy Bishop VC, who joined me at the event. Two weeks into the June 1944 invasion, Arthur was shot down over France by anti-aircraft fire. He went on to write 48 books about military history, and is working on a new one. We should all have such vigour at 86.

As much as Remembrance Day is a traditional time to commemorate all who have fallen in the service of our country, last night was the perfect time for corporate Canada, plus our WWII veterans, to salute the families of our current generation CF members who’ve suffered as a result of their deployments.

MRM